A Great Military Career Opportunity

The Air Force and Navy likely will have to hire a few hundred more pharmacists over the next 18 months to meet tougher standards being imposed on use of pharmacy technicians. Even the Army could be required to boost its number of pharmacists by an August 2006 deadline. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations formally notified the military surgeons general this month of a change in standards for accredited military hospital and clinics to meet regarding handling and dispensing of medications. The association no longer will exempt the military from a requirement that a pharmacist review all prescriptions and hospital medication orders before drugs are dispensed. The exemption recognized that military pharmacy techs receive more comprehensive training than private sector counterparts, said Joseph Cappiello, the commission's vice president for field operations. But standards on patient safety have evolved to where allowing technicians alone to fill prescriptions by having military techs check other techs no longer will be acceptable if hospitals and clinics are to stay accredited. The change takes effect March 1, but the services have 18 months to hire the extra pharmacists they need or, in some cases, to buy technology for pharmacists to supervise dispensing of drugs at remote sites.