Synopsis
Managing a health system pharmacy in today’s complex regulatory environment can be a daunting task. Drug shortages, recalls, and unreliable medication availability are just a few of the concerns that must be addressed on a daily basis. Outsourcing compounded sterile preparations (CSPs) is a commonly utilized strategy to address product reliability issues. As reported in Pharmacy Purchasing & Products’ 2018 State of Pharmacy Compounding annual survey, three-quarters of all facilities now outsource at least some of their CSPs.1 However, the growing number of recalls from outsourcing operations has prompted some hospital pharmacies to rethink their overall outsourcing strategy. When considering 503B outsourced compounders, due diligence is critical to ensuring the manufacturer is compliant and produces high-quality CSPs.
