What oversight examines.
WHAT BODIES TYPICALLY HAVE AUTHORITY
The pharmacy regulatory council, over premises and practitioners The medicines regulator, over products Drug law enforcement, over controlled substances State health authorities Local authorities
WHAT INSPECTIONS EXAMINE
Premises registration and its currency The supervising pharmacist's presence and registration Products stocked, and whether they are registered Storage conditions and refrigeration records Expired stock Controlled substance register and stock Dispensing records Waste handling
WHAT COMMONLY PRODUCES FINDINGS
Expired stock on shelves Unregistered products Refrigeration records missing Controlled register not reconciled Pharmacist absent during operation
WHAT TO DO
Address each of those as routine practice, not as inspection preparation.
WHY
Preparation visible as preparation is itself a finding.
WHAT TO KEEP READY
Licences and registrations Purchase records and invoices Temperature logs Controlled substance register Dispensing records Disposal records
WHAT TO DO WHEN INSPECTORS ARRIVE
Verify identity and authority Cooperate Record what was examined and said Obtain any findings in writing
WHY RECORD
It is your account of what happened.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT FINDINGS
Address them, and evidence that you did.
WHAT TO BE CAUTIOUS OF
Anyone demanding payment without official process.
WHAT TO INSIST ON
Official receipts.
