Question

a pharmacy technician receives a refill request for omeprazole (prilosec) 40mg. the prescription was written for a 30-day supply with six refills. the date on the prescription was 7 months prior to today’s date, and the prescription has had a total of seven refills. which of the following actions should a pharmacy technician take?

• refill the prescription because is still valid.
• contact the prescriber for a new prescription.
• ask the pharmacist to authorize a 7-day emergency supply.
• recommend an over-the-counter (otc) medication instead.

Explanation:

1. Analyze refill count: The prescription had 6 refills allowed and already had 7 refills (exceeding the allowed refills). Also, the prescription date is 7 months prior, and typical prescription validity for non - controlled substances is often up to 1 year, but the refill limit is exceeded here.
2. Evaluate options:

• "Refill the prescription because is still valid" is wrong as refill limit is exceeded.
• "Contact the prescriber for a new prescription" is correct because the refill limit (6 refills) has been exceeded (7 total refills), so a new prescription is needed.
• "Ask the pharmacist to authorize a 7 - day emergency supply" is not applicable here as it's a refill limit issue, not an emergency without prescription situation.
• "Recommend an over - the - counter (OTC) medication instead" is outside the scope of a pharmacy technician's role (they can't recommend OTC as a substitute for a prescription medication).

Answer:

B. Contact the prescriber for a new prescription.