"Compliant Compounding Meeting USP 797 Pharmacy Regulations", (c) Linda D. Lee, Health Facilities Management, 20 February, 2010

Maintaining the sterility of an environment where pharmaceuticals are prepared protects both patients and pharmacy staff. That is why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state boards of pharmacy and accrediting agencies such as the Joint Commission and the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board enforce the standards of the United States Pharmacopeia's (USP's) General Chapter 797 Pharmaceutical Compounding—Sterile Preparations, which is commonly known as "USP 797." read more

"Lake Elsinore Drugstore Design a Hit", (c) Gene Ghiotto, The Press Enterprise, 9 May, 2010

"The building going in at the entrance to Lake Elsinore's Ballpark District won't be another baseball stadium.   It'll look like one, but it'll be a drugstore.  "We've tried to bring as much brick and the concept of the ballpark -- the Wrigley Field type of stadium -- to this as we could," architect David McDowell told the council when the project was approved in April..." read more

"CVS to Open Large Store at The Edge", (c) Linda Collins, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 5 May, 2010

"Reportedly the nation’s largest pharmacy, CVS will create a 24-hour store in a 13,000-square-foot ground floor corner space at North Sixth Street and Kent Avenue.   It will also be Williamsburg’s largest drug store, according to broker Robert Greenstone, CEO of Greenstone Realty, who brokered both transactions..." read more

UT Pharmacy College Gets $4.5M Grant from Plough Foundation, (c) Memphis Business Journal, 23 March, 2010

"University of Tennessee Health Science Center View Larger The University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s College of Pharmacy has received a $4.5 million grant from The Plough Foundation to establish the Plough Center for Sterile Drug Delivery Systems.   The 5,800-square-foot facility will be built on the sixth floor of the $65 million UT College of Pharmacy Building under construction at the UT-Baptist Research Park in the medical district. The college is scheduled to open this fall..." read more

Pharmacists Set the Vision for a Stronger Tomorrow, (c) Sharon Corbitt, American Pharmacists Association, 15 March, 2010

"The American Pharmacists Association's incoming President Harold N. Godwin of Shawnee Mission, Kansas, spoke to APhA2010 Annual Meeting attendees during the second general session.  With the meeting convening in the nation’s capital, Godwin began his remarks by encouraging pharmacists to take inspiration from the challenges this nation faced in its growth and development, as they focus on improving medication use and advancing patient care during these tough economic times..." read more

"Maury Regional Medical Center to Revolutionize Pharmacy Workflow with Swisslog's Advanced Pharmacy Automation Solutions", (c) PR Newswire, 11 March, 2010

"Swisslog, a leading provider of automated materials transport and pharmacy automation solutions for hospitals, today announced that Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia, Tenn. has selected Swisslog's Beacon System and ATP High Speed Packager for its pharmacy automation needs..." read more

"HealthyPharmacies.org Seeks to Design, Build Wellness Centers in Pharmacies", (c) Michael Johnsen, DrugstoreNews.com, January 14, 2010

"HealthyPharmacies.org announced Thursday a series of store-of-the-future-type pilot programs that will be showcased here beginning this summer. The new nonprofit is working to design and build turnkey wellness centers in retail pharmacy locations.   Each center will include an educational component with both live and DVD-based classes, as well as healthcare professionals on hand to offer advice and guidance and to supervise educational events..."  read more

"Public Wants More Pharmacy Services, Study Says", (c) Alex Franklin Stortford, Mediplacements.com, January 21, 2010

"People in the UK are calling for more pharmacy services to become accessible so they can take advantage of local healthcare, a new survey has revealed.   Conducted by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, the report showed that 80 per cent of the public would welcome moves to introduce more community pharmacies to provide an easy way to get medicine and treatments, the Chemist & Druggist reports..."  read more

"Haiti Diary: Pharmacy Perspective - One of Eight Pharmacists on a Relief Team Chronicles His Experiences", (c) Bill Drake, American Pharmacy Association, January 13, 2010

"I am one of the Chief Pharmacists for the Department of Health & Human Services Disaster Response Teams. Officially I work for HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Response and Preparedness/Office of Preparedness and Emergency Operations, National Disaster Medical Systems. I am part of the command and control group that deploys forward during a federally declared disaster or emergency response..."  read more

USP 797 Compliance in 2009, (c) William N. Bernstein, LEED®AP, AIA, 19 October 2009

"An interesting survey of USP 797 compliance in the United States in 2009 was recently published in Pharmacy Purchasing & Products magazine (www.pppmag.com). Published in the September 2009 issue feature entitled “State of Pharmacy Compounding”, the article provides a unique perspective on the level of USP 797 compliance as of today, and the expected level of USP 797 compliance in the future. The survey looks at various areas of USP 797 compliance. addressing enforceability ..." read more

USP Chapter 797 on Enforceability, (c) USP 797 Guidebook to Pharmaceutical Compounding-Sterile Preparations, 25 August 2008

"In the USP 797 Guidebook to Pharmaceutical Compounding-Sterile Preparations, USP “attempts to clarify the enforceability” of Chapter 797. The guidebook is a compilation of the full text of Chapter 797, public comments with responses from the committee which formulated the document, and five pages addressing enforceability." read more...

The Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology continues to provide its members through New News You Can Use with socioeconomic information to improve practice management. This section in Allergy and Asthma Proceedings reaches out to a larger allergy audience and is useful to expand on specific issues or concerns that may have a considerable impact on the allergist’s practice. This section is not meant to eliminate the importance of joining the JCAAI, which informs its membership weekly on critical rapidly changing issues facing medicine and allergy in particular, and what the JCAAI, made up of leaders from both the AAAAI and ACAAI, is doing to find solutions.  read more...

January 20081 was the initial target date the Joint Commission set for full compliance with USP <797>. However most US pharmacies are still scrambling to meet the deadline. Outsourcing of pharmacy IV admixtures is one compounding option that has been considered to ‘fast-track’ compliance. While this option may work in some niche applications, this paper concludes that outsourcing alone, or in combination with immediate-use mixing and ready-to-use doses, is not the answer to USP <797> compliance for comprehensive and appropriate pharmacy services.  read more...

"USP Releases Chapter 797 Revision", (c) Cheryl Thompson, Health-System Pharmacy News, 3/12/07

The new version of United States Pharmacopeia (USP) chapter 797, "Pharmaceutical Compounding—Sterile Preparations," became publicly available today and goes into effect June 1, 2008.  read more...

Communication Breakdowns and Improperly Programmed IV Pumps Cause Harmful Medication Errors in Hospital Intensive Care Units,
United States Pharmacopeia (USP), 2/15/06

"Largest National Data Set of Intensive Care Unit (ICU)Medication Errors Identifies Areas Needing Improvement - Rockville, Md., February 15, 2006—The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) today announced that communication failures and improper programming of IV pumps are among the leading causes of harmful medication errors in a hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU)."  read more...

Revising the Medicare Model Guidelines,
United States Pharmacopeia (USP), 2/06

"In addition to creating the Model Guidelines, the Medicare Modernization Act also designates USP "to revise such classification from time to time to reflect changes in therapeutic uses of covered part D drugs and additions of new covered part D drugs." The links below provide additional information regarding USP's approach to the revision process."  read more...

"Medication Errors in Intensive Care Units",
(c) United States Pharmacopeia (USP), 2/15/06

"The below information represents a small portion of data and information contained in USP's most recent MEDMARX Data Report: A Chartbook of 2000–2004 Findings from Intensive Care Units and Radiological Services"   read more...

USP Offers Consumer Tips to Help Avoid Dangerous Medication Errors During Radiological Procedures,
United States Pharmacopeia (USP), 1/25/06

"300 Million Radiological  Procedures Performed Each Year; Informed Consumers Can Help Reduce High Error Rate - Many patients think that radiological services are noninvasive routine procedures with little to no medication risk. The truth is, radiological services (which are much more than just x-rays and MRIs) include complex procedures that may use high-risk drugs. A recent report from the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) showed that harmful medication errors occur seven times more often in radiological services than in the overall healthcare system. Fortunately, informed consumers can take steps to protect themselves."   read more...

Pharmacy Facts Architectural and environmental changes required for USP 797, Health Facilities management Magazine,  July 15, 2005
By William N. Bernstein, AIA, ACHA

07/15/05: Bernstein & Associates, Architects (www.bernarch.com) announces that a new article on usp 797 facility design has been published in Health Facilities Management. Entitled "Pharmacy Facts: Architectural and Environmental Changes Required for USP 797", it was written by company principal William N. Bernstein, AIA. The article is a review of the 2005 usp 797 guideline, in terms of its impact on the design and construction of usp 797 compliant facilities. For further information on design and construction of usp 797 compliant facilities, contact:

William N. Bernstein, AIA
Principal
Bernstein & Associates, Architects - PLLC
59 West 19th Street - 6A | New York, NY  10011
Office: 212.463.8200 | Fax: 212.463.9898
Email: wb@bernarch.com  
www.bernarch.com

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