DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF A STERILE COMPOUNDING FACILITY

The design and evaluation of a sterile compounding center for a large community teaching hospital are described. The new sterile products ar ea was redesigned to improve efficiency by minimizing staff travel and to incorporate recommendations of the ASHP Technical Assistance Bulle tin on Quality Assurance for Pharmacy-prepared Sterile Products. The d esign approach combined strategic planning with master facilities plan ning. The process began with a systems analysis, followed by the devel opment of a functional program (a comprehensive list of design specifi cations). Travel studies were performed before and after renovation to determine gains in efficiency; technician travel decreased 29% and ph armacist travel, 42%. The new facility design met the specifications i n the functional program and appeared to comply with all recommendatio ns in the ASHP document for all risk levels of preparations.