Reference check questions for pharmacy technicians

A pharmacy technician does much of the work that turns a prescription into a filled bottle or an IV bag: data entry, picking and counting, labeling, insurance claims and, in a hospital, the unit doses and admixtures that go up to the floors. A pharmacist checks the result before it leaves the pharmacy. Every error caught at that check costs time, and an error that gets past it ends up in a patient’s medicine cabinet or at a bedside.

A state registration and a certification tell you the candidate met the entry requirements. The pharmacist who checked the candidate’s work knows what kinds of errors they made, whether their accuracy held when the queue backed up, and how they behaved around controlled substances. Ask each reference which setting they saw the candidate in, because retail, hospital and mail-order work test different things.

Who to ask

• A pharmacist who verified the candidate’s work, ideally over many shifts, who knows what they caught and how often.
• The pharmacy manager or technician supervisor, for reliability, inventory and how the candidate followed controlled substance procedures.
• In a hospital, the supervisor of the IV room or sterile compounding area, if the role includes compounding.
• For a technician new to the field, the preceptor at their training site, who saw them handle real prescriptions.

Questions to ask, by competency

Choose the competencies that matter most for the position and two or three questions from each. Ask every reference the same set, and when an answer is a rating, ask for the example behind it.

Dispensing accuracy

Accuracy is the job. A wrong strength, a look-alike drug or misread directions caught at verification means rework, and one that is missed becomes a medication error.

1. What kinds of errors did the pharmacist catch in the candidate’s data entry or fills, and did they become less frequent over time?
2. What did the candidate do when a prescription looked wrong to them, such as an unusual dose or a drug name that resembled another?
3. When the queue was long and patients were waiting, did the candidate’s accuracy hold? Can you describe one of those shifts?
4. How would you rate the candidate’s accuracy at data entry and filling, compared with other technicians whose work you have checked? (rating)

Controlled substances and inventory

Technicians receive, count, restock and return controlled substances, and the pharmacy has to account for every unit. Federal rules also limit whom a DEA registrant may employ with access to them.

1. What part did the candidate play in controlled substance counts, deliveries and returns, and how reliable were their counts?
2. How closely did the candidate follow the procedures for the safe, the vault or automated dispensing cabinets on busy or short-staffed shifts?
3. Was the candidate ever part of a count discrepancy or a loss review? How did they respond?

Patients, phones and insurance

In a community pharmacy the technician handles much of the patient contact: drop-off, pick-up, phone calls and insurance rejections. Part of the job is knowing which questions must go to the pharmacist.

1. How did the candidate handle a patient at pick-up whose claim was rejected or whose copay was far higher than expected?
2. When a patient asked the candidate about side effects or about taking two medications together, what did the candidate do?
3. How did the candidate deal with a patient who was angry that a prescription was not ready?

Hospital and sterile work

Hospital technicians fill unit doses and carts, restock cabinets on the units and may prepare sterile products, where aseptic technique and documentation matter as much as speed.

1. If the candidate prepared sterile products, how consistent was their aseptic technique, and how did they do on competency assessments such as media-fill or gloved fingertip tests?
2. How did the candidate juggle a stat request from a nursing unit with a cart fill or batch that was due?

Close the reference

End every reference the same way: ask whether they would hire or work with the candidate again and why, what support would help the candidate do their best work, and whether there is anything else you should know. The general question bank explains why the first of these matters most.

Checks a reference does not replace

• The state credential. Most states regulate pharmacy technicians, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and some states and employers also require certification. Confirm the registration or license with your state board of pharmacy, and any certification with the body that issued it.
• Controlled substance access and DEA approval. Under 21 CFR 1301.76(a), a registrant may not employ someone with controlled substance access who has a controlled substance felony conviction or who, at any time, had a DEA registration application denied, a DEA registration revoked, or a registration surrendered for cause. Suspension alone is not an enumerated ground in that provision. DEA permits requests for an employment exception under 21 CFR 1307.03; the employer must obtain DEA approval before granting access when the restriction applies. Check applicable state rules separately. Verify this through the screening process rather than asking a reference to decide legal eligibility.
• The federal exclusion list. The HHS Office of Inspector General’s bulletin on the effect of exclusion names entering prescription information for pharmacy billing among the services federal health care programs will not pay for when an excluded person performs them. Check technicians against the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities, not only pharmacists.

Warning signs to follow up

• A pharmacist reference who describes the candidate’s errors at verification as routine, with no sign that they decreased.
• Hesitation, or a change of subject, when you ask about counts, returns or controlled substance procedures.
• The candidate answered drug questions or counseled patients themselves instead of bringing in the pharmacist.
• A state registration that lapsed while the candidate kept working, or registration dates that do not match the jobs listed.

One warning sign is a reason to ask another question, not a verdict. Reference check red flags covers how to check a concern fairly.

Questions to leave out

Ask only about the work. Before an offer, the EEOC’s guidance says an employer may not ask a third party, such as a former employer, any question it could not ask the candidate directly. Leave out health, medical leave, age, family plans and other protected characteristics. What to leave out has the full list.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the requirements that apply to your organization, and in your state, with your counsel or HR policy office.