It has always been a challenge to put in place regulations that are mandated by relevant federal authorities especially where drugs and sensitive medicines are concerned. What is important is the kind of temperature at which these medicines have to be stored and whether or not the temperature is controlled in an appropriate and unhindered manner. In any kind of pharmaceutical warehousing facility, there are checks and balances to ensure that temperature is controlled always without any interruption. In fact, there can be separate sections within the facility wherein there are changing temperatures depending on the requirement of the drugs that are stored within that specific space. These temperature-controlled areas are monitored through strict and stringent protocols that are implicitly followed by the staff who are trained for this specific purpose. To add to this, there are usually other agencies that are given the task of inspecting, auditing, and recording their findings so that efficient maintenance of temperature is done right through the year.
Temperature Differences
It would be interesting to note that when one talks about a refrigerated chamber for the storage of medicines, there could be three different kinds of temperatures that are maintained. This could be either chilled, frozen, or ambient temperatures – this means that each of these different kinds of temperatures caters to the storage of varied medicines and drugs.It also indicates that there are specific parameters for each of these different kinds of storage areas that are set out by the MHRA, which is an authority that lays down regulations for the safe storage of drugs in approved warehousing facilities. In case there are lapses in the maintenance of these temperatures, the same gets recorded with the help of the software that monitors the entire system. Once this happens the next step of either removing the medicines that have been compromised or the relocation of the same will be initiated with the adequate supervision of the relevant staff.
Tracking
Most of these facilities that offer warehousing services that are approved, also offer specialist courier services that are completely tracked and monitored. They are able to do this with the help of the relevant software or programs that include barcode scanning and other such track and trace mechanisms that have been designed specifically for the pharmaceutical sector. The tracking is also recorded for further use and quality assurance purposes so that when mistakes are made they are recorded to help staff learn from them and ensure that remedial measures are taken when necessary.