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Customizable Inspection and Compliance Assistance Services Now Available for Boards of Pharmacy
Originally published in the April 2011 NABP Newsletter
With state resources dwindling, NABP continues to evaluate ways to provide further assistance to the boards of pharmacy through new programs and services. As one of its newer endeavors, NABP is pleased to be able to offer added support in the realm of inspection and compliance services. An integral component in licensing requirements, inspections are often a necessity for boards of pharmacy to ensure licensee compliance with certain regulations. However, with more boards facing limited staffing due to loss of human and fiscal resources, work furlough programs, and hiring freezes, conducting these inspections may at times prove to be a challenge.
As a result, many states are forced to make decisions between conducting routine inspections, for cause investigations, or taking on other special projects in the interest of the public health.
To ease the burden on the boards, NABP has developed its customizable inspection and compliance services with the intent to meet the varying needs of the boards of pharmacy. The program can be tailored to match board-specific inspection and compliance related issues and is composed of three tiers of service: (1) assisting in updating and/or revising inspection processes and documents; (2) providing classroom and/or field training; and (3) conducting inspections.
NABP can provide support with the board’s overall inspection processes. Through this first tier of service, the Association can offer additional expertise to the boards when they review existing language in these processes and can assist with any necessary updates to inspection strategies, methods, and forms.
The second tier of NABP’s inspection and compliance services consists of adaptable classroom and field training for new and existing board of pharmacy compliance officers. Currently, NABP holds an annual training session for its accreditation program surveyors. To expand these services to its members, the Association will hold an Interactive Compliance Officer Forum on December 1-2, 2011. This specialized forum is the third in a series of NABP meetings targeted to specific board of pharmacy audiences. The first was held in September 2010 and catered to board members and the second, the Interactive Executive Officer Forum, will take place September 21-22, 2011. More details on both the NABP Interactive Executive Officer Forum and the NABP Interactive Compliance Officer Forum will be available in future issues of the NABP Newsletter.
Utilizing NABP’s existing pool of accreditation surveyors, the Association is fully equipped to offer its third tier of service as an inspecting agent for the boards of pharmacy, for any number of pharmacy practice and business settings. With this fee-based service, the boards of pharmacy are able to designate NABP as the inspector on their behalf, freeing up valuable board time to focus on investigations and other compliance matters. The Association can also offer additional assistance in situations where specialized inspection services are necessary, including shopper surveys, background investigations, and nonresident inspections.
As an added benefit, some states have taken this a step further and now recognize certain NABP accreditation programs as part of meeting specific licensing requirements because the programs include comprehensive surveys. By recognizing accreditation, boards are able to utilize NABP’s surveyor resources and regulatory experience to help them meet inspection mandates.
NABP continues to evaluate ways to provide customizable support to the boards of pharmacy. Additional details on the inspection and compliance services will be provided during the 107th Annual Meeting held May 21-24, 2011, in San Antonio, TX. Questions may also be directed to the NABP Government Affairs Department at GovernmentAffairs@nabp.net.
