Pharmacy Quality Assurance

a. Communicating with the patient or patient’s representativeb. Staff meetings

Written communicationa. Memorandum to staff and other health care professionalsb. Pharmacy newsletterc. Institutional newsletter

X. Collecting and Analyzing Quality Data

A. Routine monitoring of the pharmacy department’s activities helps ensure the quality of pharmacy products and services, and serves to identify existing and potential problems. Monitoring and measuring a specific outcome or quality indicator is part of the continuous quality improvement process.

B. Examples of quality indicators used to monitor pharmacy quality improvement include:

Sterile product testinga. Evaluating processes used in the preparation and sterilization of products to ensure that sterile products are free from microbial contamination, particulate matter, and pyrogens. This assessment includes various tests.
Packaging unit-dose medicationsa. Evaluating accuracy and efficiency in the packaging process
Medication errorsa. Tracking the number of errors over a period of time
Drug distribution activitiesa. Evaluating accuracy in filling and checking unit-dose medication carts
Recordkeeping activitiesa. Evaluating or reviewing patient profiles, medication administration records, and other records related to the above processes
Inventory controla. Evaluating changes in inventory costs