New Centralized Pharmacy Will Bring Drug Compounding In House

Scripps Health soon will break ground on a $3.5 million centralized pharmacy in San Diego that will handle most drug compounding for the system’s four hospitals, according to a report by the UT San Diego.

By coincidence, the project comes at a time when third-party compounding companies are facing new scrutiny in the wake of a fungal meningitis outbreak linked to an East Coast supplier of the drugs.

The new centralized pharmacy will include state-of-the-art computerized, automated and robotic equipment designed to improve safety, quality and efficiency.

Scripps Corporate Vice President of Quality, Physician Comanagement and Medical Management James LaBelle, MD, said the facility will give Scripps direct control over the compounding drug production process.

“It’s all about driving value to patients,” Dr. LaBelle told the UT.