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Medications

  • 35% of exam
  • Brand Generic Drug Classes Interactions Side Effects Storage

Federal Requirements

  • 18.75% of exam
  • DEA DSCSA FDA Recalls REMS Hazardous Waste

Safety + Quality

  • 23.75% of exam
  • LASA High Alert Tall Man MedWatch Infection Control

Order Entry

  • 22.5% of exam
  • Sig Codes Calculations NDC Admin Supplies Returns

Quick Facts

  • Exam PTCE
  • Credential CPhT
  • Questions 90 total
  • Scored 80 scored
  • Time 110 min
  • Pass 1400 scaled
  • Fee $129
  • Blueprint Jan 6 2026

Storage Temps ME

  • Room 20-25; fridge 2-8
  • Room: 20-25 C Fridge: 2-8 C Freezer: below zero

Brand vs Generic ME

Brand

  • Trade name
  • Manufacturer chosen
  • Capitalized

Generic

  • Active ingredient
  • Official name
  • Lowercase
  • Name vs ingredient

Drug Picker ME

  • Brand name shown → Generic pair
  • Suffix -pril → ACE inhibitor
  • Suffix -sartan → ARB
  • Suffix -statin → Lipid drug
  • NTI clue → Extra caution
  • Weekly methotrexate → Verify dose

Brand Generic ME

  • Lipitor Atorvastatin Statin
  • Synthroid Levothyroxine Thyroid
  • Zoloft Sertraline SSRI
  • Prozac Fluoxetine SSRI
  • Norvasc Amlodipine CCB
  • Glucophage Metformin Diabetes
  • Prilosec Omeprazole PPI
  • Coumadin Warfarin Anticoagulant

Interaction vs Contraindication ME

Interaction

  • Drug affects drug
  • Diet affects drug
  • Monitor risk

Contraindication

  • Avoid use
  • Unsafe condition
  • Hard stop
  • Risk vs avoid

Drug Classes ME

  • ACE inhibitors -pril drugs
  • ARBs -sartan drugs
  • Beta blockers -olol drugs
  • Statins -statin drugs
  • PPIs -prazole drugs
  • SSRIs -oxetine variants
  • Quinolones -floxacin drugs
  • Sulfonylureas -ide diabetes

Storage ME

  • Room temp 20-25 C
  • Refrigerated 2-8 C
  • Freezer -25 to -10 C
  • Light sensitive Amber container
  • Nitroglycerin Original bottle
  • Insulin unopened Refrigerate
  • Reconstituted BUD applies
  • CII stock Locked storage

Schedule Strictness FE

  • CII strict; CV lighter
  • CII: no refills CIII-IV: limits CI: illegal

DEA vs FDA FE

DEA

  • Controlled substances
  • Registrations
  • Diversion control

FDA

  • Drug approval
  • Recalls
  • MedWatch
  • Controls vs products

Law Picker FE

  • Controlled schedule → DEA rules
  • PHI question → HIPAA
  • Tracing product → DSCSA
  • Pseudoephedrine sale → CMEA
  • Adverse event → MedWatch
  • Vaccine event → VAERS

Controlled Substances FE

  • CI No medical use
  • CII No refills
  • CIII Five refills
  • CIV Five refills
  • CV Lowest control
  • DEA 222 CII ordering
  • Inventory Biennial count
  • Theft DEA 106

Federal Rules FE

  • HIPAA PHI privacy
  • DSCSA Trace products
  • REMS Restricted safety
  • CMEA Pseudoephedrine limits
  • MedWatch FDA reports
  • VAERS Vaccine reports
  • Orange Book Therapeutic equivalence
  • NDC Drug identifier

Zero Rules SA

  • Lead zeros yes; trailing zeros no
  • 0.5 mg okay .5 mg unsafe 5.0 mg unsafe

LASA vs Tall Man SA

LASA

  • Confusable names
  • Look/sound alike
  • Error source

Tall Man

  • Capital letters
  • Name highlight
  • Error control
  • Problem vs fix

High Alert SA

  • Insulin Double check
  • Warfarin INR risk
  • Heparin Bleeding risk
  • Opioids Respiratory risk
  • Chemo Hazardous handling
  • KCl Fatal concentration
  • Digoxin NTI drug
  • Methotrexate Weekly dosing

Error Flow SA

  • Near miss -> report -> CQI
  • Catch Report Analyze Improve

Safety Signals SA

  • LASA Name confusion
  • Tall Man Name contrast
  • Leading zero Use before decimal
  • Trailing zero Never use
  • Near miss Caught error
  • RCA Find causes
  • CQI Improve process
  • DUR Pharmacist review

NDC vs Lot PR

NDC

  • Drug code
  • Labeler/product/package
  • Billing ID

Lot

  • Batch code
  • Recall tracing
  • Manufacturing group
  • Product vs batch

Math Picker PR

  • Units differ → Convert first
  • Quantity asked → Daily dose
  • Days supply → Quantity/daily use
  • Percent strength → g per 100 mL
  • Dilution question → C1V1=C2V2
  • Weight based → kg first

Calculations PR

  • mL Volume
  • mg Weight dose
  • mcg Microgram
  • g 1000 mg
  • kg 2.2 lb
  • Days supply Quantity per day
  • Concentration Amount per volume
  • Flow rate Volume per time

Quantity vs Days Supply PR

Quantity

  • Amount dispensed
  • Tablets/mL
  • Package size

Days supply

  • Duration covered
  • Insurance field
  • Daily use
  • Amount vs duration

Sig Codes PR

  • PO By mouth
  • PRN As needed
  • BID Twice daily
  • TID Three times daily
  • QID Four times daily
  • QHS At bedtime
  • AC Before meals
  • PC After meals

Inventory PR

  • FIFO Oldest first
  • FEFO Earliest expires
  • Lot number Batch tracking
  • Expiration Do not dispense
  • Recall Remove product
  • Return stock Usable return
  • Reverse distribution Expired return
  • Par level Reorder trigger

Common Traps

Refill rules

  • CII no refills ≠ CIII-IV: 5 refills in 6 months

Zero notation

  • Use leading zero ≠ Avoid trailing zero

Drug reports

  • MedWatch for drugs ≠ VAERS for vaccines

Inventory order

  • FEFO expires first ≠ FIFO receives first

Product tracking

  • NDC identifies product ≠ Lot identifies batch

Dose math

  • Convert units first ≠ Round at end

Last Minute

  • 1. Weights: 35 / 18.75 / 23.75 / 22.5
  • 2. CII = no refills
  • 3. DEA 106 = theft
  • 4. DSCSA = product tracing
  • 5. MedWatch = drug events
  • 6. VAERS = vaccine events
  • 7. 0.5 safe; .5 unsafe
  • 8. FEFO = earliest expiration
  • 9. Days supply = quantity/daily use
  • 10. Pharmacist handles counseling