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Exam Overview
Thenhaexamforthecertificationofpharmacytechnicians(Excpt)
The ExCPT is the certification exam of the National Healthcareer Association (NHA). It measures the knowledge an entry-level pharmacy technician needs to work safely under a pharmacist's supervision in community, hospital, long-term care, mail-order, and specialty settings. Its content comes from NHA's job analysis of practicing pharmacy technicians and is organized into five domains in the ExCPT test plan. Passing earns the Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) credential. Many employers prefer or require certification, and many state boards of pharmacy accept national certification toward technician registration or licensure.
Exam Pattern
The exam contains 120 multiple-choice questions: 100 scored items and 20 pretest items that are being tried out for future exams. Pretest items are mixed in with the scored items and are not identified, so every question deserves your best effort. You have 2 hours and 10 minutes, a little more than 1 minute per question. Each question has four options and one best answer, and there is no penalty for an incorrect answer, so answer every question. A calculator is provided for the calculation items; personal calculators are not allowed.
| Domain | ScoredItems | WhatItCovers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Role Responsibilities andGeneral . , , | 15(15%) | Technicianversuspharmacisttasks pharmacysecurity medication , , |
| Duties | reconciliationandMTMsupport complianceaids medicalterminology , , , | |
| communication finalverification inventory storage expiredand , , , , | ||
| recalledproducts disposal references , , | ||
| 2 Laws . | 15(15%) | Lawsandregulations(9):federaldruglaws HIPAAandpersonal , |
| information fillingandrefilling packaging hazardouswaste fraud , , , , , | ||
| waste andabuse recordkeeping Controlledsubstances(6):schedules , , . , | ||
| DEAnumbers prescriptionrequirements partialfillsandrefills filing , , , , | ||
| exemptnarcotics orderingandinventory , | ||
| 3 DrugsandDrugTherapy . | 13(13%) | Drugclassification(8):classes dosageforms routes indicationsof , , , |
| prescription OTC andBTCdrugs Frequentlyprescribedmedications , , . | ||
| (5):brandandgenericnames sideeffectsandadversereactions , , | ||
| contraindicationsandinteractions incompatibilities vaccines , , | ||
| 4 DispensingProcess . | 43(43%) | Intakeandentry(13) preparinganddispensing(13) calculations(7) and , , , |
| sterile and non-sterile compounding unit dose and repackaging (10) , , | ||
| 5 MedicationandPatientSafetyand . | 14(14%) | Error prevention look -alike and sound -alike drugs high -alert , , |
| QualityAssurance | medications patientmatching adherence errorreporting NIOSH , , , , | |
| requirements cleanworkareas andqualitychecksofinventory , , |
Eligibility
Candidates must have a high school diploma or equivalent and meet one of two pathways.
| Pathway | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Trainingprogram | Successfulcompletionofapharmacytechniciantrainingprogramwithinthelast5years |
| Workexperience | At least 1 year (1 ,200 hours) of supervised pharmacy-related work experience within the last 3 years |
Scoring
NHA reports a scaled score from 200 to 500, and a scaled score of 390 or higher passes. Scaling makes scores comparable across different versions of the exam, so the number of questions you must answer correctly can differ slightly from one version to another; there is no fixed percentage to aim for. Only the 100 scored items count. The score report shows performance in each domain, which is useful for planning further study if a retake is needed.
Exam at a Glance
| ExamAspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Credential | CertifiedPharmacyTechnician(CPhT) awardedbytheNationalHealthcareerAssociation , |
| Questions | 120 multiple-choice questions: 100 scored and 20 unscored pretest items; four options each |
| Time | 2hoursand10minutesinonesession |
| Testingoptions | PSItestingcenters liveremoteproctoringatalocationofyourchoice oranapprovedschoolor , , |
| employertestingsite | |
| Identification | A current government-issued photo ID with signature , |
| Calculator | Providedfortheexam;personalcalculatorsandotherelectronicdevicesarenotallowed |
| Scoring | Scaledscore200–500;390orhigherpasses |
| Registrationandfee | CreateanaccountandapplythroughtheNHAwebsite;theexamfeeiscurrently$125andislistedon |
| theNHAsite | |
| Retakes | Waitatleast30daysbetweenattempts;afterthreeunsuccessfulattempts wait12monthsbefore , |
| testingagain;afeeappliestoeachattempt | |
| Renewal | Every2years with20continuingeducationhours(includingatleast1hourofpharmacylawand1 , |
| hourofpatientsafety)andarenewalfee |
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