Thrifty White And TRC Healthcare Announce ASHP/ACPE Accreditation For Pharmacy Technician Training Program

STOCKTON, Calif., Aug. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Therapeutic Research Center (TRC), a leading provider of medication advisory and learning solutions, and Thrifty White Drug Stores, an employee-owned pharmacy with 97 stores in six states, announced today that the Thrifty White training program, based on the Pharmacy Technicians University medication learning platform, received official accreditation by ASHP/ACPE. Thrifty White established its Technician Training Program to provide high-quality, consistent and affordable technician training that meets state and national requirements, beginning with North Dakota where the Board of Pharmacy requires ASHP-accredited training. The ASHP/ACPE Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Programs, a list of accredited programs, and information on preparing for accreditation are all available on the ASHP website.

The Thrifty White Training Program leverages Pharmacy Technicians University's PTU National Standards Training Program 600-hour curriculum. The PTU National Standards program is comprised of:

    --  160 hours of didactic training, 80+ hours of lab simulations, and 360
        hours of experiential training.
    --  The program is eligible for up to (7) college credit hours via the ACE
        CREDIT recommendation program.
    --  Preparation for national exams: including Retail/Community
        Pharmacy-specific focus on communication skills.
    --  Extensive tracking and reporting capabilities through a centralized
        administrative view for managers and leadership.

"Thrifty White is committed to a high-quality training program for all our Pharmacy Technicians nationwide, and TRC's Pharmacy Technicians University, an enterprise medication learning solution, ensures our employees have convenient access to the appropriate training programs at all locations, tailored to meet the requirements of their state. The PTU online learning platform also meets Thrifty White's organizational needs and is more cost-efficient than building the program completely on our own or relying on brick and mortar education programs," said Dave Rueter, Executive Vice President of Personnel, Thrifty White. "Well-trained technicians make a material contribution to increasing the efficient operation of the pharmacy, while also playing a vital role in advancing quality and patient safety for Thrifty White. We couldn't be more pleased at the official accreditation by ASHP/ACPE."

"Skilled pharmacy technicians are critical to the economic and efficacy standards of a pharmacy in any provider setting," said Wes Crews, Chief Executive Officer of TRC. "TRC's Pharmacy Technicians University is an online, competency-based curriculum that simplifies the educational experience, improves efficiency and helps reduce medication errors. We're proud to lead the way in supporting accreditation standards, affordable education access, and content readiness for medication management learning for technicians. And, we are ready to help move the profession forward by supporting nationwide standards that advance patient care and improve patient safety as quickly as possible."

Pharmacy Technicians University (PTU) remains committed to the highest standard of excellence and value for the providers using its accredited remote learning program, including training programs that accommodate:

    --  Increasing state-mandated training and certification requirements;
    --  Employer training and onboarding of pharmacy technicians in retail and
        hospital settings;
    --  Intuitive dashboard and reporting that allows employers and clinicians
        to easily track progress and effectively monitor and manage their
        training program and courses needed for licensure and compliance;
    --  Significant cost savings for employers and individual providers versus
        brick and mortar university courses, which offer less flexibility and
        little course variety.

PTU, which offers the most extensive and robust interactive courseware and training videos for medication learning available today, provides up to 600 hours of didactic, simulation, and experiential course content and the highest-quality technician training resources. PTU is the only online tech training program that supports or exceeds the requirements for technician training in 50 states, including Washington D.C. And, PTU supports employer-designed training curriculums to allow organizations to "right-size" training in accordance with the state requirements where they operate. TRC is committed to expanding and contextualizing its PTU course offerings to accommodate both retail and hospital pharmacy technician training needs for medication learning, including offering different levels of curriculum to align with various state board regulations and care-setting requirements.

TRC also provides continuing education for pharmacists and prescribers, helping hundreds of thousands of clinicians meet licensing board requirements and earn CE/CME credit in a variety of formats in its accredited learning center for medication management. TRC hosts one of the most extensive CE/CME course offerings in the industry for state and professional requirements. And, TRC automatically reports CE credit to CPE Monitor and CE Broker for convenience and accuracy.

About Thrifty White
Headquartered in Plymouth, MN, Thrifty White is a regional chain of 97 pharmacies and 82 associated Independent Retailers operating in the rural upper Midwest, with locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Montana and Wisconsin. Thrifty White is one of the nation's one hundred largest Employee Stock Ownership companies with 100% employee ownership. This unique ownership structure allows Thrifty White to focus on the long-term strength and growth of the company. Thrifty White was named the 2016 national "Pharmacy Innovator of the Year" by Drug Store News for the company's efforts to continually move the practice of pharmacy forward. The company was one of the nation's leaders in developing a Medication Synchronization program which allows patients to have all of their maintenance prescriptions filled on one day each month. This service dramatically improves medication adherence and lowers overall medical costs.

About Therapeutic Research Center (TRC)
TRC is the leading provider of digital medication learning that updates, informs, and educates healthcare providers across the continuum of care. In addition to its highly regarded Pharmacist's Letter, Prescriber's Letter, Pharmacy Technician's Letter, Nurse's Letter and Natural Medicines online resources, TRC provides additional online solutions for hospital and community clinicians that expand on its trusted recommendations, such as drug comparison charts, patient education handouts, FAQs, and tutorials in its web-based products. In addition, TRC provides online continuing education programs for medication learning, competency, and compliance programs, and keeps clinicians and administrators informed via its continuing education (CE) dashboard and CE & Training Organizer. TRC provides the largest catalog of education and advisory services in the industry for pharmacy, delivering nearly 500 course options to help technicians and clinicians. TRC leads the way in the training of new pharmacy technicians with Pharmacy Technicians University, the first online accredited, interactive training program of its kind. Nearly 500,000 healthcare professionals rely on TRC's advisory and education service to access concise, unbiased, timely information to improve medication use, prevent medication errors, and improve overall patient care, quality and outcomes.

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SOURCE TRC Healthcare