PCAB Accreditation Offers Solution for Compounding Policymakers
Cary, NC (PRWEB) July 28, 2016 -- In the wake of recent policy recommendations from the PEW Charitable Trust as well as considerable legislative activity having been focused on the state of pharmacy compounding in the United States, Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), parent of Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB) invites both federal and state policy makers to consider the benefits PCAB Accreditation offers for ensuring safety and compliance across the traditional 503(a) compounding industry.
ACHC, a CMS-deemed, not-for-profit, independent accrediting body not affiliated with any trade association or special interest group, offers the compounding industry’s only comprehensive accreditation program compliant with United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) guidelines. Current PCAB and ACHC standards are compliant with USP 795, USP 797, and associated chapters.
“It is important for policy makers and members of the public to note the difference between PCAB accreditation and various inspection services that are being represented as equivalent in terms of ensuring safety and compliance,” noted ACHC CEO José Domingos. “They are not the same. Inspections are limited in that they consist only of an observation of a pharmacy on a given day. There is no provision for corrective action or continued compliance; no requirement for the pharmacy to correct its deficiencies.“
PCAB Accreditation includes an on-site observation but it also requires the pharmacy to correct any deficiencies and participate in annual process verification. “They do not become accredited unless they convince us they have addressed any deficiencies and have systems in place to prevent any recurrence,” noted Domingos. “Accreditation does not merely note that a pharmacy appeared to either be in compliance (or not) on a given day. It compels the pharmacy to improve, and if it does not, or if issues emerge after the survey, we can require another survey or even rescind their accreditation.”
Mr. Domingos also pointed out that acceptance of PCAB has grown steadily in recent years. “Having implemented the compounding industry’s first accreditation program in 2007, an increasing number of payors, PBMs and networks, as well as state boards of pharmacy, are recognizing the value of PCAB in their requirements for participation.”
ACHC offers varied educational materials and services, including consulting, through Accreditation University aimed at helping pharmacies prepare for, maintain, and/or implement performance improvement activities around its accreditation programs.
The vast majority of compounding pharmacies are well-run, ethical and professional and strive, first and foremost, to provide the best possible clinical products and services to their patients.” said Jon Pritchett, PharmD, RPh, PCAB Clinical Director. “Accreditation helps the strong pharmacies become even better and it identifies the few whose operations may require more attention in order to meet industry standards and best practices.”
“PCAB imposes no cost or administrative burden to the states,” according to Domingos. “I contend that PCAB’s independence, the specialized qualifications of its surveyors (average of 20+ years experience specific to compounding), and the capability to scale and customize based on individual state requirements all merit careful consideration for states to insure that safe compounding practices are being by followed by pharmacies, both within their borders as well as with pharmacies they may approve to ship products into their state.”
ACHC is a non-profit accreditation organization that has stood as a symbol of quality and excellence since 1986. The organization has CMS Deeming Authority for Home Health, Hospice, and DMEPOS and a Quality Management System that is certified to ISO 9001:2008. ACHC is the provider’s choice for accreditation because of its personal Account Advisors, relevant and realistic standards, competitive pricing, and a friendly, consultative approach to accreditation. Accreditation by ACHC reflects an organization’s dedication and commitment to meeting standards that facilitate a higher level of performance and patient care. As a service of ACHC, PCAB is currently the only comprehensive accreditation solution for compounding pharmacies wishing to demonstrate compliance with USP guidelines.
For more information on ACHC’s accreditation programs, or to download ACHC Accreditation Standards, please visit achc.org or contact customerservice(at)achc(dot)org or 855-937-2242.
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Customer Service, Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc, http://www.achc.org, +1 855-937-2242, [email protected]
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