The Arizona State Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) has the statutory authority to adopt examinations for pharmacy technicians and its own rules state that the applicant must pass the Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination (“PTCE”) or another Board-approved pharmacy technician examination.
This statutory and regulatory authority creates a Regulatory Pathway for Ascend to follow to seek the Board’s approval of ExCPT as a “Board-approved pharmacy technician examination.”
Process/Timeline
A review of prior agendas and minutes show that the Board approves licensing examinations annually, normally in January. In January 2016, the Board approved PTCE for pharmacy technicians along with three other National Association of Pharmacy Boards …show more content…
It is also accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (“NCCA”), which shows that it has been independently verified to meet current standards of practice for certifying examinations. NCCA accreditation is a “third party validator” for quality and NAPB, which has a business affiliation with PTCE, has affirmed the value of NCCA accreditation in its communications to state boards of pharmacy. It its Model Pharmacy Act of 2015, NAPB states that a licensing examination must be “developed using nationally recognized and validated psychometric and pharmacy practice standards…” With NCCA accreditation and its embedded psychometric principles, ExCPT meets the requirements of NAPB’s own recommended …show more content…
ExCPT is offered in more locations and at more times than PTCE. ExCPT is offered at nine locations throughout Arizona, including locations in rural Arizona, while PTCE is offered at just three locations in urban Arizona. [CONFIRM] Additionally, ExCPT offers more than 300 test dates versus only four testing windows for PTCE [CONFIRM].
[OTHER INNOVATIONS PROVIDED BY ASCEND]
Local Ties
Ascend, ExCPT’s parent company has a footprint in Arizona by employing approximately 120 Arizonans, most of which are located in Chandler. [CONFIRM TAX STATISTICS $20M?] Ascend is currently looking to expand its Arizona footprint by approximately 30 individuals.
Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder groups can serve as allies, third-party validators, or, conversely, third-party detractors. As part of both the Regulatory and Legislative Pathways, we will want to seek the support of groups that could be used as allies and validators and neutralize the groups that could be detractors.
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