Certified pharmacist technician vs pharmacist clerk

The differences between certified pharmacist technicians and pharmacist clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a certified pharmacist technician has an average salary of $37,059, which is higher than the $32,705 average annual salary of a pharmacist clerk.

The top three skills for a certified pharmacist technician include patients, direct supervision and math. The most important skills for a pharmacist clerk are patients, HIPAA, and basic math.

Certified pharmacist technician vs pharmacist clerk overview

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Pharmacist Clerk
Yearly salary	$37,059	$32,705
Hourly rate	$17.82	$15.72
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	113,033	112,499
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 30%
Average age	38	39
Years of experience	-	-

What does a certified pharmacist technician do?

A certified pharmacist technician is responsible for assisting patients by providing medicines based on their needs or their physicians' prescriptions. Certified pharmacist technicians must be able to supply the correct medications, including the right dosage to patients. They must also have a broad understanding of the medical industry, providing medicinal information to patients and referring them to the right health professionals as needed. Certified pharmacist technicians also monitor medicine inventories, manage supplies, and create sales reports.

What does a pharmacist clerk do?

A pharmacist clerk is responsible for performing clerical duties in the pharmacy setting, processing prescription orders, and accepting payments for the medications. Pharmacist clerks provide the best customer service by responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns regarding their medications, instructing them on the correct intake, including the dosage, time, and safe storage based on the physician's prescriptions. They also monitor inventories, create request reports, and updating stock information on the database. A pharmacist clerk must have excellent communication and organizational skills, analyzing customer information, as well as evaluating the daily sales transactions.

Certified pharmacist technician vs pharmacist clerk salary

Certified pharmacist technicians and pharmacist clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Pharmacist Clerk
Average salary	$37,059	$32,705
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $50,000	Between $25,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Woburn, MA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Maine
Best paying company	Dignity Health	SSM Health
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between certified pharmacist technician and pharmacist clerk education

There are a few differences between a certified pharmacist technician and a pharmacist clerk in terms of educational background:

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Pharmacist Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 30%
Most common major	Pharmacy	Pharmacy
Most common college	-	-

Certified pharmacist technician vs pharmacist clerk demographics

Here are the differences between certified pharmacist technicians' and pharmacist clerks' demographics:

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Pharmacist Clerk
Average age	38	39
Gender ratio	Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2%	Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 10.1% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 24.4% Asian, 10.2% White, 46.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	5%	9%

Differences between certified pharmacist technician and pharmacist clerk duties and responsibilities

Certified pharmacist technician example responsibilities.

Manage return authorizations of expire and damage drugs to send back to vendor or Walgreens distribution center.
Secure and manage PYXIS systems during facility emergencies.
Manage assigned pharmacy workstations and tasks while supporting team members in promptly, safely and accurately filling patient prescriptions.
Experience in patient intake, data entry, dosage calculations, Rx clarification, billing, adjudicate claims, and dispensing.
Fill prescriptions under guidance a register pharmacist using intercom.
Fill PYXIS machines on every floor of the hospital in a timely and accurate manner

Pharmacist clerk example responsibilities.

Manage assigned pharmacy workstations and tasks while supporting team members in promptly, safely and accurately filling patient prescriptions.
Operate cash register, provide excellent customer service, maintain store cleanliness, help file papers/prescriptions
Master customer satisfaction by assisting customers and maintaining patient confidentiality according to HIPAA and company standards.
Provide excellent customer service by assisting patients with pickups, transactions, and consultations regarding their medications.
Operate with PYXIS, OMNICELL, PHARMOGISTICS, on daily basis.
Receive drug and iv orders from local distributor.

Certified pharmacist technician vs pharmacist clerk skills

Common certified pharmacist technician skills

Patients, 22%
Direct Supervision, 10%
Math, 8%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Inventory Control, 4%
RX, 4%

Common pharmacist clerk skills

Patients, 26%
HIPAA, 11%
Basic Math, 10%
Allergies, 10%
Math, 9%
Customer Service, 4%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Certified Pharmacist Technician
Certified Pharmacist Technician vs Pharmacist Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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