Clean Air Technology & Supplies Q&A | Jim Wagner, President, CEC
Q. We find ourselves spending a significant amount of money every year to certify our cleanrooms and laminar flow devices. Is it necessary to do this testing twice a year? The short answer is yes, USP chapters and regulators mandate certification be done every six months. This answer, however, ignores the real reasons certification twice […]
NSF/ANSI 456 Vaccine Storage Standard
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine providers and program administrators faced significant challenges as they navigated the selection and purchase of effective vaccine storage equipment. Because vaccines require storage at specified temperature ranges, refrigerators and freezers play a significant role in the storage and handling process. Proper storage is critical to ensure the safety and […]
Provide Protection: Closed-System Transfer Devices (CSTDs)
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a closed system drug-transfer device (CSTD) as a system that “mechanically prohibits the transfer of environmental contaminants into the system and the escape of hazardous drug or vapor concentrations outside the system.” CSTDs are designed to provide protection against hazardous exposures to healthcare workers who are compounding […]
Pharmacy Management Software Q&A | Eric Shoffner, BPharm
Features and benefits to consider when buying or using a pharmacy management system. Q. How user-friendly is the (pharmacy management software) “system”? From past experience, I have found that a difficult system can be mastered by long-term and committed employees (pharmacist/techs). I have also found that turnover is a major factor in our industry. Always […]
Adherence Packaging Q&A | Sebastian Hamilton, BSPharm, MBA, Pharm.D, RPh, Boston Medical Center
Compliance packaging may seem like a relatively new concept due to recent attention, but this form of packaging has been used for decades. From strip, to blister or “bingo” card packaging, to the more basic type seen in home daily planners patients purchase on their own, the concept is the same; to breakdown complex daily […]
Drug Diversion Q&A | John Burke, President, International Health Facility Diversion Association
Q. Do you think that the incidents of drug diversion within healthcare facilities have called off since the advent of the pandemic? Definitely not. Most healthcare facilities diverted personnel from the jobs of monitoring and detecting drug diversion in their facility to address the urgent needs of the COVID problem. This means that whatever was […]
Long Term Care Delivery / Back-up Pharmacy Services Q&A | Kevin R. Fearson, R.Ph, MBA, FASCP, President ASCP
Q. Does Absolute Pharmacy use a delivery service or backup services? Why? Absolute Pharmacy is open 24/7 so most stat deliveries are fulfilled in-house at our pharmacy. We do have an extensive network of retail, institution, and hospital pharmacies that are used as needed to fulfill orders that are urgent, backordered drugs, and/ or unplanned events. Our private delivery service […]
Environmental Monitoring Q&A | Rosemary Kalenze, PharmD, Altru Health System
Q: What does environmental monitoring look like in your pharmacy settings? It looks different depending upon the setting but is important and required in each. In all settings we continuously monitor the temperature of the ambient spaces, refrigerators, and freezers. We also monitor humidity of our storage and medication preparation areas. Q: How does environmental […]
Drug Distributors & Wholesalers Q&A | Nicholas Shanos, RPh, Owner of Suburban Pharmacy, Inc. and Melissa, Pharm D Candidate 2021
Q: What are the advantages of using multiple wholesalers versus one primary vendor? Availability: When there’s a drug shortage or an interruption of drug supply we have the choice of more wholesalers to increase the odds of receiving the product. Price comparison: We gain the ability to have the choice to compare different drug prices […]
