A pharmacy technician helps fill customers’ prescriptions, keeps a pharmacy organized, and completes safety checks for different medications. They are an important part of the healthcare team and usually work in retail pharmacies and hospitals.
But is it possible to work from home as a pharmacy technician?
Yes! It is possible to work from home as a pharmacy technician. Pharmacy technicians who work from home usually spend their days coordinating prescription processing, managing mail-order medications, tracking controlled substances, and performing data entry.
This guide will go over what work-from-home pharmacy technicians do, how to find a job as a work-from-home pharmacy technician, and more.
What is a Work-from-Home Pharmacy Technician?
A work-from-home pharmacy technician is someone who helps patients, doctors, pharmacists, and care coordinators track and manage prescription medications remotely.
These pharmacy technicians are typically certified and have at least one year of in-person pharmacy technician experience.
If you’re not certified yet, you can learn how to become a certified pharmacy technician here or learn more about our 4-Month Online Pharmacy Technician Certification Program here.
What Does a Work-from-Home Pharmacy Technician Do?
Since a lot of pharmacy technician jobs require hands-on tasks like filling pill bottles and mixing medications, you may wonder what a work-from-home pharmacy technician does.
While remote jobs for pharmacy technicians are less common, there are still plenty of things that work-from-home pharmacy technicians have to take care of, such as:
- Verifying prescriptions. Remote pharmacy technicians must verify that all patient information such as name and birthdate match the information on the prescription to avoid dangerous errors.
- Answering telephone questions. While pharmacy technicians cannot give medical advice, they can answer basic questions about medication administration and storage. For more complex questions, the pharmacy technician can help the customer get in touch with a pharmacist or physician.
- Tracking controlled substance prescriptions. Some pharmacy technicians working from home are responsible for monitoring the frequency and doses of controlled substances ordered by physicians. Any suspicious or dangerous prescribing practices must be reported and investigated.
- Reviewing dosage instructions. Pharmacy technicians must review the labels of each medication to ensure that the dosage instructions are clear and accurate.
- Ensuring care plan safety. Work-from-home pharmacy technicians can keep patients safe by reviewing care plans and all listed medications to ensure that there are no dangerous drug interactions or risk of allergic reactions.
- Checking medical records. Work-from-home pharmacy technicians must pay close attention to patient medical records. Pharmacy technicians can look through patient medical records to make sure that all medications have been recorded accurately.
- Organizing billing and payments. Pharmacy technicians are responsible for collecting payment for patient medications. Often, pharmacy technicians can help customers find discounts or coupons for their prescriptions.
- Sales. Some pharmaceutical companies will hire remote pharmacy technicians to work on their sales teams, helping explain different medications and talking to vendors about why patients will benefit from specific drugs.
- Coordinating with insurance companies. Work-from-home pharmacy technicians work with insurance companies to check whether certain medications are covered and may coordinate with insurance companies and medical providers to find cheaper alternatives to expensive drugs.
Who Hires Pharmacy Technicians Working from Home?
Many different organizations hire pharmacy technicians to work from home.
Mail-order pharmacies need remote pharmacy technicians to verify orders and patient information, pharmaceutical companies may need pharmacy technicians to perform data entry, and insurance companies often hire work-from-home pharmacy technicians to review cases and manage billing.
Almost all healthcare organizations need pharmacy technicians for data entry, telephone conversations, and quality control tasks that can be done from home.
While it is less common, some hospitals and retail pharmacy chains hire work-from-home pharmacy technicians. Research companies and pharmaceutical companies also need remote pharmacy technicians to help keep things organized.
How to Find a Work-from-Home Pharmacy Technician Job
Working from home has many benefits, including saving time and money on a commute, schedule flexibility, and the ability to work from anywhere. There are many work-from-home pharmacy technician jobs available if you know where to look for them.
Here are some places to find remote pharmacy technician jobs:
- National Pharmacy Technician Association Job Board. The National Pharmacy Technician Association Job Board has both job listings as well as resources for continuing education, certification, and career planning.
- Indeed. Indeed is one of the most popular job search boards. Creating an account allows you to apply to multiple jobs without creating a new resume and profile each time.
- ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter has job listings for remote pharmacy technicians in call centers, data entry, and more.
- LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows you to search and apply for remote pharmacy technician jobs while also building connections with other people.
- FlexJobs. FlexJobs is a job search website that focuses on remote work. They have job listings for both 100% work-from-home and hybrid pharmacy technicians all over the United States.
What Skills Are Required to Be a Work-from-Home Pharmacy Technician?
If you want to become a work-from-home pharmacy technician, there are a few skills you will need to develop, such as:
- Organization
- Self-motivated
- Customer service
- Medication knowledge
- Medical terminology
- Computer literacy
- Basic Math
>> Learn More: Skills Required to Succeed as a Pharmacy Technician
Work-from-Home Pharmacy Technician Salaries
Pharmacy technicians have good job security and earn a decent salary. On average, pharmacy technicians earn $40,300 per year or $19.37 per hour. The top 10% of pharmacy technicians in the United States earn as much as $50,640 per year.
Work-from-home pharmacy technicians can typically expect to earn around $20 per hour, depending on their experience. They often earn a little more than other pharmacy technicians because they must have a year or more of experience.
Typically, pharmacy technicians who have advanced certifications or who have several years of experience earn a higher salary.
Besides earning a decent salary, pharmacy technicians also have great job security. Job opportunities for pharmacy technicians are expected to increase by 6% through 2032, meaning that pharmacy technicians, including work-from-home pharmacy technicians, will continue to be in demand all over the country.
