The quality of a product, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, should be taken into consideration from the moment it is created until the expiration date. Quality should not end as soon as the product leaves the manufacturer or as soon as it reaches the patient. This makes medication quality control an important factor to consider when deciding where to get your medications from.
Quality needs to be analyzed at all levels. From the initial combination of ingredients, compounding, sorting, packaging, shipping, distributing and even consuming are steps covered through quality control procedures.
What is Medication Quality Control?
When a company does everything it can to make sure a product or drug is in top quality condition, they are practicing medication quality control. They put the drug through processes and experiments to make sure errors are non-existent.
Both manufacturers and packagers take extra steps to maintain this quality with each drug, making consistency a reality within a drug class.
Medication quality control involves all the actions a company takes to make sure medicines are pure, safe and compliant with all laws and regulations.
Medication quality control is important for many reasons. Keep reading to find out why quality control is a must when providing medicine for your patients.
Medication Quality Assurance
Medication quality control and quality assurance are different, yet both are necessary when it comes to manufacturing and supplying medications.
Quality assurance includes the processes and procedures that are implemented to assess the operations associated with the production of a medicine.
No Counterfeits
The Federal Drug Administration defines a counterfeit drug as one that is sold as a product without proper authorization.
Statistics on counterfeit drugs are alarming.
Internet sales of counterfeit drugs are around $75 billion. These counterfeit drugs have either the wrong ingredients or wrong amounts of the ingredients, making them dangerous for patients. It has been reported that around 80 percent of counterfeit drugs consumed in the United States come from overseas.
Drugs should be registered to avoid counterfeiting. Registering drugs makes it many times harder for counterfeit criminals to manufacture and deal the product.
Inspectors who participate in extensive training can identify counterfeit pharmaceuticals. They can then file the right complaints or assist in taking legal actions against the counterfeit criminals.
Safety for Patients
The World Health Organization has a prequalification process that can assess the safety and quality of medicines. They make sure medicines meet appropriate standards. They also have the capability of evaluating and prequalifying ingredients used to make pharmaceuticals in order to increase medication quality control.
Reduce Liability
Medical malpractice lawsuits happen every day, even when the physician has a great reputation. There are eager people who want to file negligence claims against physicians, even when the doctor has done everything right.
If patients are given medicines that have the wrong ingredients, serious health hazards could occur. This could lead to malpractice or liability issues for your practice. The drug manufacturer could also be held responsible. Therefore many, including prepackaged companies, take extra steps to ensure medication quality control.
To avoid any liability such as this, make sure the packaging company you choose to work with values quality control processes. Good packaging companies will be excited to tell you all the safety tests they have passed as part of their medication quality control process. They will want you to know they strive for perfection in every area, from sorting to labeling to shipping.
Customer/ Patient Loyalty
If your patients are consistently given products that are proven to be top quality, they will want to continue with you as their provider. Patients do not want to have to switch physicians. They seek long-term relationships with service providers.
As a physician, you seek loyal customers who will support your practice for many years. One of the main ways to keep patients on your roster is to provide them with the best medicines.
Patients want to feel better, quickly. Supplying them with medicines that have undergone strict medication quality control assessments and passed according to quality standards will show your patients you care about their health.
You can feel proud to explain to patients the amount of inspection and confirmation of quality the medicine you are prescribing undergoes. This will help your patients feel secure. They trust you. You want to be able to honor their trust.
In return, patients will remain loyal while also recommending you to others, growing your client list.
It is important for you, as a physician, to double and triple check the medication quality control processes associated with the medicines you prescribe. Find out for yourself if the company is reputable and if it values quality. You owe it to your patients to make sure they receive the best product available.