History of Pharmacy Technicians

There are a variety of places where pharmacy technicians are able to work. They have a variety of roles that can partake in pharmacies, such as working in administration or customer service. Also pharmacy techs are licensed to help with the preparation of medical prescriptions.

Back in the '60s and '70s, a number of experts saw that there would be a growing demand for pharmacy technicians. With pharmacy techs taking care of the administrative tasks in the office, pharmacists are able to take care of the decision-making in the pharmacy.




In the beginning of the 20th century, there wasn't really much recognition of the pharmacy technician profession. During the '70s, there were several factors that played a role in the recognition of pharmacy techs.


Back in 1975, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, or ASHP, developed guidelines for training personnel within hospital pharmacies. Then in 1979, a pharmacy technician program was developed by the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.


The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists developed the standards required for accreditation of pharmacy tech programs, back in 1982.

The Pharmacy Technicians Certification Board, or PTCB, was created by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in 1995. Since then, the PTCB has certified well over 250,000 pharmacy techs.