Every F-Tag your pharmacy should already cover.
When CMS or CDPH walks in, your pharmacy partner is half the survey. Below is our exact mapping of what we do to the F-Tags that get cited at SNFs and RCFEs across California.
The pharmacy-touching F-Tags, and how we cover them.
From 42 CFR §483.45 — the federal regulations governing pharmaceutical services in long-term care.
| F-Tag | Requirement | How we cover it |
|---|---|---|
| F-755 | Pharmacy servicesThe facility must provide routine and emergency drugs and biologicals. | Two scheduled cycles per week + 2–4 hour STAT lane, 7 days a week including holidays. Real on-call pharmacist for partner facilities — not an answering service. |
| F-756 | Drug regimen reviewEach resident's drug regimen reviewed at least monthly by a licensed pharmacist. | Monthly DRR on every resident, delivered by the 5th business day of the following month. Annotated with recommendations and tracked to closure. |
| F-757 | Unnecessary drugsEach resident's drug regimen must be free from unnecessary drugs. | Quarterly review for duplicates, excessive duration, inadequate indication, and contraindicated combinations. Recommendations sent to attending within 48 hours. |
| F-758 | Antipsychotics & PRNsPRN orders limited to 14 days; antipsychotics require GDR documentation. | 14-day PRN expiration auto-flagged in pre-fill review. Antipsychotic GDR tracked monthly with documentation suitable for surveyor review. RCFE §87468.2(d) informed-consent chain captured at admission. |
| F-759 | Medication errorsFacility must ensure medication-error rate below 5%. | Barcoded packaging, eMAR integration, and unit-dose for high-risk drugs reduce med-pass errors. We participate in your QAPI committee. |
| F-760 | Significant medication errorsResidents must be free of any significant medication errors. | Real-time error capture and root-cause analysis. Any near-miss is documented and reviewed at the next QAPI within 30 days. |
| F-761 | Labeling & storageDrugs must be labeled per accepted standards and stored properly. | Labels include all required elements per Cal. Code Regs. tit. 16 §1717. Monthly walk-through with photo-documented findings — temperature logs (refrigerated and ambient), C-II safe-storage, expired-drug pull, label legibility, separated-by-resident verification. |
| F-762 | Controlled drug disposalThe facility must establish a system to dispose of controlled drugs. | Reverse distribution within 72 hours of expiration. DEA Form 41/106 prepared and witnessed; documentation retained for the federally required period. |
RCFE-specific: Title 22 §87465 PRN protocols, §87468.1 centrally stored medications (refrigerated and ambient temperature logs, two-staff witnessed destruction with countersigned log), §87468.2 medication management, §87468.2(d) psychotropic informed-consent chain. SNF: §72527 pharmacy services, §72528 medication therapy management.
Licensed, BAA-backed, audited.
CA Board of Pharmacy
Licensed California pharmacy in good standing. License # available on request.
DEA registered
Registered for Schedules II–V. Witnessed reverse distribution for expired or destroyed controls.
HIPAA / BAA
Business Associate Agreement signed before any resident-level data is exchanged. Notice of Privacy Practices.
USP <800> ready
Hazardous-drug handling per USP <800>; NIOSH list reviewed monthly; staff training quarterly.
Liability insurance
Pharmacy professional liability through Pharmacists Mutual. Certificate available on request.
Named consultant pharmacist
Every contract names the consultant pharmacist + active CA RPh license number — the first artifact a CDPH surveyor opens.
Want the binder?
We'll send you our compliance binder — license copies, scope-of-services, sample DRR, sample F-tag report — under NDA. Most administrators want this before signing.