One local pharmacy is making it easier for doctors and patients in DeKalb County to choose a compounding pharmacy they know meets the highest quality and safety standards in its profession. On November 11th, Lehan Drugs earned the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board’s Seal of Accreditation – a system of standards created by some of the leading organizations in the compounding pharmacy profession. Lehan’s becomes one of only three pharmacies in Illinois to earn the designation.
Compounding medications is an integral part of the practice of pharmacy and the demand for these customized medications is increasing every year. Despite this fact, many people are not aware of its role in healthcare. 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.
“Our new PCAB® Accreditation status and our designation as a PCAB Accredited® compounding pharmacy lets the public know that Lehan Drugs ranks among the best nationally for quality and safety,” said Jon Lehan, pharmacist-in-charge. “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 quality and safety standards.
To earn PCAB® Accreditation, Lehan Drugs had to complete an extensive application, document its written policies and provide an analysis of its quality procedures that was reviewed by the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board and some of the leading figures in the field of compounding. Next, the pharmacy opened its doors for an extensive on-site inspection led by compounding experts. Only when these stringent evaluations were completed did the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board officially grant Lehan Drugs the PCAB® Seal of Accreditation and the right to use the designation “PCAB Accredited® compounding pharmacy.”
“We are honored by this new accreditation. It confirms our commitment to providing safe, personalized solutions that meet the medical needs of our patients – and the needs of the healthcare providers in our community who rely on us for these specialized medicines,” said Tim Lehan, owner. “We believe this will further strengthen the bond of trust between our pharmacy and the DeKalb County community.”
About Lehan’s
Lehan Drugs is a family-owned, independent pharmacy that has served DeKalb county for 65 years and four generations. Jon Lehan is the pharmacist-in-charge for Lehan’s compounding lab, and specializes in hormone replacement therapy, pain management, podiatry, and compounding for dentistry. Diane Fox is the lead compounding technician and prepares many of the medications in Lehan’s state-of-the-art lab. Karen Kuhn is Lehan’s compounding pharmacist specializing in veterinary medicine and hormone replacement. Jim Lehan, pharmacy technician, is semi-retired, but has been compounding since the 1950s.
About the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board
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.
For more information on PCAB® Accreditation, visit the PCAB® Web site at www.pcab.info.
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