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There is no question that pharmacies that compound specific drugs for individual patients are an important part of health care today. Compounding pharmacies formulate therapeutic and diagnostic preparations for physicians in practice and those engaged in research. These pharmacies include hospital pharmacies, neighborhood pharmacies, chain pharmacies, nuclear pharmacies, specialty pharmacies, and others. These pharmacies are essential if the healthcare system is to serve populations with particular needs. Strict compliance with all the laws, regulations, and standards is vital to the provision of compounded preparations that are safe and effective.
However, the system is not perfect and problems can occur in the compounding of prescriptions with materials that may be labeled incorrectly or are contaminated, or errors involved in compounding procedures. We are going to discuss the compounding of preparations that do not meet the required standard of quality and why they occur. Some errors are minimal with no adverse effects; however, some are serious and lead to patient harm and even death, as has been covered by the media.
Classification, Description, and Prevention of Errors
Compounding errors can be divided into the following categories:
- general errors,
- incorrect ingredients,
- incorrect concentration,
- incorrect use of equipment,
- physicochemical issues,
- microbiological contamination,
- analytical testing issues,
- microbiological testing issues, and
- miscellaneous errors.
Over the next several weeks, we will look at compounding errors using the format or subject-headings of "Error Type," "Description," and "Avoiding the Error."
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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