What must pharmacies ensure for drugs with an expiration date exceeding 10 days?

Pharmacies must ensure that for drugs with an expiration date exceeding 10 days, there is data confirming sterility and stability. This is critical to ensure that the drugs maintain their intended efficacy and safety throughout their shelf life. The stability of a drug refers to the time period during which it remains within the specifications for identity, strength, quality, and purity. Sterility is essential for any compounded preparations, especially those that are intended for parenteral administration, as any compromise could lead to significant health risks for patients.

Having verifiable data on sterility and stability supports the pharmacy’s responsibility to provide safe and effective medications. This is in accordance with best practices in pharmaceutical care and relevant regulatory requirements that govern the compounding and dispensing of medications. Regular inventory checks and procedures related to compounding services, while important in their own right, do not directly address the specific requirements regarding drugs with extended expiration dates in terms of ensuring their ongoing suitability for patient use. Retesting for efficacy is generally not a common practice for drugs within their labeled expiration dates unless there are concerns about their integrity or safety.