They had us at hello. Meet the former receptionist club!
IPM is proud to have SIX staffers launch their careers as front desk receptionists and go on to hold numerous positions within our organization. Now that’s a success story worth sharing!
Pharmacy technicians are the heart of IPM – helping members with everything from eligibility, prior authorizations, refills too soon, plan coverage inquiries, and more.
experience. Each of IPM’s customer service representatives are certified pharmacy technicians. They are knowledgeable in processes related to plan implementation, sharing accumulator and eligibility data, and entering and updating benefit plans. We know they are qualified to do the job, but how did they get here?
“I knew I was interested in the healthcare industry, but I didn’t always know in what way. Initially, I thought I wanted to become a pharmacist. I was looking at a program to become a Doctor of Pharmacy and have an MBA after six years. However, I was a little hesitant because I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to be a pharmacist, and the credits in this program were non-transferrable. I didn’t want to invest my time and resources into something I wasn’t all the way sold on.
So I decided to get my pharmacy technician license as a way of testing the waters. I figured that would help me get a feel for the pharmacy world and know if I wanted to continue down the path to becoming a Doctor of Pharmacy. I went to a local community college and got my certification.
As it turns out, I didn’t want to be a Doctor of Pharmacy. But I did want to continue in the healthcare industry. After coming to IPM, I learned that there are so many ways to utilize a pharmacy technician license. I went on to earn my B.S. in Business and recently completed an MBA in Health Care Administration. I still keep my pharmacy technician certification active, and I am grateful for the role it has played in getting me to where I am today.”
Erica Gong, Risk Management Project Manager
The routes to becoming a pharmacy technician can vary widely. While a high school diploma or equivalent is typically required, the education requirements vary by state. Many pharmacy technicians receive on-the-job training, with each employer having different areas of focus, training protocols, and lengths of time required. Some on-the-job training can be completed in as little as three months, while other programs can require a full year.
Another route to receiving the pharmacy technician designation is through a vocational or community college. Here students study topics like math, data entry, medication dispensing, pharmacy law, and other applicable topics. With this flexible path, many people decide the minimal barriers to entry make a pharmacy technician certification an attractive option.
“The summer before my senior year I wanted to borrow my grandma’s car to go to the mall, so I told her I wanted to go ‘look for a job.’ Well, the joke ended up being on me. When I got back to my grandma’s she had picked up her prescriptions at a local pharmacy, and I had a job interview.
I initially got hired as a pharmacy clerk and wasn’t really looking at making a career out that job. The pharmacist really encouraged me to look at becoming a pharmacy technician. After some initial hesitation I decided I would go get certified.
My local tech school allowed me to get my certification in six months. Since it wasn’t a huge commitment, I was willing to give it a try, and I am so glad I did. It has really opened up a lot of doors for me. I have worked at retail pharmacies, closed-door pharmacies, and now at a PBM.
One cool thing about being a pharmacy technician is the variety of jobs open up to you once you have that certification.”
Chelsi White, Manager, Customer Service Operations
Most, but not all, pharmacy technicians begin their careers in the pharmacy. Depending on their employment, their roles can include:
“After I graduated high school I was unsure of the direction I wanted to go. I was very intimidated by the idea of a big college experience. One day my dad and I were at a local pharmacy. He knew I was searching for my next step, so he asked why not consider becoming a pharmacy technician. I did some research and realized I could complete my training in six months, and that definitely appealed to me.
After graduating, I worked at a retail pharmacy for four years. Honestly, I thought I’d work in a pharmacy forever. However, I started to burn out. I saw an ad for a receptionist at IPM and I jumped. The pharmacy benefit world has opened up so many more career opportunities that I never even imagined I would have. After working as the receptionist, I moved into the customer service department assisting customers and pharmacies and anyone else who needed help. Today, I am an implementation manager, working in a field that I didn’t even know existed as a newly graduated senior all those years ago.”
Jesalyn Jessing, Implementation Manager
The calls to IPM’s call center are almost 50/50 between pharmacies and members. When a member calls and wonders why a claim was rejected, our educated support staff reviews their benefits with them. Sometimes a member’s benefit design does not cover the medication, but often the medication is covered. The prescription just needs to be resubmitted in a way that allows for coverage, i.e., taking a 90-day supply and filling it with three 30-day supplies.
With the majority of IPM’s service center calls focusing on claims data, prior authorizations, plan setups, and member eligibility information, customer service representatives use their knowledge and the data available to resolve most member concerns. They can problem solve issues such as refill-too-soon requests, member eligibility verification, formulary status of medications, and plan coverage inquiries without needing to escalate the inquiry. By minimizing the need for additional layers of oversight, we resolve customer concerns quickly and efficiently.
No two pharmacy technicians have the same path into the PBM industry. We also know that no two customers have the same healthcare journey. For every pharmacy technician who makes IPM a part of their career path we are fortunate to have them on board, providing exceptional care to our clients and members.
IPM is proud to have SIX staffers launch their careers as front desk receptionists and go on to hold numerous positions within our organization. Now that’s a success story worth sharing!
Congratulations to our Client Experience Team, a diverse group of benefits experts, clinicians, data analysts, and licensed pharmacy technicians!
See how IPM takes a holistic approach to managing prior authorizations for clients and members.
