A pharmacy technician-training program must meet the minimum requirements of this section and be approved by the commission.

(1) A pharmacy technician-training program shall be considered approved by the commission if it is accredited, approved, or administered by:

(a) The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP);

(b) The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education;

(c) Pharmacy Technician Certification Board; or

(d) The United States Armed Forces.

(2) A pharmacy technician education and training program not covered by subsection (1) of this section shall be considered meeting the requirements of RCW 18.64A.020 and approved by the commission if it meets the following minimum requirements:

(a) Prepare students for entry-level practice in a variety of settings including, but not limited to, community, hospital, and long-term care, this shall include:

(i) Orientation to pharmacy practice. Health care delivery systems, broad definitions of pharmacy practice and practice settings, communication techniques, confidentiality of information and safety considerations;

(ii) Basic pharmaceutics. Medical and pharmaceutical terminology and abbreviations, components of a prescription and patient medication record, drug dosage forms, routes of administration and drug product packaging, weighing and measuring, labeling, drug nomenclature, aseptic techniques, drug storage and handling, and drug standard and information sources;

(iii) Federal and state regulations. A minimum of eight hours in principles of applicable state and federal pharmacy laws, rules, regulations, guidelines, and interpretive statements; and

(iv) Pharmaceutical calculations. Basic mathematics including: Fractions, decimals, percentages, proportions, and weights and measures.

(b) Include a multicultural health curriculum as required by RCW 43.70.615.

(c) Have a pharmacist program director that is accountable for the overall quality of the program.

(d) Include minimum hours of education and training that extends over a period of fifteen weeks but under twenty-four months, and includes at a minimum:

(i) For vocational or technical training eight hundred hours which includes one hundred sixty hours supervised practice experience.

(ii) For formal or academic training programs two academic quarters with thirty credit hours each and includes one hundred sixty supervised practice experience.

(iii) On-the-job training of at least five hundred twenty hours with twelve hours of instructive education.

(3) To be approved by the commission a program must provide to the commission:

(a) A complete application;

(b) The name of a designated licensed pharmacist as program director;

(c) A list or copies of training manuals and reference;

(d) Content of instruction;

(e) Methods for evaluating trainees; and

(f) Verification of eight hours of pharmacy law study.

(4) Except for programs listed in subsection (1) of this section, a pharmacy technician-training program must renew every five years.

(5) Any substantive changes to the program or change in program director must be reported to the commission within thirty calendar days.