REGULATION OF CENTRALIZED ORDER FULFILLMENT

To advocate changes in federal and state laws, regulations, and policies to permit centralized medication order fulfillment within health care facilities under common ownership.

Rationale

Health systems use centralized facilities to provide a range of medications in order to improve efficiency, decrease redundancy, optimize preparation expertise, and decrease overhead and inventory costs. Importantly, health systems use centralized facilities to provide medications that are in short supply or are difficult to compound safely.

The Drug Enforcement Administration prohibits central repackaging and distribution of controlled substances to other facilities that are part of the same health system. Moreover, health systems with facilities in multiple states find additional requirements in each state by boards of pharmacy and other state regulators when providing medications across state borders from a centralized facility.

ASHP recognizes the importance of maintaining practice standards and related safeguards to assure patient safety. In fact, health systems use centralized facilities in order to ha ve the most-qualified personnel prepare these medications in the safest facility. Regulatory changes are needed at the state and federal level to optimally use centralized facilities that are under the common ownership and therefore quality control of the health system.