What to do When Building/Renovating Your Pharmacy
Assemble the Team:
- Architects
- Compliance
- Engineering
- Infection Control
- Nursing
- Pharmacy Management
- Pharmacy Technicians
- Project Management
Common Mistakes
Resources:
- Budget is not appropriate to deliver quality
- Corporate leadership does not understand risk (operational and financial) if not properly planned and constructed
- Pharmacy Management not supported with compliance expertise
- Project is lacking key stakeholders
Design:
- Airflows and Ventilation of Hazardous Drug (HD) Receipt, Storage and Mixing rooms
- BSCs placed too close to ceiling HEPAs
- Cleanrooms not sized for growth and redundancy
- Inappropriate finishes including ceilings, floors, paint, walls, etc.
- Inappropriate HVAC design yielding ongoing airflow issues
- Lack of continuous monitoring devices for temperature, relative humidity and differential pressure
- Misplacement of line of demarcation and sink
- Not recognizing impact of process flows and storage in the design
Construction:
- Lack of owner presence during the process
- No operational and cleaning procedures in place
- No process to verify as-built conditions to the approved design
- Unprepared for construction delays
Post-Construction:
- Incomplete commissioning, HVAC balancing and certification
- Lack of comprehensive cleaning and environmental sampling prior to inspection
- No staff training to ensure personnel and material workflows make the engineering controls effective
Q