I have walked into some pharmacies where they have the tech’s filling scripts up because they are so slammed and need to get the orders out quickly.
It is probably 5-8% out of the year that stuff like this happens across the country...but it does happen and stores do use tech’s when it gets busy. I have seen it with my own eyes.
There is a serious shortage of pharmacists in the US right now. I've got a bunch of friends and family members who are or were pharmacists. A married couple are BOTH pharmacists, and 5 cousins! All of the cousins are now retired and in their 60s and 70s, but two of them still work part time at government facilities (after having sold their family run drug stores - one even had a soda fountain!), to help fill in. I believe that nearly every major pharmacy chain is offering a "signing bonus" of up to $40,000 to work for the company for a 5 year commitment, depending on the region of the country.
Mark
“I have walked into some pharmacies where they have the tech’s filling scripts up because they are so slammed and need to get the orders out quickly.”
I’ll definitely be looking into this at my pharmacy. News to me...I’ve never heard of someone who wasn’t a licensed pharmacist being legally able to fill a script, no matter how busy the store is.