BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 952|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 952
Author: Anderson (R)
Introduced:2/4/16
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 4/4/16
AYES: Hill, Bates, Berryhill, Block, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Jackson, Mendoza, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/18/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, De León, Hill, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Pharmacy technicians: licensure requirements
SOURCE: National Healthcareer Association
DIGEST: This bill expands the number of pharmacy technician
certification programs that may be recognized toward pharmacy
technician licensure by the Board of Pharmacy (BOP).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the BOP to regulate the practice of pharmacy and
to administer and enforce the Pharmacy Law. (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) Sections 4000 et seq.)
2)Defines a pharmacy technician as an individual who assists a
pharmacist in a pharmacy in the performance of his or her
pharmacy related duties.
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(BPC § 4038)
3)Authorizes the BOP to issue a pharmacy technician license to
an individual if he or she is a high school graduate or
possesses a general educational development certificate
equivalent, and meets any one of the following requirements:
(BPC § 4202)
a) Has obtained an associate's degree in pharmacy
technology;
b) Has completed a course of training specified by the BOP;
c) Has graduated from a school of pharmacy recognized by
the BOP; or,
d) Is certified by the Pharmacy Technician Certification
Board (PTCB).
4)Authorizes a pharmacy technician to perform packaging,
manipulative, repetitive, or other nondiscretionary tasks only
while assisting, and while under the direct supervision and
control of, a pharmacist. The pharmacist shall be responsible
for the duties performed under his or her supervision by a
technician, and a pharmacist may not supervise more than two
pharmacy technicians at any time, expect as specified. (BPC §
4115)
5)Requires the BOP to ensure that every licensing examination
administered by or pursuant to contract with the BOP is
subject to periodic evaluation. The evaluation shall include:
(a) a description of the occupational analysis serving as the
basis for the examination; (b) sufficient item analysis data
to permit a psychometric evaluation of the items; (c) an
assessment of the appropriateness of prerequisites for
admittance to the examination; and (d) an estimate of the
costs and personnel required to perform these functions. The
evaluation shall be revised whenever, in the judgment of the
BOP, there is a substantial change in the examination or the
prerequisites for admittance to the examination.
(BPC § 139)
This bill:
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1) Permits a pharmacy technician applicant to attain
certification at any pharmacy technician certification
program approved by the BOP and accredited by the National
Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
2) Makes a technical change.
Background
Pharmacy technicians are licensed by the BOP to perform
nondiscretionary tasks under the direct supervision of a
pharmacist. The BOP allows four pathways to become a pharmacy
technician, one of which is to take the Pharmacy Technician
Certification Exam (PTCE) and become certified by the PTCB.
This bill is sponsored by the National Healthcareer Association,
a competing certification association to PTCB. Both
certification entities are accredited by the NCCA, which
accredits programs that certify individuals in a range of
healthcare and non-healthcare roles.
Current law requires every licensing exam used by a board to be
evaluated for legitimacy. Among other requirements, the
evaluation must include an occupational analysis, which
establishes which skills to be tested. This is particularly
important for pharmacy technicians because there are different
requirements depending on where they practice. However, there
is no California occupational analysis for a pharmacy
technician.
At the BOP's request, the Department of Consumer Affairs' Office
of Professional Examination Services (OPES) evaluated the PTCE
and the Exam for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians
(ExCPT) in 2014. The lack of an occupational analysis was an
impediment to a decisive review. OPES writes, "A consistent
issue with this examination review project was to attempt to
reach consensus among practicing pharmacists and pharmacy
technicians regarding the specific level of task and knowledge
proficiency required for licensure/certification." OPES
ultimately concluded that because of the disagreements about
universal threshold skills, "?it was not possible for either
[subject matter expert] group to give either examination an
unqualified endorsement." OPES found that the ExCPT covered a
broader range of retail and hospital setting responsibilities,
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but PTCB covered more inpatient skills. Of particular concern
is that OPEC also found that PTCE covered skills outside of a
pharmacy technician's scope of practice.
OPES recommended that the BOP commission an occupational
analysis so that either or both exams could be recommended.
However, it does not appear that the BOP is planning to conduct
such an analysis. The BOP argues that it is not required to do
one because neither test are the BOP's own examination, nor is
certification by examination the only route to licensure.
Further, the BOP argues that it does not have the financial or
personnel resources and does not believe that such a study would
add value to the BOP's existing knowledge about the exams.
This bill will allow the BOP to approve any certification
program accredited by NCCA toward pharmacy technician licensure.
However, the BOP should conduct an occupational analysis and
any other steps necessary to be in full statutory compliance
with its current exam and prior to approving any additional
programs.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill will
have one-time costs of $75,000 for the BOP to conduct an
occupational analysis and adopt regulations (Pharmacy Board
Contingent Fund).
SUPPORT: (Verified4/19/16)
National Healthcareer Association (source)
California Retailers Association
National Association of Chain Drug Stores
Rite Aid Corporation
OPPOSITION: (Verified4/19/16)
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None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The NHA writes, "Both NHA and PTCB are
accredited by the same well-respected accrediting body (NCCA),
which ensures an objective third party assessment of program
governance psychometric soundness and exam administration and
security. Each must reapply for accreditation every
5 years, and must make annual reports during the accreditation
period.
"Currently, NHA's ExCPT exam is recognized in virtually all the
states that require or encourage certification for pharmacy
technicians. There are only a handful of states that still give
an exclusive monopoly to PTCB in this area."
"?NHA has been working diligently to give pharmacy technicians
in California a choice of which exam to take in order to obtain
their license. The ExCPT is a less expensive but more thorough
exam. Specifically, the ExCPT exam fee is only $105, compared
to the $129 fee for the PTCE. And the ExCPT contains 120
questions, compared to the PTCE's 90 questions. (The ExCPT
allows an additional 10 minutes to complete the test.) In
addition, because NHA contracts with a different testing
facility than PTCB, passage of SB 952 would effectively double
the number of testing locations in California, thereby making it
easier for applicants to access the exam facilities most
convenient to their homes or workplaces.
"?SB 952 will allow greater access and opportunity for pharmacy
technicians to obtain licensure in California, and will give
them a much needed choice in terms of vendors. Moreover, SB 952
would open up competition to any other vendors that meet with
Board approval. Open competition always inures to the benefit
of the consumer."
Prepared by:Sarah Huchel / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
4/20/16 15:58:15
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