INTRODUCING CRITICAL POINT –
ONLINE STERILE COMPOUNDING TRAINING
Baxa to provide marketing support for best-in-class Web-based training program
As pharmacy professionals, you understand that strict adherence to cleanroom procedure is critical to assuring product quality and patient safety. According to a recent AJHP article, IV admixture contamination rates cited in literature range are as high as 14.5%1. The article’s authors conclude, “The most important variable affecting microbial contamination of admixtures was the aseptic technique of personnel, not the environment in which the drugs were compounded.” More than 30 years of records citing cases of patient infections resulting from contaminated medications raised concerns about the safety of compounded medications. The result was the 2004 publication of the USP <797> standards for compounding sterile preparations.
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) states that sterile compounding requires, “…specific training and testing of personnel in principles and practices of aseptic manipulations…”2 Ongoing training is the most effective way to keep staff up-to-date, which makes it a critical component of the quality assurance program for pharmacy cleanrooms.
Now, you can meet both national and state board required training competencies for aseptic compounding at your own pace from your desktop.
Introducing CriticalPoint’s online sterile compounding training modules. CriticalPoint offers 32 hours of ACPE-approved interactive sterile compounding modules, written by internationally recognized industry leaders. These modules are the result of decades of cumulative work experience and several years of coordination. “Having managed aseptic compounding pharmacies for several years, I knew that a better and more robust
training program was needed in the pharmacy community,” says contributor Eric S. Kastango. “Knowing the impact of a program like this has, through reaching thousands of professionals via e-learning, gave us the motivation to launch the program.” Authors of this program include Eric S. Kastango, MBA, RPh, FASHP, and James T. Wagner, both members of the USP Council of Experts – 2005-2010 Sterile Compounding Committee as well as Luci Power MS, BS, RPh, lead author on the ASHP Guidelines on Handling Hazardous Drugs and a main contributing author of the 2004 NIOSH Alert.3
For a full list of contributing authors and their CVs, visit the CriticalPoint Web site (www.criticalpoint.info ).
CriticalPoint’s 32 modules are organized into the following key topics:
•
Fundamentals of Aseptic Compounding
•Environmental Monitoring and Maintenance
•Documentation and Policies & Procedures
•Personnel Training
•Compounding Practices
•Engineering Controls and Equipment Use
•Hazardous Drugs Compounding Practices.
CriticalPoint’s lessons meet – and in most cases exceed – the training requirements for USP Chapter <797> and State Boards of Pharmacy. Training is harmonized with current USP guidelines, as well as the proposed revisions, which are expected to be finalized in the summer of 2007. Each module provides one hour of ACPE-approved CE, for a total of 32 contact hours (3.2 CEUs) applicable to pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and nurses. The Web-based curriculum was created in CriticalPoint’s Learning Management System (LMS) so users need only an Internet connection and a Web browser to get started. Users can track their individual progress and scores; while managers can track employee progress, completion rates and performance measures. Unique to this market, all lessons are written with a best-in-class approach.
1Thomas M, Sanborn MD and Couldry R. I.V. admixture contamination rates: Traditional
practice site versus a class 1000 cleanroom. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2005.
62: 2386-2392.
2USP General Chapter <797>. Pharmaceutical Compounding – Sterile Preparations.
US Pharmacopeia. 2004.
3www.criticalpoint.info.
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