Pharmacy preparation feasibility

Upon receipt of a request from a prescriber for a pharmacy preparation, the pharmacist must decide whether the request is appropriate and reasonable, and judge the level of risk associated with proceeding with the request. The pharmacist must also consider the risks of not supplying a medicine which may lead to the patient not receiving treatment. Further discussion with the medical team may be needed. This chapter approaches the risk assessment of the prescription in a structured way, referring to procedures and forms from different countries. The assessment also includes the feasibility of producing a preparation of appropriate pharmaceutical quality and with all necessary clinical information. 

In pharmacy preparation technical limits play the largest role in assessing the feasibility. Health gain, including the number of patients who need the preparation, could in fact give an objective starting point, but subjective opinions of physicians, pharmacists and patients play a more direct role. Preparation facilities represent the health care task under the personal responsibility of physician and pharmacist. 

Prior to initiating the design phase, feasibility of a preparation or product has to be assessed. For pharmacy preparation this assessment is discussed in Sect. 2.2. At the end of the life cycle, a production is discontinued due to an unfavourable risk/benefit ratio or economic reasons. For pharmacy preparations, loss of feasibility may also be the reason for discontinuation. 

For an assessment of the therapeutic rationale and feasibility of requests for pharmacy preparations, reference is made to Chap. 2. 

In pharmacy preparations packaging and measuring devices are part of the design of a product. In other words, attention should be paid to the feasibility of measuring the expected quantities with the supplied device from the container chosen. 

Moissan, Henri. (1852-1907). A Native of Paris, Moissan was a professor at the School of Pharmacy from 1886 to 1900 and at the Sorbonne from 1900 to 1907. At the former institution, he first isolated and liquefied fluorine in 1886 by the electrolysis of potassium acid fluoride in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. His work with fluorine undoubtedly shortened his life as it did that of many other early experimenters in the field of fluorine chemistry. He won great fame by his development of the electric furnace and pioneered its use in the production of calcium carbide, making acetylene production and use commercially feasible in the preparation of pure metals, such as magnesium, chromium, uranium, tungsten etc. and in the production of many new compounds, e.g., silicides, carbides, and refrac-... 

Raw materials available yes/no > Sufficiently stable for clinical use yes/no > Is the health and safety risk of the pharmacy personnel controllable yes/no ) Other preconditions yes/no ) Another aspect Conclusion preparation is (not) ) feasible Comments ... 

Breaking points are the availability of the raw materials and primary containers of reliable suppliers, the feasibility of analysis of the drug substance and the preparation and the availability of equipment. As an example, preparation processes such as tableting, freeze-drying or aseptic production are accessible in a few pharmacies. The preparation of oral solids with controlled release is not possible in pharmacies mainly to lacking equipment (fluidised-bed techniques and instrumental analysis, etc). Working with radiopharmaceuticals also requires very specific facilities, as is the case with preparation of solid dosage forms with hazardous substances. 

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