Texas Administrative Code › Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS › Part 15 - TEXAS STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY › Chapter 297 - PHARMACY TECHNICIANS AND PHARMACY TECHNICIAN TRAINEES › Section 297.7 - Exemption from Pharmacy Technician Certification Requirements

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Purpose. This section outlines procedures
				to petition the board for an exemption to the certification requirements
				established by §568.002 of the Act (relating to Pharmacy Technician
				Registration Required). The board will consider petitions for exemption on a
				case by case basis.
(b) Long-term
				exempt pharmacy technicians. Long-term exempt pharmacy technicians are pharmacy
				technicians who, on September 1, 2001, had been continuously employed as a
				pharmacy technician in this state for at least 10 years and who received an
				exemption from the board.
(c) Rural
				county exempt pharmacy technicians. Rural county exempt pharmacy technicians
				are pharmacy technicians working in counties with a population of 50,000 or
				less and meet the following requirements.
(1)
				Eligibility. An individual may petition the board for an exemption from the
				certification requirements established by §568.002 of the Act (relating to
				Pharmacy Technician Registration Required) if the individual works in a county
				with a population of 50,000 or less.
(2) Petition process.
(A) An individual shall petition the board
				for the exemption. The petition shall contain the following:
(i) name of the individual;
(ii) name, address, and license number of the
				pharmacy where the individual is employed;
(iii) name of the county in which the
				pharmacy is located and the most recent official population estimate for the
				county from the Texas State Data Center;
(iv) a notarized statement signed by the
				individual stating:
(I) the reason(s) the
				individual is asking for the exemption, including reason(s) the individual has
				not taken and passed a pharmacy technician certification examination approved
				by the board; and
(II) that the
				information provided in the petition is true and correct; and
(v) a notarized statement signed
				by the pharmacist-in-charge of the pharmacy the individual is currently
				working, stating that the:
(I)
				pharmacist-in-charge supports the individual's petition for
				exemption;
(II) individual has
				completed the pharmacy technician training program at the pharmacy;
				and
(III) pharmacist-in-charge has
				personally worked with and observed that the individual is competent to perform
				the duties of a pharmacy technician.
(B) Each petition shall be considered on an
				individual basis. In determining whether to grant the exemption, the board
				shall consider the information contained in the petition and additional
				information including the following:
(i) the
				accuracy and completeness of the petition;
(ii) reason(s) the individual is asking for
				the exemption;
(iii) the population
				of the county;
(iv) the number of
				pharmacies located in the county and adjacent counties and the number of
				pharmacy technicians working in these pharmacies;
(v) unemployment rate in the county and
				adjacent counties; and
(vi) the
				following information concerning the pharmacy where the individual is currently
				working:
(I) the degree of compliance on
				previous compliance inspections; and
(II) history of disciplinary action by the
				board or other regulatory agencies against the licenses held by the pharmacy or
				pharmacists working at the pharmacy.
(C) After review of the petition, the
				individual and the pharmacist-in-charge of the pharmacy where the individual is
				working shall be notified in writing of approval or denial of the
				petition.
(D) If the petition is
				approved, the individual shall register with the board as a pharmacy
				technician.
(3)
				Limitations.
(A) The exemption granted under
				this subsection may only be used at the pharmacy noted in the petition and may
				not be transferred to another pharmacy. If the pharmacy technician ceases
				employment at the pharmacy or changes employment, the exemption is
				canceled.
(B) If the population of
				the county exceeds 50,000, the board shall cancel the exemption. The pharmacy
				technician and the pharmacist-in-charge of the pharmacy shall be notified when
				an exemption is canceled.
(C) If
				the exemption granted under subparagraphs (A) or (B) of this paragraph is
				cancelled, the pharmacy technician's registration is void and the registration
				certificate must be surrendered to the Board.