New York, NY, October 1999 - Professional Examination Service (PES) is pleased to announce a two-year contract extension with the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), following a year of record growth in certification candidates. For the period July 1998 through July 1999, nearly 25,000 candidates took the Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination (PTCE).

Since it was founded in 1995, PTCB has conducted an intensive program of outreach activities to communicate the value of the Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) credential to a broad range of stakeholder groups. PTCB uses a multi-faceted strategy that includes the support of major employers as well as partnerships with state pharmaceutical organizations, to reach out to potential candidates and to communicate with stakeholders at both the national and state level. A cornerstone of these outreach efforts has been the development, in partnership with PES, of a data collection process to gather demographic information about CPhT candidates and to document the value of certification to pharmacy technicians.

The contract extension takes effect January 1, 2000, and provides for continued collaboration between PES and PTCB in developing and administering the PTCE, which is currently being revised based on the findings of a new task analysis completed by PES in June 1999. In addition, PES will work with PTCB to develop a customized, secure Web-based application processing system that will enable candidates to apply for the PTCE on-line. PES will develop and implement the software for the Web-based application processing system, and plans to make this tool available to other clients in the future.

As pharmacists devote more time to pharmaceutical care, they are turning increasingly to pharmacy technicians for assistance with functions that do not require the judgment of a licensed pharmacist. The CPhT credential benefits employers, pharmacy technicians, and patients by allowing pharmacists to spend more time counseling patients and providing other elements of pharmaceutical care. More than 48,000 practitioners have become Certified Pharmacy Technicians since the PTCE program's inception in 1995.

The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board was established through a year-long effort by the founding organizations -- the American Pharmaceutical Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists, and the Michigan Pharmacists Association -- to create one consolidated voluntary national certification program for pharmacy technicians.