Clinical Compliance for Pharmacy Programs

PharmD students complete at least 300 IPPE hours and at least 1,440 APPE hours in community and health-system settings. Technician students complete experiential hours in licensed pharmacies. Each setting brings its own clearance rules, and some states add intern registration.

Pharmacy programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE); technician programs by ASHP and ACPE. Your clinical sites and affiliation agreements decide the exact list, so treat this as a starting point, not a substitute for your own standards.

What pharmacy students usually need before IPPE and APPE rotations

Immunizations. CDC recommends hepatitis B, MMR, varicella, Tdap and annual influenza vaccination for healthcare personnel, proven by records or titers. (source) See titer testing explained.
TB screening. CDC recommends baseline screening for all healthcare personnel and no routine annual testing without an exposure, but many clinical sites still set their own schedule. (source) See TB testing requirements.
CPR / BLS certification, tracked to its expiration so a lapse is caught before a rotation, not during it.
Background check, often with healthcare sanctions screening for hospital placements. See student background checks.
Drug screen, usually a 10-panel urine screen (ours includes oxycodone) before the first placement.
N95 fit testing where a site requires respirators. Students aren't employees under OSHA, so the requirement comes from the site; when it applies, OSHA's standard calls for a fit test before first use and at least annually. (source) See N95 fit testing.

What's specific to Pharmacy programs

Immunization standards. ACPE Standards 2025 (4.1.e) require that appropriate immunization standards are established. (source)
Technician programs. The ASHP/ACPE technician standard requires a documented process to assess applicants' illicit drug use, criminal background and immunization status to meet the requirements of externship sites, employers and state boards. (source)
State intern registration. Some boards require it before experiential work. Texas requires fingerprinting for intern registration; Florida requires students in an accredited program to register as pharmacy interns with background screening. (source)

How Drug Free Schools handles it

One portal, your requirement list. Set how each item renews: flu by season, CPR through the end of the printed month, Tdap every ten years. Add another way to meet a requirement, or a declination pathway.
Every upload reviewed within 24 hours. If something is wrong, the student sees the exact reason and what to upload instead.
Upload guides for every requirement: an example of the right document, the common reasons for rejection, and a blank form to download.
Deadlines and reminders by email and text, and a dashboard that shows anyone not cleared for an upcoming rotation.
Clinical sites built in. Track affiliation agreements, assign students to rotations, log clinical hours, and block anyone who isn't cleared from being placed. Send a site exactly the records it needs through a secure link with an access code that expires in 30 days.

For pharmacy: Track each student's state intern registration as a requirement with its own expiration date, next to immunizations and screenings.

$30

per student portal, one time for the whole program. Free staff accounts.

From $25

per student for on-campus drug screening (by cohort size); $25 in-house kits for small groups

$40–$55

10-panel, 11-panel with alcohol or 12-panel at Quest locations nationwide

$35/$70

background checks; N95 fit testing on campus $25–$35

Family owned since 1995 in Memphis, with support 7 days a week by phone, text or email for students and school staff.

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Set up in about 5 minutes with your program’s requirements. No meeting needed.

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See the director dashboard (3:06)

Recorded in the live portal: the rotation check dashboard, document review, requirement rules, clinical sites and rotations, and secure links for sending records to a site.

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Frequently asked questions

What do pharmacy students need before IPPE and APPE rotations?

Most sites ask for the immunizations CDC recommends for healthcare personnel (hepatitis B, MMR, varicella, Tdap and annual flu), TB screening, CPR, a background check and a drug screen, plus N95 fit testing where respirators are used. Pharmacy programs also document the items their accreditor names; the exact list comes from your clinical sites and affiliation agreements.

Do pharmacy technician students need a drug screen?

The ASHP/ACPE technician standard requires programs to have a documented process to assess illicit drug use and criminal background to meet site and board requirements. We offer drug screens on campus or at Quest locations and background checks from $35.

How much does the compliance portal cost?

$30 per student, one time for the whole program, not a yearly fee. Administrator and faculty accounts are free, and the school can pay instead of the student.

Can one portal cover all of our health science programs?

Yes. Each program gets its own requirement list and renewal rules, while the school has one portal and one support line, 7 days a week by phone, text or email, for students and school staff.

Sources

This page summarizes public accreditor, CDC and OSHA documents as of September 2026. Requirements vary by school, clinical site and state; confirm against your current standards and affiliation agreements. Quest Diagnostics is a trademark of its owner.