To start, PCAB stands for Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board, which is under the umbrella of the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). It is the most prestigious accreditation for compounding pharmacies, exceeding U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) standards. That seems like a lot of fancy names and acronyms, but the bottom line is PCAB accreditation lets you know the compounding pharmacy adheres to the highest measurements of performance and accuracy. No one would choose to have surgery at a hospital that is not accredited by The Joint Commission, and the same should hold true for filling a compounded medication at an unaccredited pharmacy. 

So what is the value of a PCAB accreditation? According to the ACHC:

IMPROVED QUALITY & SAFETY

In achieving ACHC Accreditation, pharmacies benefit from consistent practices that result in improved safety, efficiency, and quality of care.

RISK AVERSION

Adherence to ACHC standards helps an organization maintain compliance with all applicable and current rules and regulations.

COMPOUNDING DISTINCTION

By choosing ACHC’s PCAB Accreditation, pharmacies demonstrate their compliance with USP standards to regulators, payors, and patients.

ACHC’s educational approach to accreditation enhances business operations, strategies, and patient outcomes through evidence-based best practices.

CONTINUITY OF SERVICE

ACHC facilitates a standardized level of service that includes sound procedures, documentation, and training to ensure consistent performance across the entire organization.

Beyond our facility accreditation, the only members of our O’Brien Pharmacy Consulting Group who work with sterile products are those who have completed Sterility Assurance Training through a third party, involving 40 hours of continuing education and supervised didactic skills training.

Accreditation is not easy, and it should not be. When a patient sees a pharmacy is PCAB accredited, it’s an indication that they have found a pharmacy that has gone to great lengths to ensure proper handling, mixing, packaging, storage, and shipping of any given compounded medication. This high level of dedication to our field and to our regulatory and certifying agencies has resulted in O’Brien Pharmacy passing all of our PCAB inspections with flying colors, as well as all FDA inspections and those of the 39 state boards of pharmacy in which we’re licensed.