Decontamination technology: the missing element.

Understanding decontamination technology as it applies to compounding sterile preparations and its role in achieving an acceptable level of sterility assurance in compounded preparations is essential. Delivering safe preparations to patients requires the key elements that make up an acceptable sterility-assurance level. Those key elements are decontamination of the preparation components and the environment in which they are compounded, aseptic technique, and proper air quality of the compounding environment. This article explores the concept of sterility assurance as it applies to sterile preparations.