Local Pharmacy Earns Industry’s Top Quality & Safety Endorsement

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Community Pharmacy earns new accreditation status, high marks on quality and safety.

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Naperville, IL:    One local pharmacy is making it easier for doctors and patients to choose a compounding pharmacy they know meets the highest quality and safety standards in its profession. As of January 19th, 2016, Martin Avenue Pharmacy, Inc. earned the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board’s Seal of Accreditation – a new system of standards created by some of the leading organizations in pharmacy. The accreditation demonstrates that Martin Avenue Pharmacy, Inc. meets the highest quality and safety standards in its profession.

PCAB utilizes comprehensive standards created by some of the leading organizations and pharmacy compounding experts in the pharmacy profession. To earn PCAB Accreditation, Martin Avenue Pharmacy, Inc. met strict criteria which included completion of an extensive application, documentation and review of their written policies, and a detailed on-site inspection of its compounded medications and quality procedures. Only when these stringent evaluations were completed did the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board officially grant Martin Avenue Pharmacy the PCAB seal of Accreditation and the right to use the designation “PCAB Accredited TM compounding pharmacy.”

“Patients want to know their compounding pharmacy is of the highest quality and has been independently verified. PCAB offers these patients a way to verify that their compounding pharmacy is meeting the highest national standard,” said Tom Murry, former PCAB Executive Director.

The Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board is a not-for-profit corporation formed by eight national pharmacy organizations that recognized the need for a national standards organization for compounding pharmacy. Together, these leading organizations developed the policies and standards for the practice of compounding pharmacy, as well as the PCAB Accreditation criteria and processes. In 2014, PCAB Accreditation became a service of Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). The alignment of the organizations ensures that safety and compliance needs are met in the most efficient and effective manner.

Compounding medications are an integral part of the practice of pharmacy and the demand for these customized medications are increasing every year. Yet many people may not even be aware of its role. Compounded medications are prescriptions that are written by physicians, veterinarians, and other legally authorized prescribers and prepared for an individual patient by a specially trained pharmacist. Examples of compounded prescriptions are:

  • When a child needs a smaller dose of a medicine that is only commercially manufactured in adult-size doses.
  • When a person cannot tolerate the inactive ingredients (such as gluten or sugar) in manufactured medicines.
  • When a doctor believes a medicine is needed for his or her patient, but a manufacturer has discontinued the medicine for economic reasons.

Many pharmacies practice a small degree of compounding, while others specialize in the centuries-old practice.

“PCAB Accreditation status and the designation as a PCAB AccreditedTM compounding pharmacy lets the public know that Martin Avenue Pharmacy, Inc. ranks among the best for quality and safety,” said Matthew Marks, Director of Operations for Martin Avenue Pharmacy, Inc. The PCAB Seal of Accreditation shows our dedication to protecting our patients by practicing safe, high-quality compounding.”

With the high volume of prescriptions that are compounded each year, there has been a need for an enhanced, profession-wide system of standards by which each compounding pharmacy can test its quality processes. While compounding pharmacy is regulated by the state, PCAB Accreditation is an even more comprehensive way to ensure a compounding pharmacy is meeting the highest quality and safety standards.

“We are honored by this accreditation. It confirms Martin Avenue Pharmacy’s commitment to providing, safe, quality personalized medications that meet the medical needs of our patients and the needs of the healthcare providers who rely on us for these specialized medicines, “ said Jennifer Cashmore, Pharmacist-in-Charge for Martin Avenue Pharmacy. “We believe this will further strengthen the bond of trust between our pharmacy, practitioners, and the Chicagoland communities that we serve.”

For more information on PCAB Accreditation, visit the PCAB Website at www.pcab.org

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