2013 USP Chapter Compliance Survey Shows Compliance Trends Unchanged From 2012

The 2013 United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) Chapter <797> Compliance Survey, the third annual report released since 2011, shows that the overall compliance rate of 77.2% remains nearly unchanged from the 2012 rate. Budgetary restrictions and physical plant limitations were among the top challenges to compliance by survey respondents. The report also details the survey’s findings on what types of facilities are participating in compounding, and compliance in specific domain areas such as environmental sampling and gloved fingertip sampling. Of the survey’s 1,045 participants, 97% of the survey’s respondents said that USP Chapter <797> “has had a positive influence on patient safety.” The report notes NABP’s efforts to assist state boards of pharmacy in evaluating pharmacy compliance with USP Chapter <797> requirements for sterile compounding in their states. The report also noted that those who participated in the 2011 survey had a higher compliance score than those who did not. The survey’s authors encouraged pharmacy owners with multiple areas of non-compliance to target one or two areas to improve. They also encouraged organizations that participated in the survey to make use of the free Action Plan – generated upon completion of the survey – and other free resources to “reshape” their sterile compounding practices. The full report on the survey’s results is available in the October 2013 issue of Pharmacy Purchasing & Products Magazine and on the magazine’s Web site.