IMO.. the news media’s interest in NECC’s contamination fiasco is on the wane… This weekend will probably be the last we hear about it. That does not mean that there won’t be a lot of behind the scenes activity to “prevent this from happening again”.
I can see the behind the scene scramble by such entities as Joint Commission http://www.jointcommission.org or IACP and other accreditation entities will be jockeying for rights to be the “certifying entity ” for all of these pharmacies.
All but three states mandate mail order pharmacy to have a license from all states they are shipping drug into.. IMO.. this was not much more than a “money grab” by the various states… because… I am not aware of a single BOP crossing a state line to deal with what is going on in a distant mail order pharmacy… they depend on the BOP in the particular state – where the mail order pharmacy is located – to do the job of oversight…
It would appear in the case of NECC.. the MA BOP has failed the system miserably.
According to this article http://www.cbs47.tv/webmd/story/What-Are-Compounding-Pharmacies/Uy5XvlbV9kW3Nglrtyt-tA.cspx
According to the IACP, there are 56,000 community-based pharmacies in the U.S. About half of them directly serve local patients and doctors.
Some 7,500 compounding pharmacies specialize in what the IACP International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists (IACP) calls “advanced compounding services.” Some 3,000 of these pharmacies make sterile products.
IMO.. this is the rub… pharmacies making sterile injectables from non-sterile ingredients… I find it hard to imagine that there is enough specialty sterile compounding demand in this country to support 3000 pharmacies… even as a financially viable dept within a larger pharmacy setting..
That is unless they are producing commercially available products or products that are nearly identical to the commercially available product… for a lessor cost… which is ILLEGAL…
Is the ever reducing reimbursements by Medicare/Medicaid/Insurance to docs/clinics/hospitals making buying these less expensive products a necessity… or is it just plain and simple GREED … by those who buy and use them ?
Are we once again… putting profits .. over patient safety?
Filed under: General Problems
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