Important Standards of the USP 797 Guidelines for the Hospitals

The effectiveness of compounding sterile preparations increases when the standards of USP 797 guidelines for hospitals are complied with. Sterile compounding is the practice of preparing medication for patients with specific requirements and catering to their needs. By carefully adhering to the USP standards, pharmaceutical experts can deliver the very best of their services to the patients.

The standards can be divided into three broad categories of personnel, engineering/facility designs and environmental controls.

Personnel Standards

The most important standard, that has to be followed according to USP 797 guidelines for hospitals, is to have well trained and routinely-monitored personnel. Personnel can be one of the first reasons of microbial contamination. Here are the best ways to provide maximum cleanliness.

Wear Sterile Gloves: The maximum amount of contamination that has been noted is because of operators who avoided sterile gloves. Sterile gloves have no other alternatives and their use in regards to sterile compounding should never be compromised.

Garb Properly: Regardless of the risk level in your compounding process, garbing properly is very much necessary. Personnel should always wear face masks, shoe covers, gowns and hair covers to be safe themselves and prevent contamination of the process.

Train, Test and Monitor: The expert compounding personnel are considered to be the best asset for a pharmacy. They should be further trained and evaluated to increase competency and skill to avoid any kind of negative patient outcomes.

Engineering and Facility Designing

This is the second area that requires strict adherence to standards. The following are the fields that need focus for pharmacy performance improvement.

Air Quality: the designing of the air ventilation should be such that it allows next to zero microbial contamination. A high quality design is critical along with its regular maintenance for maximum benefits.

Line of Demarcation: There should be a clear line of demarcation to separate the compounding area from the rest of the area. This standard is however avoided by many leading pharmacies and can be a cause of concern.

Environmental Controls

A good compounding environment should comply with management programs to track even the slightest hint of contamination. Important environmental standards include environmental sampling plan, microbial and particulate monitoring. These standards allow the pharmacy to make the adjustments that might be needed in regards to sterile compounding.

With these standards being complied to, pharmacies can become experts at sterile compounding along with added benefits like pharmacy performance improvement. Trust the best for receiving the best quality care and services.