Free practice quiz
CSPT Prep Course (CSPT): free quiz
10 questions from the program. See your score right away, then unlock the explanation of every answer.
- Question 1 of 10A patient’s specialty prescription is for Humira (adalimumab) 40 mg/0.4 mL pen, inject 40 mg subcutaneously every other week. Under pharmacist supervision during intake, which technician action best reflects core specialty pharmacy characteristics for this high-cost, high-touch medication?
Review Specialty Pharmacy Characteristics
B is correct: specialty pharmacy workflows emphasize access support, restricted fulfillment, documentation, follow-up, and product integrity. A is tempting for access but substitution and counseling require policy, law, and pharmacist oversight. C is a dose-adjustment trap; changing frequency is outside technician scope. D is an interaction trap; methotrexate questions require pharmacist review, not technician counseling.
Pharmacist Action: NOTICE payer, REMS, cold-chain, or dosing red flags; SAY nonclinical status updates only; MONITOR documentation and shipment milestones each fill; HOLD/CLARIFY/ESCALATE any clinical, substitution, interaction, or dose-change issue. - Question 2 of 10
A specialty pharmacy receives a new prescription for adalimumab 40 mg/0.4 mL subcutaneously every other week for fictional patient Mira Lee. The pharmacist will perform clinical verification and counseling. During intake, the payer rejects the claim requiring prior authorization and updated insurance information. Which action is within the specialty pharmacy technician’s allowed function?
Allowed technician function
B is correct. The technician may collect demographics/insurance, document adjudication results, and prepare PA materials; pharmacist or prescriber review preserves clinical and legal boundaries. A is tempting because payer edits often involve dose or days-supply changes, but changing adalimumab dose is a prescriber/pharmacist-scope clinical action. C is tempting because the FDA label warns about infection and live vaccines, but counseling on interaction risk must be referred to the pharmacist. D is tempting because matching criteria supports access, but technicians do not approve clinical PA determinations.
Pharmacist Action: NOTICE PA rejection; SAY nonclinical status only; MONITOR task aging daily; HOLD/CLARIFY/ESCALATE any dose, interaction, or clinical-criteria question. - Question 3 of 10
A prescription is received for adalimumab 40 mg/0.4 mL pen, inject 40 mg subcutaneously every other week. Under pharmacist oversight, the technician calls the prescriber’s office because the patient’s insurance ID is missing before benefits investigation can proceed. Which documentation entry best supports access workflow?
B is correct: specialty access documentation should capture date, time, source, content, and outcome so PA, benefits, and shipment work are traceable. D is tempting because contact occurred, but omitting outcome and follow-up delays resolution. C is a data-integrity trap; estimated insurance data can cause claim errors and privacy risks. A is tempting for speed, but technician documentation cannot replace pharmacist verification or required payer information before shipment.
- Question 4 of 10
A specialty prescription arrives for fictional patient Mira Chen: ustekinumab 90 mg/mL syringe, inject 90 mg subcutaneously every 8 weeks, quantity 1 syringe, refills 5. The prescriber’s name, NPI, and signature are present, but the patient address is missing and the date of birth is unreadable. Under pharmacist oversight, what should the specialty pharmacy technician do during intake?
B is correct. Required prescription intake elements include accurate patient, prescriber, drug, strength, route, directions, and quantity information; missing identifiers must be clarified rather than inferred. A is tempting because core drug directions are present, but legal and organizational completeness also require reliable patient identification. D is a dose-interval trap: technicians must not change ustekinumab directions based on clinical assumptions. C is an interaction trap: vaccine concerns require pharmacist review, but they do not allow the technician to declare therapy inappropriate. Escalate incomplete or clinical issues per protocol.
- Question 5 of 10
During pharmacist-supervised intake, a new prescription is received for tacrolimus 1 mg capsules, take 2 capsules by mouth every 12 hours. The profile search finds two fictional patients named Jordan Lee: one has the submitted date of birth but an old address; the other has the current address but a different date of birth and allergy record. Before claim submission and shipment, what should the specialty pharmacy technician do?
D is correct. Tacrolimus has narrow therapeutic-index PK/PD and major CYP3A interaction risk, so wrong-patient profiling can cause unsafe dose, allergy, claim, or shipment errors. Verify identifiers and escalate before processing. B is tempting because the address helps delivery, but a DOB mismatch is a patient-identity red flag. A is tempting because the regimen fits tacrolimus use, but technicians must not merge uncertain profiles without policy-based verification. C is tempting because DOB matches, but copying allergies from another profile can create false safety data. NOTICE identity mismatch; SAY verification is needed; MONITOR profile/claim fields each intake; HOLD/CLARIFY/ESCALATE when identifiers conflict.
