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Have you ever drove up to a restaurant, hotel, or other place and turned around and left? Or, have you gone to a well-respected store to do some shopping, but the sales personnel treated you poorly or made a bad first impression? We probably have all been in that situation several times. Our first impressions and how we are treated determine whether or not we will use that business. The same issues are confronted time after time each day someone drives by your pharmacy or enters your front door.
Compounding pharmacies are unique because we actually prepare the medications that are taken into the body and don't just rely on a drug company to manufacture them. Patients expect the facility to be clean, neat, brightly lit, and well organized. They expect pharmacy personnel to be clean, well-dressed, well-groomed, knowledgeable, helpful, and polite.
The "presentation" of your compounding pharmacy is very important to growing and maintaining your patients. It is great if the arrangement is such that the area where the compounding is done can be viewed through a glass, etc. If not, it may be reasonable to install a camera with a video screen where patients can see the activity in the compounding area. Obviously, it is important that compounding personnel be aware and follow standard operating procedures, etc.
Another activity is the development of a "bag stuffer" using photographs of your facility with accompanying brief narrative and an explanation of your compounding activities. Along with this could be newspaper ads, local magazine ads/articles, etc. This may lead to "presentations" to local clubs, church groups, etc., as discussed last week.
As we all know when dining out, presentation is important. Promote your professionalism and interest and concern for your patients' health.
Loyd V. Allen, Jr., PhD, RPh
Editor-in-Chief
International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding
Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy Twenty-second edition
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News
Acetylcysteine Solution 10% in Multiple Doses Now Available
Fresenius Kabi, a Germany-based healthcare company, has launched Acetylcysteine Solution USP, 10% in multiple doses of 4-mL, 10-mL, and 30-mL vials. The drug has been on the drug-shortage lists maintained by both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. With the launch of Acetylcysteine Solution USP, 10%, the company now provides the largest portfolio of Acetylcysteine Solution products.
http://drugdelivery.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/news/fresenius-kabi-launches-acetylcysteine-solution-10-in-multiple-doses-190814-4346595
Sun Pharma Recalls Nearly 500,000 Bottles of Antibiotics
According to the FDA, Caraco is recalling 454,230 cephalexin capsules in 250-mg and 500-mg doses because it wasn't following GMPs when it made the active pharmaceutical ingredients that went into them.
http://www.fiercepharmamanufacturing.com/story/sun-pharma-recalls-nearly-500000-bottles-antibiotics/2014-08-15
FDA Warning Letter Says Marck (Amanta) Plant Plagued by Faked Records and Dead Frogs
The FDA has issued an import alert against what was Marck Biosciences sterile manufacturing plant in Kheda, India. The name has been changed to Amanta. Employees had recorded data for functions that were not performed and records, if kept at all, were often put on "scratch paper." A bathroom adjacent to the sterile line was filled with mold, and an exit loading dock was littered with dead and decaying frogs. A ceiling in the sterile manufacturing area had caved in and there were "numerous dead insects in the Sample Pass Through Room," near the sterile filling line of a parenterals facility. This ban on the Marck plant adds it to a growing list of Indian drug makers, including Ranbaxy Laboratories, Sun Pharmaceuticals, and Wockhardt, that have had plants banned for some of the same kinds of issues.
http://www.fiercepharmamanufacturing.com/story/fda-warning-letter-says-marck-plant-plagued-faked-records-and-dead-frogs/2014-08-19
Brand-Name Firms Liable for Warnings on Generic Medications, Alabama Supreme Court Rules
Brand-name drug makers can be held liable for warnings on a generic medication even if it was produced by another company, affirming an earlier decision that business leaders viewed as a defeat. The federal lawsuit was against five current and former drug makers for injuries allegedly suffered from the long-term use of metoclopramide, which is the generic form of Reglan. The couple claimed warning labels on the generic medication failed to adequately describe possible hazards. The court said it's not unfair to hold the maker of a brand-name drug liable for warnings on a generic medication if the maker of the generic drug only copied warnings first issued by the brand-name manufacturer, a practice permitted by the FDA.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2014/08/17/337709.htm
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