Pharmacy Technician practice questions and answers 2026. Tap an option to test yourself — you'll see the correct answer and a plain-English explanation for every question. Free, no login.
Q21Under HIPAA's Minimum Necessary Standard, which of the following disclosures by a pharmacy technician would be compliant?
✓ Correct answer: A. Faxing a patient's complete 12-month medication history to an emergency room physician treating the patient for an acute allergic reaction.
HIPAA's Minimum Necessary Standard includes a Treatment Exception that allows disclosures to other treating providers without patient authorization when necessary for treatment; sharing medication history with an emergency treating physician qualifies, while the other options lack a valid legal basis or patient authorization.
Q22The FDA classifies a drug recall as Class II. What does this designation indicate?
✓ Correct answer: D. Use of or exposure to the product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.
An FDA Class II recall applies to situations where use of the product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or where the probability of serious harm is remote; Class I is for life-threatening risks, and Class III is for unlikely health harm.
Q23A prescriber writes a Schedule III prescription for buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone) film for opioid use disorder. The original prescription was issued on March 1. On which date does the prescription become invalid for refills under federal law?
✓ Correct answer: C. September 1 (6 months from issue date)
DEA regulations permit Schedule III and IV controlled substances to be refilled up to five times within six months of the issue date; after six months from March 1, the prescription expires and a new prescription is required.
Q24A pharmacy technician notices that a prescriber's DEA number on a hydrocodone prescription reads 'BJ4523156.' Applying the DEA number validation algorithm, is this number valid?
✓ Correct answer: D. No, it is invalid because the check digit calculation does not confirm the last digit as '6'.
To validate a DEA number: add digits 1, 3, and 5 (4+2+1=7); add digits 2, 4, and 6 (5+3+5=13), multiply by 2 (26); sum is 33; the check digit (last digit) should be 3, not 6, so the number is invalid despite the correct format.
Q25Which federal agency is primarily responsible for regulating the safety and efficacy of new prescription drugs before they may be marketed in the United States?
✓ Correct answer: D. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA is responsible for approving new drugs for safety and efficacy through the New Drug Application (NDA) process before they can be legally marketed; the DEA regulates controlled substance scheduling and distribution.
Q26A compounding pharmacy compounds a batch of morphine sulfate 2 mg/mL oral solution using a non-FDA-approved formula. Under the Drug Quality and Security Act (DQSA), which designation would allow this pharmacy to distribute the compound to hospitals in other states without registering as a manufacturer?
✓ Correct answer: B. 503B outsourcing facility designation.
Under DQSA Section 503B, an FDA-registered outsourcing facility may compound drug products without individual patient prescriptions and distribute them interstate to hospitals and clinics, subject to FDA oversight; Section 503A applies to traditional patient-specific compounding pharmacies that cannot distribute wholesale interstate.
Q27A patient's spouse calls the pharmacy and asks the technician to confirm whether the patient has picked up a prescription for oxycodone. The patient has not given any authorization. Under HIPAA, what is the most appropriate response?
✓ Correct answer: A. Decline to confirm or deny any prescription information without patient authorization or a documented patient-established permission.
HIPAA does not automatically grant spousal access to PHI; without documented patient authorization or a court-established personal representative status, the pharmacy must decline to confirm or deny any PHI to the calling spouse.
Q28Which of the following drugs is correctly classified as a Schedule V controlled substance?
✓ Correct answer: C. Cough syrup containing less than 200 mg of codeine per 100 mL (e.g., Robitussin AC)
Schedule V substances contain limited quantities of narcotics such as codeine; cough preparations with less than 200 mg of codeine per 100 mL are classified as Schedule V, while codeine alone and morphine alone are Schedule II, and hydrocodone single-entity products are Schedule II.
Q29A pharmacy receives a voluntary recall notice from the manufacturer for a lot of metformin 500 mg tablets due to elevated levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). The recall is classified as Class I. Which action is NOT part of the pharmacy's required recall response?
✓ Correct answer: B. Submit an adverse event report to the DEA using DEA Form 106 within 24 hours.
DEA Form 106 is used exclusively to report theft or significant loss of controlled substances; a metformin recall is handled through the FDA recall process and MedWatch adverse event reporting — the DEA has no role in non-controlled drug recalls.
Q30Under federal law, which element is NOT a required component of a valid controlled substance prescription written by a DEA-registered prescriber?
✓ Correct answer: B. The prescriber's National Provider Identifier (NPI) number.
Federal DEA regulations require the patient's name and address, date of issue, drug name and strength, quantity, directions, prescriber's name/address/DEA number, and prescriber's signature; the NPI number is a CMS billing identifier and is not a DEA-mandated element of a controlled substance prescription.
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