What does a pharmacist assistant do?
Pharmacist assistants require skills in teamwork, organization, problem-solving, computer literacy, communication, and mathematics. Paid anywhere from $24K to $200K per year, those who choose this career will be expected to work alongside licensed pharmacists and pharmacist technicians to help process prescriptions. They also perform clerical and organizational duties.
Pharmacist assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real pharmacist assistant resumes:
- Manage assigned pharmacy workstations and tasks while supporting team members in promptly, safely and accurately filling patient prescriptions.
- Observe pharmacists and pharmacy technicians input prescription orders and filling medications to be dispense to patients
- Order medication when stock is low performs iv preparation per establish protocol; perform chemotherapy preperation per establish protocol.
- Operate POS system by ringing up customer orders and reconciling till when pharmacy closes.
- Operate a point of sale system, a traditional cash register, and a HIPPA signature device.
- Handle customer medical information according to HIPAA federal regulations.
- Maintain high level of confidentiality and HIPPA regulatory compliance.
- Distribute prescription medications to patients, verify identity and answer questions concerning possible side effects and interactions.
- Assist customer in completing medical forms, labele prescription bottles, develop merchandise displays and operate POS system
- Prepare chemotherapy medications exercising all safety requirements necessary.
- Ring up prescriptions, special order products, and groceries for customer purchases.
- Deliver and stock OMNICELL automate medicine dispensing cabinets.
Pharmacist assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 34% of Pharmacist Assistants are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Phone Calls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Pharmacist Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 34%
Observed pharmacists and pharmacy technicians input prescription orders and filling medications to be dispensed to patients
- Customer Service, 19%
Assisted in filling prescriptions, participated in medication inventory, and provided customer service for customer questions about medication.
- Phone Calls, 6%
Initiated phone calls to Physicians and Nursing facilities for therapeutic substitutions.
- Patient Care, 5%
Assisted clinic by providing complete patient care through distribution of sample medication provided by pharmaceutical companies or other agencies.
- Direct Supervision, 5%
Work under the direct supervision of a pharmacist to fill in-patient prescriptions.
- IV, 3%
Enter physician's orders for treatment; fill orders, using sterile IV technique and chemotherapy precautions.
Common skills that a pharmacist assistant uses to do their job include "patients," "customer service," and "phone calls." You can find details on the most important pharmacist assistant responsibilities below.
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a pharmacist assistant to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "pharmacy technicians spend much of their time interacting with customers, so being helpful and polite is required of pharmacy technicians in a retail setting." Additionally, a pharmacist assistant resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "handled the filling of prescriptions, insurance claims, trouble shoot problems customers may have with prescriptions or insurance. "
Detail oriented. Many pharmacist assistant duties rely on detail oriented. "serious health problems can result from mistakes in filling prescriptions," so a pharmacist assistant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways pharmacist assistant responsibilities rely on detail oriented: "used superior organizational skills and attention to detail to maintain pharmacy inventory. "
Listening skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of pharmacist assistants is listening skills. This skill is critical to many everyday pharmacist assistant duties, as "pharmacy technicians must communicate clearly with pharmacists and doctors when taking prescription orders." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "maintained inventory levels and communicated shortages greeted customers and resolved complaints cash handling and customer service experience"
Math skills. For certain pharmacist assistant responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of a pharmacist assistant rely on this skill, as "pharmacy technicians need to have an understanding of the math concepts used in pharmacies when counting pills and compounding medications." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what pharmacist assistants do: "comply daily statistics such as number of patients requesting prescriptions, new prescriptions received, and number of refill orders. "
Organizational skills. Another common skill required for pharmacist assistant responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of pharmacist assistants all the time, as "working as a pharmacy technician involves balancing a variety of responsibilities." An excerpt from a real pharmacist assistant resume shows how this skill is central to what a pharmacist assistant does: "demonstrated strong customer service with excellent interpersonal skills and strong organizational capabilities. "
The three companies that hire the most pharmacist assistants are:
- Kroger20 pharmacist assistants jobs
- Safeway10 pharmacist assistants jobs
- CVS Health8 pharmacist assistants jobs
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Compare different pharmacist assistants
Pharmacist assistant vs. Ancillary
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, pharmacist assistant responsibilities require skills like "customer service," "phone calls," "direct supervision," and "iv." Meanwhile a typical ancillary has skills in areas such as "radiology," "cpt," "icd-10," and "nuclear medicine." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Ancillaries tend to reach similar levels of education than pharmacist assistants. In fact, ancillaries are 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Pharmacist assistant vs. Prescription clerk
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, pharmacist assistant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "phone calls," "patient care," and "direct supervision." Meanwhile, a prescription clerk has duties that require skills in areas such as "emr," "schedule appointments," "insurance eligibility," and "process request." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Prescription clerks earn similar levels of education than pharmacist assistants in general. They're 3.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pharmacist assistant vs. Senior certified pharmacist technician
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, pharmacist assistants are more likely to have skills like "phone calls," "expiration dates," "drug inventory," and "pos." But a senior certified pharmacist technician is more likely to have skills like "math," "customer issues," "data entry," and "ptcb."
Senior certified pharmacist technicians earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $41,107. Comparatively, pharmacist assistants have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $39,092.senior certified pharmacist technicians typically earn similar educational levels compared to pharmacist assistants. Specifically, they're 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pharmacist assistant vs. Certified pharmacist technician
Types of pharmacist assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
