2026 Southeastern Residency Conference

Background
Pharmacy technicians are essential members of the healthcare workforce, enabling pharmacists to practice at the top of their license while ensuring safe and efficient medication use systems. In July 2024 Wellstar MCG Health established the Inpatient Pharmacy Technician Practice Council (IPTPC) to facilitate collaboration, communication, and continuous improvement in pharmacy technician practice. However, due to scheduling conflicts and the prioritization of other initiatives it became inactive. The council was designed to empower technicians by giving them a formal platform to contribute to decision-making, standardization efforts, and process improvement initiatives. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a pharmacy technician–led council improves technician engagement, operational efficiency and quality metrics within the pharmacy department.

Methods
This is a single-center, pre-post interventional study assessing the impact of a technician-led council using surveys. Surveys were distributed through Qualtrics to all inpatient pharmacy technicians employed at WellStar MCG Health with response reminders employed. Survey items collected information about work experience, training, and work life attitudes generated from literature. The purpose of the surveys is to evaluate the impact of the initiatives implemented by the council and assess overall technician engagement. We excluded any inpatient pharmacy technician supervisors and any pharmacy technician part of the IPTPC. The primary outcome was technician engagement. Secondary outcomes included self and social perceptions of technicians, medication error rates, and turnaround time.

Results 
A total of 14 of 42 eligible pharmacy technicians completed the primary survey, corresponding to a 33% engagement rate. Response rates for medication delivery structure surveys increased from 9% pre-implementation (4/46) to 17% post-implementation (8/46). Most respondents had ≤4 years of experience (71%). Overall satisfaction with training was high, with 79% of respondents reporting being somewhat or extremely satisfied. Experiential learning factors, including prior work experience and mentorship from supervisors and peers, were rated as more valuable than formal training programs. Satisfaction with coworkers and workflow clarity was generally positive, however dissatisfaction regarding workload and opportunities for advancement was prevalent. Following implementation of the medication delivery schedule change, a higher proportion of respondents reported disagreement that the new medication delivery structure supported timely delivery and manageable workload. Medication delivery turnaround time remained unchanged (pre: 1.46 ± 0.52 hours vs post: 1.48 ± 0.56 hours).

Conclusion
Implementation of an inpatient pharmacy technician practice council demonstrated feasibility but did not result in measurable improvements in operational efficiency or technician engagement during the study period. Further research with larger sample sizes and sustained council activity is needed to better evaluate the impact of technician governance models on engagement, efficiency, and quality outcomes.

Objective 
To assess the impact of an inpatient pharmacy technician practice council on self and social perceptions of training and competency of technicians and operational efficiency in a hospital setting. 

Assessment Question
Which of the following statements best reflects the current understanding of inpatient pharmacy technician roles within a hospital setting?
A) Pharmacy technicians are primarily limited to distributive tasks, with minimal involvement in advanced responsibilities or workflow improvement initiatives
B) Decreased pharmacy technician job satisfaction is associated with opportunities for role expansion, professional development, and advanced responsibilities
C) Pharmacy technician involvement in structured governance models such as technician practice councils is well-established with literature demonstrating improvements across healthcare systems
D) While pharmacy technician role expansion is supported, the impact of structured governance models such as pharmacy technician practice councils remains under-explored and requires further evaluation