Pharmacy technician certification is important to people working in this field because they are often paid higher salary and many career advancement opportunities are opened to them because of their certification. We know that for a fact, but do we know why pharmacists and other employers of pharmacy technicians value this certification held by qualified technicians?

When it comes to determining which applicants to hire, it’s an easy decision for employers if the choices are between an applicant with pharmacy technician certification and some who are not certified. The obvious (and the right) choice here is the one with the certification because the employer is assured that that applicant has the necessary skills and knowledge to perform his tasks well, as proven by his passing of the certification exam given by a reputable certifying organization like the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. In this situation, both the employer and the employee have benefited from the applicant’s certification.

How then will you explain why employers encourage the non-certified pharmacy technicians that they’ve already employed to get their certification? Some of them are even going as far as paying for all the expenses that may be incurred while in the process of securing the technician’s certification, like paying for the certification exam fee.

One reason for this is that the employer, usually a pharmacist, a pharmacy manager, or a hospital director, wants some form of protection against potential malpractice lawsuits in the future that may be filed against them by a disgruntled former patient. If there’s a lawsuit nation in the world, the United States would have to be it. Filing lawsuits seems to be the norm these days. Disputes which were once possible to resolve through discussion or mediation are now being resolved through filing lawsuits and hoping for monetary compensation. This is quite rampant in the healthcare industry where health practitioners always face the prospect of being named in a malpractice lawsuit. It doesn’t mean that the quality of healthcare in this country is deteriorating because of these medical malpractice lawsuits, it just goes to show how many people are resorting to filing lawsuits more, these days.

By having licensed or certified healthcare workers, health practitioners defending themselves or their employees from lawsuits are easier because they have proof that the people in their employ are highly qualified and capable in performing their tasks, as proven by their licenses and certifications. It reduces the chances that the legal court will rule against the healthcare providers when deciding on malpractice lawsuits. Encouraging their pharmacy technician to secure their pharmacy tech certification not only makes sense, but it’s the only choice for these employers because of the prospects of those potential lawsuits.