This section limits who may work as a pharmacy technician, requires registration and renewal education, and gives the board rulemaking and discipline powers.
465.014 Pharmacy technician.—(1) A person other than a licensed pharmacist or pharmacy intern may not engage in the practice of the profession of pharmacy, except that a licensed pharmacist may delegate to pharmacy technicians who are registered pursuant to this section those duties, tasks, and functions that do not fall within the purview of s. 465.003. All such delegated acts must be performed under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist who is responsible for all such acts performed by persons under his or her supervision. A registered pharmacy technician, under the supervision of a pharmacist, may initiate or receive communications with a practitioner or his or her agent, on behalf of a patient, regarding refill authorization requests. A licensed pharmacist may not supervise more than one registered pharmacy technician unless otherwise permitted by the guidelines adopted by the board. The board shall establish guidelines to be followed by licensees or permittees in determining the circumstances under which a licensed pharmacist may supervise more than one pharmacy technician. (2) Any person who wishes to work as a pharmacy technician in this state must register by filing an application with the board on a form adopted by rule of the board. The board shall register each applicant who has remitted a registration fee set by the board, not to exceed $50 biennially; has completed the application form and remitted a nonrefundable application fee set by the board, not to exceed $50; is at least 17 years of age; and has completed a pharmacy technician training program approved by the Board of Pharmacy. Notwithstanding any requirements in this subsection, any registered pharmacy technician registered pursuant to this section before January 1, 2011, who has worked as a pharmacy technician for a minimum of 1,500 hours under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist or received certification as a pharmacy technician by certification program accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies is exempt from the requirement to complete an initial training program for purposes of registration as required by this subsection. (3) A person whose license to practice pharmacy has been denied, suspended, or restricted for disciplinary purposes is not eligible to register as a pharmacy technician. (4) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section or any other provision of law, a pharmacy technician student who is enrolled in a pharmacy technician training program that is approved by the board may be placed in a pharmacy for the purpose of obtaining practical training. A pharmacy technician student shall wear identification that indicates his or her student status when performing the functions of a pharmacy technician, and registration under this section is not required. (5) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section or any other provision of law, a person who is licensed by the state as a pharmacy intern may be employed as a registered pharmacy technician without paying a registration fee or filing an application with the board to register as a pharmacy technician. (6) As a condition of registration renewal, a registered pharmacy technician shall complete 20 hours biennially of continuing education courses approved by the board or the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, of which 4 hours must be via live presentation and 2 hours must be related to the prevention of medication errors and pharmacy law. (7) A registered pharmacy technician seeking to administer vaccines under s. 465.189 must be certified to administer such vaccines pursuant to a certification program approved by the board in consultation with the Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine. The certification program must have at least 6 hours of immunization-related training approved by the board that shall, at a minimum, have a curriculum of instruction concerning the safe and effective administration of such vaccines, including, but not limited to, potential allergic reactions to such vaccines. As a condition of registration renewal, a registered pharmacy technician seeking to administer vaccines under s. 465.189 must have at least 2 hours of continuing education approved by the board in addition to the biennial continuing education required in subsection (6). (8) The board shall adopt rules that require each registration issued by the board under this section to be displayed in such a manner as to make it available to the public and to facilitate inspection by the department. The board may adopt other rules as necessary to administer this section. (9) If the board finds that an applicant for registration as a pharmacy technician or that a registered pharmacy technician has committed an act that constitutes grounds for discipline as set forth in s. 456.072(1) or has committed an act that constitutes grounds for denial of a license or disciplinary action as set forth in this chapter, including an act that constitutes a substantial violation of s. 456.072(1) or a violation of this chapter which occurred before the applicant or registrant was registered as a pharmacy technician, the board may enter an order imposing any of the penalties specified in s. 456.072(2) against the applicant or registrant.