Each day, technicians assemble a complete 24-hour supply of medications for every hospital patient. Individual doses of each drug are separately packaged and labeled. All of these unit-doses are then placed in the patient's medication cassette. When unit doses are to be administered by injection, technicians transfer the medication from vials, using aseptic techniques, to the appropriate number of sterile, disposable syringes. All mathematical calculations must be accurate and very precise, and extreme care must be taken to maintain sterile conditions and aseptic techniques.
Inventory control is another area of responsibility for some technicians.
Technicians keep track of medications, chemicals, and other supplies, and prepare orders for additional quantities when stock gets low. They also receive incoming goods, check invoices against quantities received, and put supplies into storage. Additional duties performed by Pharmacy Technicians may include delivering drugs and pharmaceutical supplies to nursing stations, keeping pharmacy work areas clean and orderly, assisting in the processing of health insurance forms, and responding to telephone questions or requests from other hospital personnel. Pharmacy Technicians work under the close supervision of licensed pharmacists. Although the work is often repetitive, it is highly precise, demanding good judgment, accuracy, and constant attention to detail.