Special Event
Cold
Night/Hot Topic – The Meningitis Disaster: How Compounding Practices May
Change the Roles and Responsibilities of Pharmacists – 1/24/2013
Over winter break a few of our professors at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy organized
an event to discuss in detail the compounding disaster at the New England
Compounding Center. As part of the event,
I heard lectures on legal issues in pharmacy compounding, drug shortages,
pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality, standards of practice in compounding
pharmacy, issues in pain pharmacotherapy, and issues in drug product quality of
compounding injectable steroids. It was
interesting to learn the thought process that goes behind injectable drugs and
where along the spine the drugs should be injected to minimize the harm to the
patient. Also, I learned about the drug shortages that the University of Iowa
Hospitals and Clinics are facing and how they handle providing great patient
care when faced with the drug shortages. I also heard from a compounding
pharmacist who discussed the standard of practice in compounding and the PCAB accreditation that ensures that the drug products are compounded correctly. It was a great event and I learned a lot about
compounding.
