“Quality” is an especially important word in pharmacy compounding. This is because the quality of everything from the chemicals and the base to the formula and all that supports it factor into the final compounded medication that can change a life, or even save it. The best clinical outcomes that a compounding pharmacy can deliver start with the best ingredients and the science behind them.

What quality actually means, however, is often left unexplained. But since it is so important in our industry, we decided to help the pharmacies who rely on PCCA for products and support by clarifying what we mean when we talk about quality.

When we talk about quality — whether we’re referring to an active pharmaceutical ingredient, a compounding base, formulas, research, services and more — we mean that it meets The PCCA Standard, our commitment to go above and beyond what is required, because lives depend on a job well done.

The PCCA Standard is every time we ask chemical manufacturers more questions than we have to. It’s when we reject manufacturers who don’t meet our criteria above and beyond regulatory requirements. The PCCA Standard is not just rigorously assessing manufacturers, but subjecting every lot of every chemical we receive to over 20 checks, tests and verifications on top of that. And it’s rejecting up to 250 lots of chemicals every year because they don’t measure up to the quality we demand for the sake of your pharmacy and your patients.

The PCCA Standard is creating industry-defining bases that address tomorrow’s compounding needs today. And it’s producing those bases — lot after lot — according to current good manufacturing practices, even though regulations don’t require us to. The PCCA Standard is also having the most comprehensive, well-supported formula database in the industry, with over 9,600 formulas. And it’s using the latest scientific methods to establish extended beyond-use dates for our most popular formulas.

Above all, The PCCA Standard is our commitment to making the hard choices about the products and support we provide you and, ultimately, your patients — making those hard choices so that you don’t have to. We do all of this because “quality” in pharmacy compounding is about more than a product; it’s about a pharmacist, a physician and a patient — every single time.

This is just a glimpse at The PCCA Standard. To really see the values and processes that we’re proud to put our name on every single day, visit thepccastandard.com.