NABP VPP Facilitates Nonresident Pharmacy Licensure; Program Accepted in Virginia as Meeting State’s New Inspection Requirements

NABP has launched the Verified Pharmacy Program™ (VPP™), which was developed in partnership with member boards of pharmacy to facilitate the sharing of information and to help provide for consistency among requirements related to nonresident pharmacy licensure. Effective as of July 1, 2013, the Virginia Board of Pharmacy has implemented new regulations regarding inspection requirements for pharmacy licensure and is accepting VPP inspections as meeting the new requirements if a nonresident pharmacy has not been inspected by the regulatory or licensing agency of the jurisdiction in which it is located.

VPP serves as an electronic resource to help state boards of pharmacy further enhance their licensure processes by sharing information on pharmacy licensure, including inspection reports. Boards that access VPP are able to obtain verified inspection and related licensure and disciplinary information on their nonresident licensees and applicants. NABP pharmacy inspections conducted as part of VPP utilize consistent, standardized criteria, which allow the boards to assess their nonresident licensees’ applications based on reported data that is uniform across the nation.

In compliance with the Virginia Drug Control Act and with United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary (USP-NF) standards for pharmacies performing sterile and nonsterile compounding, the Virginia Board of Pharmacy has changed its current inspection report requirements for nonresidential pharmacy licensure.

Under the new requirements, inspection reports filed for nonresident licensure in Virginia must meet the following criteria:

• The inspection must have been completed no more than six months prior to the submission of an application for new registration as a nonresident pharmacy and no more than two years prior to the date of submission of the application for renewal for current registrants.
• The inspection report must indicate compliance with the requirements of the Virginia Drug Control Act, including compliance with USP-NF standards for pharmacies performing sterile and nonsterile compounding.
• The inspection must have been conducted by the regulatory or licensing agency in the pharmacy’s resident jurisdiction.

Nonresident pharmacies that have not been inspected by the regulatory or licensing agency of the jurisdiction in which they are located, or which do not specifically address compliance with USP-NF standards for compounding may instead obtain an inspection from NABP through VPP.

Pharmacies wishing to receive an inspection from NABP in time for Virginia’s annual April 30 renewal deadline must submit an application and the appropriate fee to NABP no later than Friday, January 31, 2014. Earlier applications are encouraged in order to ensure pharmacies have an opportunity to remediate any noncompliance issues identified during the inspection before the renewal deadline.

The application and additional information on VPP is available on the NABP Web site. Questions regarding NABP inspection and VPP may be sent to vpp@nabp.net. Additional information on Virginia’s new requirements is available in Guidance Document 110-38, which may be downloaded at the Virginia Board of Pharmacy Web site.