Table of Contents
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding has launched a new 15-hour online continuing education course called “The Ethical, Legal and Regulatory Foundations of Pharmacy Compounding.”
Created in partnership with the Pharmacy Compounding Foundation and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, the APC program is intended to fill what for many new compounding pharmacists and technicians may be a training gap: A thorough understanding of the myriad laws, regulations, and standards that govern the practice of pharmacy compounding.
“Compounding – the practice of preparing a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient – is considerably more complicated than traditional retail dispensing,” said APC Chief Executive Officer Scott Brunner. “When you’re creating customized medications from scratch, it’s not enough just to know the ingredients, the formula, the equipment. To ensure patient safety, you must also adhere to a complex framework of federal and state laws and regulations, the practice standards of the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and – for those who are members of APC – the precepts of the Compounder’s Code of Ethics. We’ve created this new course to provide that critical knowledge.”
“For a pharmacy compounder to be professionally competent, they must know the regulatory framework in which they work,” said Dr. Barbara Exum of the VCU School of Pharmacy, who oversaw creation of the program. “They need more than a passing familiarity with it. They must have a substantive understanding of why those regulations are necessary and what compliance looks like. This 15-hour curriculum helps students understand that regulatory compliance is job one. It’s how they protect their patients.”
Brunner said the new program is meant to be an entry-level learning track for new compounding pharmacists and technicians but can also be a refresher for more seasoned compounders. Those who successfully complete the course will earn a certificate of completion.
The topics covered are:
- The Triad Relationship: Who are you compounding for?
- Compounding Laws and Regulations
- Record Keeping in Compounding
- Personnel Training and Evaluation
- Quality Assurance in Compounding
- Compounding with the Healthcare Team in Mind
- Communicating Your Compounding
- Professional Judgment and Personal Ethics in Compounding
- Verifying Your Pharmacy’s Credibility in Compounding
- Ambassador for Pharmacy Compounding
- USP Standards of Practice for Compounding for USP 795, USP 797, and USP 800
The 15-hour program is priced at $495 for pharmacists and technicians. For APC Pharmacy/Facility Members, the price is $395. Learn more at certificate.a4pc.org.
