CAPS meets evolving pharmacy regulations with 2 new services

Central Admixture Pharmacy Services Inc. (CAPS) launched a new quality assurance program called "Test, Hold and Release" (THR) and a new consulting service Monday.

"CAPS is at the forefront of helping hospitals and surgery centers navigate through the new compounding regulatory environment," Mike Koch, senior vice president of CAPS Professional Services, said. "We're committed to providing our customers with programs, such as THR and consultative services to help them focus on improving patient care."

The THR program guarantees that every compounded drug batch from CAPS' two 503B-registered outsourcing facilities meet the standards for sterility, endotoxin and potency as stated in the Drug Quality and Security Act. The 503B facilities dispense non-patient-specific compounded sterile preparations, which includes controlled substances, anesthesia syringes, post-op pain pumps and drug delivery.

The consulting service, known as CAPS Consulting, consists of a team of compounding experts who can provide pharmacies with compliance standards assistance. It features an on-site USP <797> compliance analysis called "ReadyCheck," in which two auditors analyze eight sections of 200 criteria over a period of two days. The sections include compounding, testing, dispensing and clean room processes.

CAPS new offerings were showcased during the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) midyear clinical meeting in New Orleans, which concluded Thursday.