Pharmacy Refrigeration

Pharmaceutical stock must be stored correctly, especially in relation to those medicines which require storage at low temperatures. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) requires the following guidance to be complied with relating to storage of medicines at low temperatures.

Pharmaceutical Storage

Refrigerators used for pharmaceutical stock must be capable of storing products between +2°C and +8°C.

They must be equipped with a maximum and minimum thermometer which is checked each day the pharmacy is open and the maximum and minimum temperatures are recorded.

In addition to this, the National Pharmaceutical Association (NPA) recommends the following:

Do not open the door for prolonged periods. Always ensure the door is closed firmly after use.

Do not overstock the fridge. Clean the refrigerator regularly.

Temperature Control

The Lec Medical pharmacy refrigerators maintain an internal temperature between +2°C and +8°C and the external digital temperature controller continuously monitors the minimum and maximum temperatures.

An audio-visual alarm will also activate if the temperature deviates outside of the set parameters for more than 15 minutes.

Forced-air Cooling

All of Lec Medical’s range of pharmacy fridges has forced air cooling to ensure temperature stability and rapid temperature recovery after door openings.

Security

All of the pharmacy refrigerators are fully lockable and are provided with two keys preventing any unauthorised access. Some of the larger models now include an open door sensor which alerts users that it has been left open.