WASHINGTON – As part of its mission to ensure pharmacy technicians meet the evolving challenges in medication safety, the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) launched a new Supply Chain and Inventory Management Certificate Tuesday. This advanced certification assesses pharmacy technicians’ knowledge of laws and regulations, administrative processes, inventory management, documentation requirements, and key players in the supply chain.

“Medications go through a lot of steps before they even get to the patient,” said PTCB executive director and CEO William Schimmel. “Pharmacy technicians are integral to this process, and we want to make sure they have the tools and best practices they need to shepherd medications safely to their patients.” 

Pharmacy technicians play an increasingly vital part in patient care teams, and fluency in supply chain and inventory management can help keep the focus on safety at every step – from the manufacturing lab to the medicine cabinet. By earning this certificate, technicians can demonstrate their understanding of supply chain and inventory management regulations, processes, and responsibilities and better adapt to changing guidelines.

“Keeping track of processes and inventory is precise work, making supply chain management one of the biggest challenges in pharmacy and healthcare today,” said Heidi McKinnon, Sr. Program Manager of Supply Chain Quality and Compliance at Amazon. “PTCB’s  new certification can help technicians operate more safely, accurately, and efficiently.”

As the nation’s first and only nonprofit pharmacy technician credentialing organization, PTCB sets the unified standard for delivering medication safety and patient care in all practice settings. PTCB’s commitment to best practices in patient care, transparency, and advancing career opportunities for pharmacy technicians has made its programs the most widely accepted credentials across the country.

For more information, please visit PTCB.org.