I will conclude the recap of my 2012 Vegas conference week with notes on Dr. Prager’s and my December 9th NANS presentation on Compounding Issues in Neuromodulation. Dr. Prager began the discussion with a review of the recent meningitis outbreak linked to New England Compounding Center. Dr. Prager discussed some of the gruesome details of the infections and some of the deaths resulting from NECC’s compounding errors. The purpose of this lecture was to stress the importance of physicians and administrators who purchase compounded medications to perform adequate due diligence to help prevent future problems. Dr. Prager gave examples of the information that doctors need to gain from compounding pharmacies, including: years of compounding experience, staff training (hand washing and gowning), pharmacy accreditation, facility design, environmental monitoring, cleaning and disinfection, and more.

Once Dr. Prager concluded his portion of the presentation, I discussed issues related to clean room air quality ““ with emphasis on cleaning and disinfection of the sterile compounding environment. I strongly encouraged practitioners to perform due diligence in regards to their current compounding pharmacy provider, stressed the importance of performing a site visit regardless of their pharmacy provider’s location, and thoroughly discussed the importance of becoming educated about pharmacy providers and their adherence to regulatory guidelines to ensure optimal patient care.I was honored to have had the opportunity to co-present with Dr. Prager and to hear some of the amazing discussions presented at this year’s meeting. These lectures are important to my desire to be the best possible clinician and provider for my clients. I was, once again, fortunate to connect with many people, both domestically and internationally. I strongly encourage all of you to attend next year’s meeting, as each year keeps getting better.

For more conference recaps, visit Hartley Medical’s Knowledge Center by clicking here.

To watch a brief video overview of the 16th Annual NANS Meeting, click the video below:

 

To listen to William Stuart, RPh, give his notations on the 2012 NANS Meeting, click the video below: