Seventy four percent (74%) of manually compounded sterile product errors are undetectable at final product verification and would reach the patient

By: Scarlett Eckert, Pharmacist Consultant MD Anderson Cancer Center’s implementation of an IV workflow software system that uses gravimetric and barcode verification intercepted over 1,000 errors during manual compounding1. Over a yearlong study conducted from November 2012 to November 2013, 15,843 doses were prepared using this system and 1,126 errors (7.1%) were detected during the... Read more

Categories: Announcements | Automation | Blog | ROI | Safety
Tags: Automated Compounding System | Error Reduction | Manual Compounding | Safety | Verification

Automated compounding enhances safety and regulatory compliance

By Niels Erik Hansen, Ph.D. In January, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report about hospitals’ use of standalone compounding pharmacies to produce compounded sterile preparations (CSPs). The study was spurred by concerns about the quality of CSPs following the 2012 meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated... Read more

Categories: Automation | Blog | Regulatory | Safety
Tags: Automated Compounding System | Error Reduction | Manual Compounding | Safety | VerificationDrug Quality and Security Act | Manual Compounding | RIVA | Safety | Sterile Compounding

University of Arizona Study Estimates Cost Avoidances from Reducing IV Preparation Errors

By Craig A. Boyce, RPh Current IV compounding is still largely based on human manual processes and visual inspection, where the safety of a dose depends on the how well staff follow proper technique.  This manual processing is complex and while pharmacies rely on visual inspections and checks during dose preparations, errors can still find... Read more

Categories: Announcements | Blog
Tags: Automated Compounding System | Error Reduction | Manual Compounding | Safety | VerificationDrug Quality and Security Act | Manual Compounding | RIVA | Safety | Sterile CompoundingError Reduction | IV compounding | IV preparation | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy Automation

Mitigating risk with pharmacy automation

By Niels Erik Hansen, Ph.D. Evidence shows the risk of patient injury from medication errors is substantial and costly – especially errors associated with injectable medications. A first-of-its-kind study published in American Health & Drug Benefits in 2012 uncovered some sobering facts: • Adverse drug events (ADEs) from injectable medications kill up to 7,000 patients... Read more

Categories: Automation | Blog | Safety
Tags: Automated Compounding System | Error Reduction | Manual Compounding | Safety | VerificationDrug Quality and Security Act | Manual Compounding | RIVA | Safety | Sterile CompoundingError Reduction | IV compounding | IV preparation | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy AutomationADE | Adverse drug event | Automation | Error Reduction | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy Automation

Recent Regulatory Actions: Focus on Quality in Compounding

by Craig A. Boyce , RPh Over the past month, a number of regulatory changes have occurred surrounding aseptic and sterile compounding.  Some of the significant regulatory actions include:  FDA release of the cGMP Interim Guidance for Human Drug Compounding Outsourcing Facilities Under Section 503B of the FD&C Act (7-1-2014)  Massachusetts passage and signing of... Read more

Categories: Blog | Regulatory | Safety
Tags: Automated Compounding System | Error Reduction | Manual Compounding | Safety | VerificationDrug Quality and Security Act | Manual Compounding | RIVA | Safety | Sterile CompoundingError Reduction | IV compounding | IV preparation | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy AutomationADE | Adverse drug event | Automation | Error Reduction | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy AutomationAseptic | cGMP | FDA | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | QbD | Quality by Design | Sterile Compounding | USP 795 | USP 797

Improving Medication Safety Helps Control Costs

By Niels Erik Hansen, PhD If ongoing news reports of pharmacy product contaminations, recalls and patient injuries aren’t enough to prompt reforms to reduce errors in the compounding of IV medications, a study published late last year — which shows the significant cost burden hospitals bear from IV medication errors — should be. The report,... Read more

Categories: Automation | Blog | Efficiency | ROI | Safety
Tags: Automated Compounding System | Error Reduction | Manual Compounding | Safety | VerificationDrug Quality and Security Act | Manual Compounding | RIVA | Safety | Sterile CompoundingError Reduction | IV compounding | IV preparation | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy AutomationADE | Adverse drug event | Automation | Error Reduction | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy AutomationAseptic | cGMP | FDA | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | QbD | Quality by Design | Sterile Compounding | USP 795 | USP 797Automation | Contamination | Efficiency | Error | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy Automation | Safety | UV

Pharmacy IV automation a mature, proven technology

By Niels Erik Hansen, Ph.D. As automation technologies enhance a growing number of hospital services – including imaging, surgery, radiotherapy and rehabilitation, among others – the hospital pharmacy remains largely un-automated. Despite its central role in patient care, technicians in most hospital pharmacies still compound medications manually, in much the same way it’s been done... Read more

Categories: Automation | Blog
Tags: Automated Compounding System | Error Reduction | Manual Compounding | Safety | VerificationDrug Quality and Security Act | Manual Compounding | RIVA | Safety | Sterile CompoundingError Reduction | IV compounding | IV preparation | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy AutomationADE | Adverse drug event | Automation | Error Reduction | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy AutomationAseptic | cGMP | FDA | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | QbD | Quality by Design | Sterile Compounding | USP 795 | USP 797Automation | Contamination | Efficiency | Error | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy Automation | Safety | UVAutomation | IV compounding | Manual Compounding | Pharmacy Automation | RIVA
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