pharmacy technician

We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.

Job Purpose and Summary:

At CVS Health, we are focused on transforming health care for our customers and making our company a great place to work.  We help people navigate the health care system – and their personal health care – by improving access, lowering costs and being a trusted partner for every meaningful moment of health. Within our Retail locations, we bring this promise to life with heart every day and our Pharmacy Technicians (Technicians) play a critical role in supporting our pharmacy teams to consistently deliver on our brand promise.

As a Technician, you will support the pharmacy team in delivering operational and service excellence within your store. Technicians are often the first point of contact to assist our patients and customers to deliver an exceptional experience. Technicians assist the pharmacy team to ensure that pharmacy operations run smoothly, our patients’ prescriptions are filled promptly, safely, and accurately, and we are providing caring service that exceeds patient expectations. Technicians operate as part of the pharmacy team through consistent application of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), best practices, and effective communication. Throughout their shifts and in all customer and colleague interactions, they demonstrate genuine care and contribute to a safe and inclusive culture where all people feel valued and empowered.

Once in role, Technicians are required to complete a rigorous company training program and satisfy all registration, licensing, and certification requirements according to their State’s Board of Pharmacy guidelines. Until the Pharmacy Technician has completed all necessary requirements, duties may be restricted by the Pharmacy Manager. 

A Technician is responsible for contributing to safe and effective operations of the pharmacy, including but not limited to: 

• Living our purpose by following all company SOPs at each workstation to help our Pharmacists manage and improve patient health
• Following pharmacy workflow procedures at each pharmacy workstation (i.e., production, pick-up, drive-thru, and drop-off) for safe and accurate prescription fulfillment
• Contributing to positive patient experiences by showing empathy and genuine care: creating heartfelt and personalized moments while serving patients at pick-up, drive-thru, and over the phone; keeping patients healthy by offering immunizations and other services at the register and over the phone; and demonstrating compassionate care by solving or escalating patient problems
• Completing basic inventory activities, as permitted by law, and as directed by the pharmacy leadership team, such as accurately putting away medication deliveries and completing cycle counts, returns-to-stocks, waiting bin inventories, etc.
• Contributing to a high-performing team, embracing a growth mindset, and being receptive to feedback; actively seeking opportunities to expand clinical and technical knowledge needed to better assist patients
• Remaining flexible for both scheduling and business needs, while contributing to a safe, inclusive, and engaging team dynamic; voluntarily traveling to stores in the market to work shifts as needed by the business
• Understanding and complying with all relevant federal, state, and local laws, regulations, professional standards, and ethical principles. Complying with CVS policies and procedures to ensure patient safety, compliance with controlled substance dispensing and recordkeeping, and to protect patient privacy and security
• Delivering additional patient health care services (e.g., immunizations, point-of-care testing, and voluntarily staffing offsite clinics), where allowable by law and supported by required training and certification

Where permissible, the Pharmacy Technician may also support immunizations, which includes the following responsibilities:

• Completing additional licensure and training requirements, in compliance with state Board of Pharmacy regulations, to obtain Technician Immunizer status to support preparing and administering vaccines
• Educating patients about the importance of vaccines and referring patients to the Pharmacist-on-duty for vaccination questions
• Monitoring for, and responding to, adverse reactions; reporting adverse reaction events per public health requirements
• Reviewing and collecting patient information; tracking and documenting for each applicable patient
• Monitoring and managing vaccine supplies

Required Qualifications:

• Must comply with any state board of pharmacy requirements or laws governing the practice of pharmacy, which includes but is not limited to, age, education, and licensure/certification
  • If the state board of pharmacy does not address or mandate a minimum age requirement, must be at least 16 years of age
  • If the state board of pharmacy does not address or mandate a minimum educational requirement, must have a high school diploma or equivalent, or be actively enrolled in high school or high school equivalency program
• State-level licensure and national certification requirements vary by state, click here to learn more.

Essential Functions: 

• Regular and predictable attendance, including nights and weekends
• Ability to complete required training within designated timeframe
• Attention and Focus:
  • Ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time
  • Ability to pivot quickly from one task to another to meet patient and business needs
  • Ability to confirm prescription information and label accuracy, ensuring patient safety
• Customer Service and Team Orientation:
  • Actively look for ways to help people, and do so in a friendly manner
  • Notice and understand patients’ reactions, and respond appropriately
• Communication Skills:
  • Use and understand verbal and written communication to interact with patients and colleagues
  • Utilize active listening by giving full attention to what others are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times
• Mathematical Reasoning:
  • Ability to use math to solve a problem, such as determining the total number of tablets to dispense, day’s supply, and/or number of full bottles and additional bottles needed to fill a prescription
• Problem Resolution:
  • Identifying challenging patient or colleague interactions and choosing the best course of action when faced multiple options
• Physical Demands:
  • Be mobile and remain upright for extended periods of time
  • Lift, scan, and bag items
  • Reach overhead; stretch or reach out with the body, arms, and/or legs to grasp items
  • Move fingers repetitively; picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working primarily with fingers rather than whole hand or arm
  • Extend hand(s) and arm(s) multiple directions to place, move, or lift items
  • Control precision; quickly adjust machines to exact positions
  • Stoop to a considerable degree, requiring full use of the lower extremities and back muscles to move items between low and high positions, including bending spine at the waist
  • Close visual acuity to perform activities such as: transcribing, viewing a computer terminal, reading, visual inspection involving small parts
  • Occasionally lift of up to 20 lbs and/or exert up to 20 lbs. of force; Frequently lift of up to 10 lbs and/or exert up to 10 lbs. of force; Consistently lift and/or exert a negligible amount of force to move objects.
  • Express or exchange ideas by means of spoken word where detailed or important spoken instructions must be conveyed accurately
  • Have the ability to receive detailed information through oral communication
• Any additional tasks as directed by Supervisor or Manager

Preferred Qualifications: 

• 1-3 years previous experience as a Pharmacy Technician
• Previous experience in a pharmacy, retail, medical, or customer service setting
• Ability to work in the home store, and across the market in other locations, to meet business needs

Anticipated Weekly Hours

Time Type

Pay Range

The typical pay range for this role is:

This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full-time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls.  The actual base sal