- Question 6 of 10
A prescription for adalimumab 40 mg/0.4 mL pen, inject 40 mg subcutaneously every other week, is entered under the pharmacist-approved intake workflow. Primary claim adjudication returns reject code 75: prior authorization required. Demographics, insurance ID, and days’ supply were entered correctly. What should the specialty pharmacy technician do next?
Basic claim adjudication flow
B is correct. A reject for prior authorization is an access/benefit barrier; the technician documents the payer response and routes the case per workflow. D is tempting because quantity edits can be corrected, but changing dose or days’ supply to bypass coverage is inappropriate. C confuses a PA reject with a DUR interaction; technicians must not override pharmacist-scope safety review. A is tempting for affordability, but copay support generally follows valid primary insurance adjudication and program rules.
NOTICE: PA reject. SAY: claim needs PA follow-up. MONITOR: payer status daily per policy. HOLD/CLARIFY/ESCALATE: if clinical criteria or therapy questions arise. - Question 7 of 10
A specialty prescription is received for adalimumab 40 mg subcutaneously every other week. Before pharmacist review and claim submission, the patient reports a new employer plan, while the profile still lists the old BIN/PCN and a copay card. What should the technician do first to support an accurate benefits investigation?
D is correct. Benefits investigation depends on current payer identifiers, coordination of primary/secondary coverage, and dated documentation. A is tempting because therapy is unchanged, but payer eligibility—not drug PK/PD—drives claim routing. C is tempting for high-cost biologics, but assistance usually requires valid primary coverage details first. B is a dose/quantity-adjustment trap: changing quantity or timing is outside technician scope and must be clarified with the pharmacist or prescriber if needed.
- Question 8 of 10
During intake for adalimumab 40 mg subcutaneously every other week, a pharmacist asks you to assemble a prior authorization packet under site protocol. The patient’s profile also lists methotrexate 15 mg by mouth weekly. The payer’s portal requests diagnosis, prescriber, insurance, dosing, and clinical justification fields. Which action best supports the PA while staying within specialty pharmacy technician scope?
Prior authorization component triage
B is correct: for adalimumab, a specialty TNF inhibitor with payer controls, the technician may organize diagnosis, insurance, prescriber identifiers, payer form, and dosing data, then route clinical justification to the pharmacist/prescriber. D is tempting because labs may support medical necessity, but interpreting them to justify weekly dosing is clinical. C is tempting due a profile interaction concern, but selecting ustekinumab because of methotrexate is therapy selection. A is tempting for quantity-limit denials, but changing every-other-week dosing to weekly is an unauthorized dose change. NOTICE missing payer data; SAY request nonclinical details; MONITOR PA status daily; HOLD/CLARIFY/ESCALATE clinical rationale, interactions, or dose changes.
- Question 9 of 10
A specialty pharmacy receives a payer denial for adalimumab 40 mg/0.4 mL subcutaneously every 14 days. Under pharmacist-supervised workflow, the pharmacist asks you to document the denial and route it per policy before appeal review. The fax states the prior authorization was denied because chart notes documenting a previous TNF inhibitor trial were not included; reconsideration is allowed within 30 days. What is the best technician action?
C is correct: this is an information denial, not a clinical appropriateness decision; documenting reason, date, payer, and next allowable action preserves appeal timelines. A is tempting because TNF inhibitors have clinical criteria, but interaction or therapy selection requires pharmacist review. D captures partial data but omits the operational denial reason, risking missed deadlines. B is a dose-change trap; technicians must not alter adalimumab dose or frequency without authorization. Notice missing chart notes and 30-day limit; say the denial is routed for review; monitor deadline status; escalate if clinical judgment or dose change is needed.
- Question 10 of 10An e-prescription for adalimumab 40 mg/0.4 mL pen, inject 40 mg subcutaneously every other week, is ready for pharmacist review. The drug is refrigerated, high cost, and limited-distribution. On-hand inventory shows 2 pens: 1 allocated to another patient and 1 expiring in 10 days. The payer allows only a 28-day supply. What is the best technician-level inventory action?
Review Specialty Inventory Characteristics
A is correct: adalimumab is a high-cost refrigerated biologic, so access must be balanced with waste prevention, payer supply limits, expiration dating, and patient-specific allocation. C is tempting for continuity, but excessive par stock increases expiration and financial risk. B is tempting because the product matches, but reallocating another patient’s stock can disrupt care and violate allocation controls. D is tempting as a same-class access workaround, but product substitution is outside technician scope and requires pharmacist/prescriber/payer review.
NOTICE allocation, refrigeration, and expiration. SAY documented inventory status. MONITOR par and expirations daily. HOLD/CLARIFY/ESCALATE shortages, substitutions, or claim mismatches.
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