August 2017 Blog Posts (34)

The FDA’s regulations on cleanroom environmental monitoring (EM) are based on the assumption that any person who enters a cleanroom is likely and almost certain to have brought contaminants in one or another form with him. The FDA’s regulations on cleanroom environmental monitoring are built on the thinking that microorganisms can assail even the cleanest of systems, which is why its regulations on cleanroom…

The medical profession is different from most others in one vital aspect: Practitioners of this profession don’t retire. The profession allows the physician to continue for as long as her physical and mental faculties allow her to. The US’ Supreme Court judges too, don’t retire, but theirs is judicial service, during which they are paid by the government, while a…

Quality controls in laboratories are a major area for which the FDA issues 483’s. A laboratory is the venue for many activities, all of them of varying importance to the product. When controls in laboratories are not up to the standard, such a laboratory could produce products that do not meet quality and processes expectations, and hence invite 483’s.

Issues with drug quality, drug integrity and data integrity, as well as data fabrication and human errors…

To say that the manufacturing industry is huge is to make a huge understatement. It is an activity that spans entire industries and is the lifeblood of many economies, right from advanced to developing ones. Despite the advancement in automation in the processes of many industries, manufacturing is still heavily dependent on human labor.

This makes manufacturing an activity that is prone to human error, because wherever there is human involvement, there is scope for human error. Why…

The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a process control system that is aimed at identifying the points or areas at which hazards (dangers) may arise in the food chain. It prescribes strict measures for manufacturers and transporters of food products to prevent contamination and the resultant hazards. Control of hazards in the food chain has always been a need, but HACCP assumes added significance in today’s…

In any industry, compliance is everything; be it highly specialized fields such as the life sciences, healthcare, medical devices or non-technological areas such as food and clothing. Why do companies need to be compliant? It is simply because being in compliance with the required regulatory requirements helps the organization to achieve the most positive outcomes needed for a business:

• It earns them a good reputation
• Increases stakeholder and customer…

Most healthcare providers or organizations that are described as Covered Entities by HIPAA, engage vendors as HIPAA Business Associates for carrying out many of their services on their behalf. HIPAA defines a Business Associate as a person or an entity who carries out some or all functions or activities that involve the use or disclosure of Protected Health Information on behalf of, or of providing services to a…

Mastering MS Excel formulas and functions can make a miracle out of this program. When used optimally, MS Excel can be a wonderful tool for carrying out umpteen functions and optimizing work related to a number of departments. For example, the Accounts Department can do a number of important functions such as loan repayment calculation, generating a profit and loss statement, solve complex mathematical and engineering problems, and carry out anything that involves addition, subtraction,…

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. This adage may appear figurative and allegorical when applied to the realm of statistics, but there is no denying the fact that a visual approach to statistics enlivens the subject like no other. A dash of pictorial work and some coloring at the right places enhance the…

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is an important system aimed at bringing down the risk of safety hazards found in food consumed all over the world. It is an internationally recognized system. When it was enacted in January 2011 as part of the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act; it was considered a very sweeping piece of legislation for the food industry.

Identification and control of…