cameral ophthalmic drugs like moxifloxacin and cefuroxime where
the dosing needs are very specific.
• Drug shortages. The top 5 medications from our survey have all
been in short supply at one time or another.
• Expanded shelf life. In the case of prefilled succinylcholine, you
can store the drug at room temperature for significantly longer than
multi-dose vials: 90 days versus 14 days.
Respondents weighed in on other drugs they're considering getting
from a compounder. One was considering prefilled for "all meds that
are multi-dose vials."
Gina Schilthuis, RN, a clinical director at Baylor Scott & White
Surgicare in Dallas, Texas, who already gets rocuronium, neostigmine
and succinylcholine in prefilled syringes, might add Wydase
(hyaluronidase).
Carrie Robertson, RN, BSN, nurse manager at Albuquerque (N.M.)
Ambulatory Eye Surgery Center, might order vancomycin in a pre-
filled syringe. "We want to get away from us mixing it ourselves," she
says. "Also, our consultant pharmacist insists that we use one vial per
patient — which is not going to happen. We are trying to find a way to
satisfy the one-dose-per-patient rule."
Safety, cost and supply shortages
Our survey found facilities go with a compounding pharmacy primari-
ly for safety, cost savings or because of a supply shortage. More than
half (56.86%) of respondents said safety was a "critically important"
reason for using a compounder. As Lakeside's Ms. Bergeron puts it:
"The cost is not that much more, and patient safety is more important
than cost." Ms. Bergeron isn't alone with this sentiment. Most respon-
dents viewed prefilled syringes as superior from a safety perspective
— 59.70% either "strongly agree" or "agree" with the statement:
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