{"id":1217,"date":"2012-07-19T09:45:40","date_gmt":"2012-07-19T16:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hartleymedical.com\/blog\/?p=1217"},"modified":"2020-10-13T15:18:50","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T22:18:50","slug":"surface-testing-setting-the-standard-for-environmental-monitoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hartleymedical.com\/surface-testing-setting-the-standard-for-environmental-monitoring\/","title":{"rendered":"Surface Testing: Setting the Standard for Environmental Monitoring"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Here at Hartley Medical, quality is paramount. We go above and beyond the mandates of USP to ensure that our products are compounded at the highest level “\u201c a level that guarantees patient safety. One of the many ways we do this is through an environmental monitoring method called microbial surface testing.<\/p>\n

Surface testing is performed to determine whether a pharmacy’s cleaning, handling, and air quality procedures are properly working to eliminate pathogenic microorganisms such as molds, yeasts, and bacterial spores. This is tested using contact plates, swabs, and paddles; all which are commercially available. USP 797 mandates that surface sampling be conducted biannually to assess the potential bioburdens on carts, counters, walls, floors, and most importantly, the gloved hands of compounding personnel (also known as fingertip assessment). Here at Hartley Medical, we perform surface microbial testing weekly<\/em> “\u201c that’s 50 more tests per year than USP requires.<\/p>\n