COMPLEX NON-STERILE COMPOUNDING: CRITICAL PHARMACEUTICAL CALCULATIONS

Compounding is an integral part of pharmacy practice and is essential to the provision of healthcare. In response to numerous tragic patient outcomes, a result of the lack of attention to the main principles of USP , the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy implemented Continuing Education requirements for those pharmacists performing and/or overseeing complex non-sterile compounding. Personnel involved in compounding require additional, specific training and periodic retraining beyond the training needed for routine dispensing duties. A thorough quality assurance program for compounded preparations requires documentation of both training and skill and competency.

This module focuses on critical calculations in complex non-sterile compounding. Accurate pharmaceutical calculations are critical to determining the correct ratio of active and inactive ingredients in compounded preparations. Calculations are also necessary to administer the proper dosage of medications.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, the participant should be able to:

Calculate the quantity of active pharmaceutical ingredients needed in a non-sterile compound using aliquots.

Describe salt form corrections needed for a non-sterile compound.

Develop an aggregate assay correction based on the active pharmaceutical ingredient's certificate of analysis.