Mass General Pharmacy Compounding Team

Mass General Pharmacy Compounding Team

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bigelow-Gray basement has been bustling with certified pharmacy technicians and pharmacists working around the clock to keep production up with the skyrocketing demand of sterile compounded medications. The Massachusetts General Hospital Pharmacy Compounding Team is responsible for production of premixed sterile and nonsterile products stored in med rooms across the hospital. Prior to COVID-19, this group of technicians and pharmacists typically produced an average of 4,000 sterile units per week.

In April, sterile production spiked to an average of 8,500 units per week. Despite the doubling of demand, the team rallied together to ensure our patients continued to receive uninterrupted access to critical medications. As an example, production of standard hydromorphone infusion bags increased from near 1,000 bags in February to more than 8,000 bags in April.

“This impressive feat could not have been accomplished without the dedication of the technicians and pharmacists who worked double shifts, picked up extra hours on weekends and jumped in to help with tasks normally outside of their job description,” says Katherine Sencion, PharmD, MS, manager of Compounding Services in the Department of Pharmacy. “Like others at Mass General, this team is made up of health care heroes that went above and beyond to provide exceptional care for our patients.”