Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What steps do I take when I hire a new technician?
Q: How long do I have to keep all these boxes of records?
Q: I have some things to return, but where do I send them?
A: When you hire a new technician, the first thing you need to do is email me the name, social and hire date. I will add them to my technician roster and can make sure to inform them of upcoming training classes. (Pre-pharmacy students have to train. Full-time pharmacy students and interns are not required to take the training, however, it is encouraged - and the raises involved are usually strong motivators in them doing so).
CBT's-Technicians, immediately upon hire, need to take the HIPAA CD training, as well as the Store Safety and Pharmacy Technician Computer Based Training (CBT's) that are available at every store.
LEVEL 1-Technicians have 30 days from the date of hire to pass the Level 1 exam, which includes basic Kroger store and pharmacy information, as well as a test of inputing a new patient, prescription, Dr. and insurance card. Level 1 training and testing usually takes anywhere from 1-3 hours depending on the level of experience the technician has. Technicians receive no raise for passing Level 1.
REGISTRATION-Following the completion of the Level 1 exam, the technician needs to register with the Board of Pharmacy. A downloadable form for the technician registration can be found at www.ncbop.org or you can click here and it will take you directly to that form. Technicians submit that application along with $25.00 to the address on the top of the form. Kroger does NOT pay this fee. All technicians must register by the cut-off date or they will not be allowed to work until their registration is complete. Kroger is now offering a wage garnishing option for the registration. Technicians can have the full $25.00 fee deducted from one of their November paychecks or they can have $5.00 deducted for 5 straight weeks. Kroger will then send the registration fees into the board as a lump payment. To download the consent form for registrations wage garnishment click here. Full-time pharmacy students who work regularly at Kroger DO need to register with the board. Interns, who are only working for a few weeks intership do not need to register with the board.
LEVEL 2-Technicians have 90 days from the date of hire to complete the Level 2 test. The Level 2 test concentrates mostly on Kroger paperwork and other pharmacy matters specific to Kroger pharmacy. The training and test take anywhere from 2.5-4.5 hours to complete. Technicians receive a .25 raise for passing this test.
LEVEL 3-Technicians have 180 days from the date of hire to complete Level 3 testing. The Level 3 test consists of pharmaceutics, pharmacy math and hospital pharmacy. This is usually the level technicians have the most difficulty with. This level training and test can take anywhere from 4-8 hours to complete. Technicians are encouraged to look at the training manuals ahead of time, especially for Level 3, as there is so much information taught in the span of such a short time, additional preparation is extremely helpful and often times, necessary. Technicians receive a .25 raise for passing this test.
NATIONAL EXAM-When technicians feel comfortable with the material covered in training, they can apply for the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam. You do not need to pass any of the level testing to attempt the certification exam, however, a lack of understanding of the information in Level 3 will probably lead to a failure of the national exam. Kroger will pay the $120.00 fee for your first attempt at the exam, but any subsequent attempts are out of the technician's pocket. Therefore, technicians should be relatively sure of their pharmacy competency before registering. There are Kroger-provided training sessions for the certification exam as well. A schedule of the cut off dates for the exam will be email and can also be found at http://krogertechnicians.tripod.com under Calendar of Events. Technicians receive a $1.00 raise for passing this exam.
TRAINING SCHEDULE-The schedule for the training sessions will be emailed at the beginning of the month as well as posted at http://krogertechnicians.tripod.com under Calender of Events. Unless noted otherwise, most training sessions will be held in the upstairs conference room of the Six Forks Road store 355 at the intersection of Six Forks and Wake Forest Road. However, I now have more flexibility to travel and will be making appointments to train in other locations as well.
A: RECORDS-Federal law requires we keep most records for 3 years, however, Medicaid records are required to be kept on hand for 5 years. Since Medicaid prescriptions are mixed in with normal pharmacy records, the best general answer is to keep everything for no less than 5 years.
A: RETURNS - Most of the forms you will be using will tell you what things go where. However, here is a short list of common returns:
Cardinal Items - Return to Cardinal if in-date, overstock, full bottles. Otherwise, return to Peyton if Peyton also stocks it. If Peyton doesn't accept it either, it must go back to RDS.
Peyton Items - Peyton takes back in and out-of-date full and partials. They do not, however, accept CIIs, partial ointment tubes or Cardinal Only items. If Cardinal will not take these items back, they must go to RDS.
RDS/USF - RDS takes back anything Peyton or Cardinal will not. This includes partial or out of date CIIs, partial ointment tubes and damaged items.