Florida ALF Employing Med Techs

U.S.A. Florida

Published

Specializes in Hospice, ALF, Prison.

In a Florida ALF which employees Med Techs, whose license are the working under? There is no RN on staff.

If a Med Tech makes a error on a shift where a non managment LPN as is working, is the employee LPN held accountable, i.e. would it jeopardize that employess licensure?

If you have a reference link to rules/regs for a FL ALF it would be great!

:banghead:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

the med techs are actually working under their own license. I am a certified med tech...you take florida approved training and certification, and are licensed by the state of Florida. There is an RN (works days Mon-Fri) that is a director of all nursing staff-which are all med techs. Each med tech is responsible for accurately reporting in MARS, counting narcotics, and filling out incident reports concerning med errors and such. The RN then has to file the reports with the state. But ultimately, a med tech is responsible for his/her actions. :wink2:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice, ALF, Prison.

The Florida Statutes governing the performance of medication technicians is contained in FS 400.4256. To view the statute online, you need to enter the number in the search prompt when using the state website.

Interesting extracts are:

"Unlicensed person" means an individual not currently licensed to practice nursing

(a) Taking the medication, in its previously dispensed, properly labeled container, from where it is stored, and bringing it to the resident. (b) In the presence of the resident, reading the label, opening the container, removing a prescribed amount of medication from the container, and closing the container.

assist a resident whose condition is medically stable with the self-administration of routine, regularly scheduled medications that are intended to be self-administered.

(4) Assistance with self-administration does not include:

(a) Mixing, compounding, converting, or calculating medication doses, except for measuring a prescribed amount of liquid medication or breaking a scored tablet or crushing a tablet as prescribed. (i) Medications for which the time of administration, the amount, the strength of dosage, the method of administration, or the reason for administration requires judgment or discretion on the part of the unlicensed person.

While the statutes extracted above do not directly answer the original question posted it does further give food for thought such as;

What should a staff nurse do when the medication technician is working outside of their scope.

Who is resonsible for the performance/or lack of performance of a medication tech.

Are medical technicians licensed by the state, or only have a certificate of training from a non state entitiy.

Just thoughts.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

here is the statute governing alf's in florida....

393.506 administration of medication.--

(1) a direct service provider who is not currently licensed to administer medication may supervise the self-administration of medication or may administer oral, transdermal, ophthalmic, otic, rectal, inhaled, or topical prescription medications to a client as provided in this section.

(2) in order to supervise the self-administration of medication or to administer medications as provided in subsection (1), a direct service provider must satisfactorily complete a training course of not less than 4 hours in medication administration and be found competent to supervise the self-administration of medication by a client or to administer medication to a client in a safe and sanitary manner. competency must be assessed and validated at least annually in an onsite setting and must include personally observing the direct service provider satisfactorily:

(a) supervising the self-administration of medication by a client; and

(b) administering medication to a client.

(3) a direct service provider may supervise the self-administration of medication by a client or may administer medication to a client only if the client, or the client's guardian or legal representative, has given his or her informed consent to self-administering medication under the supervision of an unlicensed direct service provider or to receiving medication administered by an unlicensed direct service provider. such informed consent must be based on a description of the medication routes and procedures that the direct service provider is authorized to supervise or administer. only a provider who has received appropriate training and has been validated as competent may supervise the self-administration of medication by a client or may administer medication to a client.

(4) the determination of competency and annual validation required in this section shall be conducted by a registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 464 or a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or chapter 459.

(5) the agency shall establish by rule standards and procedures that a direct service provider must follow when supervising the self-administration of medication by a client and when administering medication to a client. such rules must, at a minimum, address requirements for labeling medication, documentation and recordkeeping, the storage and disposal of medication, instructions concerning the safe administration of medication or supervision of self-administered medication, informed-consent requirements and records, and the training curriculum and validation procedures.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I Am A Certified Med Tech In The State Of Missouri,and Would Like To Relocate To Florida. But I Do Not Know Where To Get My Certification For Florida. I Have Called Eveyone From The Stae To The Dept Of Health. Can Anyone Help Me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice, ALF, Prison.

Missouri,and Would Like To Relocate To Florida. But I Do Not Know Where To Get My Certification For Florida. I Have Called Eveyone From The Stae To The Dept Of Health. Can Anyone Help Me.

Med Techs work in ALF's, which typically pay less than CNA in LTC. Under 10 bucks.

To be licensed in Florida as a med tech, the ALF's themselves sponsor the four hour class and then give you the certificate. Many times they will hold the certificate to guarentee you staying there. Then you need to take a two hour class update on a yearly basis, usually the ALF will just make you sit through another four hour class.

There is no certification/registration with the State for med techs although it is regulated by statue.

You will make more money as a CNA, licensed/registered by the state, there are more opportunities also.

Hope this helps. Welcome to Gods waiting room! :coollook:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hey where are you moving in florida....you can either pay a training program for the four hour class, or get hired by an assisted living facilty (they will pay)...I am a med tech, but just currently took the CNA class for $250/136 (state fee for exam). You will earn a lot more going the CNA route. If you are moving to the Tampa Bay area (Tampa, clearwater, St. Petersburg, Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Holiday, New port Richey, Hudson) you can take an exam prep through CNAmedprep.com....they offer CNA and Med Tech courses.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have been teaching the four hour Medication Assistant program and the annual 2 hour update since 2001. Please be advised that staff who have successfully completed the course are NOT "LICENSED"- they are "CERTIFIED", which is a world of difference.

Those having received the 4 hour ALF training are NOT med techs, although many facilites give them that title- in fact they a Resident Medication Assistants.

A MED TECH is licensed after having completed extensive training- as such, the tech is legally accountable for his practice, similar to a Licensed Nurse.

Please be careful of this one, nurses. Technically you are legally responsible.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment