As of January 1, 2014, the Board no longer renews the registration of a pharmacy technician who was initially registered after January 1, 2013, or who was initially registered prior to that date but did not maintain continuous registration unless the individual has completed a pharmacy technician training program. There are several types of training programs that will be acceptable, including:
- A pharmacy technician training program offered by a Board-approved, accredited vocational/technical institution or college.
- A pharmacy technician training program accredited by a Board-approved, national organization that accredits pharmacy technician training programs.
The Board is aware of only one national organization that accredits pharmacy technician training programs at this time, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). Pharmacy technician training programs accredited by ASHP are automatically approved.
- A pharmacy technician training program provided by a branch of the United States armed forces or Public Health Service.
- An employer-based program that includes a minimum of 240 hours in a one-year period of both theoretical and practical instruction.
The Board has approved three programs that can be used as part of the employer-based training program in order to meet the written/didactic portion of the training. NHA’s PharmaSeer™ is a digital learning resource built to supplement existing pharmacy technician training or education programs. For more information, visit https://info.nhanow.com/onepartner.
For additional information regarding specific details on each of the training programs listed above please visit the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.