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Data Integrity and Documentation10th October 2022, Drugs Inspectors of Food & Drugs Administration, Maharashtra State���Sandip Shah – Viyash Life Sciences

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  • Disclaimer :

  • The views expressed in this presentation is solely based on the understanding and interpretation of a presenter.

  • Examples given here is only to better correlate the subject and no way represents any organization

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Some Rules

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  • Be interactive

  • Your input is valuable

  • If you have a question … ASK!

  • If I don’t have an answer … I’ll try to get you one.

  • ENJOY!

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Some Rules

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INTRODUCTION

We will discuss…..

  • Regulatory Landscape
  • Elements of a code of conduct for data
  • What is data?
  • What is data Integrity?
  • Cultural considerations
  • Cognitive Load assessment
  • Mitigation approach

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Regulatory Landscape �

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REGULATORY APPROVAL

REGULATORY INSPECTORS ENSURE

COMPLIANCE WITH cGMP

CENTRAL DRUGS STANDARD CONTROL ORGANIZATION

State Licensing Authorities

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Regulatory Landscape �

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If Pharma Companies ignore GMP?

  • Permission to sell products withheld
  • Order to stop manufacture and sale of products
  • Products withdrawn from market
  • Loss of confidence by industry peers and regulators
  • Adverse publicity, patient safety concerns
  • Increased attention from regulators

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Regulatory Landscape �

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How Does the Regulators Enforce?

  • Inspection Observations Letter
  • Inspections (Pre-Approval, Routine, Cause)
  • Warning Letters
  • Consent Decrees
  • Seizures

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Elements of a code of conduct for Data

  • Does formal procedure exist?

  • Are all employees made aware?

  • Are mechanism in place to detect?

  • Enough engagement ?

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What is Data?

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Data : Facts and statistics collected for reference or analysis

Data should be:

A - attributable to the person generating the data

L – legible and permanent

C – contemporaneous

O – original record (or true copy)

A - accurate

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What is Data?

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What is Data?

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    • Identity of personnel involved, their actions and the time and date is recorded

Attributable

    • Data is clear to all users (handwriting, images or text, electronic formatting)

Legible

    • Data is Recorded in real-time (as the event happens)

Contemporaneous

    • Not a copy (if copies are made, these must be clearly labelled as such)

Original

    • Fully correct and representative of the event recorded (no errors or bias)

Accurate

    • Data is fully present (no incomplete data recording, modification or deletion)

Complete

    • Data is stored in a manner that ensures that it will be long-lasting

Durable

    • Confirm certain data through a witness or second approver or verification

Corroborated

    • Data changes are recorded in new versions of files (original files kept intact)

Version-Based

    • Data is available to view (within a reasonable time frame)

Accessible

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What is data?

Could be a paper documents or electronic records

  • Product development report
  • Batch manufacturing records
  • Specification and test procedures
  • Analytical records
  • Training records
  • Equipment usage logs
  • Weighing records
  • Material issuance records
  • Material consumption records
  • Attendance records and so on……

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What is data Integrity?

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Common Data Integrity Issues Found in QC Chemistry Laboratories

Audit Trails – For electronic data acquisition systems, audit trails are not

available or are not enabled, therefore, there is no record of data

modifications or deletions. Some companies have software that contains

audit trail capabilities but they do not turn the audit trail on, and are cited for

not enabling it.

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What is data Integrity?

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Unique User Logins – Software that ensures data integrity and preserves the

company’s culture of quality has unique user logins. This feature gives each

person a username and password, so that the software can track the

person’s work. Each user should have a unique username and password for

both the analytical software and the operating system. This is essential for

tracing work performed to a unique individual, and is critical for Good

Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance and data integrity. Companies

are often cited for having multiple users share the same username and

password or, worse yet, having all users logging in as the administrator with

privileges that may include the ability to modify or delete data.

Manufacturer 3

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What is data Integrity?

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User Privilege Levels – Each data acquisition system should have defined

user levels based on the role the user will have in the system. Examples of

common user roles include analyst, supervisor, manager, and administrator.

Privileges assigned to each level should be clearly defined and be

appropriate for the requirements specific to each user type. Examples of

privileges include the ability to create test methods, modify high

performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) integration parameters, modify

data, validate data, and approve data.

Manufacturer 3

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What is data Integrity?

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Manufacturer 1

Overwriting of electronic raw data until acceptable results were achieved, OOS not initiated. Falsification of data to support regulatory filings Stand alone GC systems without adequate controls

Manufacturer 2

Falsification of batch records (re-writing clean records) Non-contemporaneous recording of lab data Recording of sample weights on scraps of paper Missing raw data Manufacturer 3

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What is data Integrity?

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Manufacturer 3

Unofficial testing of samples (trial samples) OOS results not investigated Retesting completed but not justified No restriction/protection of electronic data

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What is data Integrity?

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Manufacturer 4

Chromatographic software was not validated to ensure re-writing, deletion of data prohibited

Manufacturer 5

IPQC performed without batch record present, Unexplained ‘trial’ samples run before analysis, Deletion of HPLC data -lack of data security, Missing stability samples

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Cultural Considerations

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What is culture ?

Does it vary from country to country?

Does it vary from state to state?

What makes the culture?

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Cultural Considerations

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  • Understanding of Expectations, and Execution

GXP

  • Code of Conduct and Ethics

  • No real commitment to continuous improvement
  • Insensitive Management
  • Top - down communications only
  • Unrealistic demands for “Perfection”

Some Macro Root Causes and Factors

Financial Motivations

Business Pressures

Organizational culture and working environment

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  • Cognitive Load assessment

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Not all cognitive load is bad. But a problem arises when the load exceeds the capacity of the person processing it

In cognitive psychology, cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory.

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Root cause analysis

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There are many root cause investigation tools

Ishakawa Fishbone (6M), Fault Tree,

Failure Modes Effects Analysis (FMEA),

Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA),

Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Regression Analysis

These are designed to find root cause for process/system failures

Deploying these on human behavior failures (e.g., human error) are unlikely to result in finding true root causes and deploying the right corrective actions

A different analysis tool set is required for human behavior failures

ADKOM is a simple, easy to deploy approach to bolster human behavior root cause investigations and assure true root cause is found

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Root cause analysis

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ADKOM Methodology

Immediate

Actions

Fact

Finding

Run the Facts Through the ADKOM Filter

A

Ability

Did the person have the ability to do the right thing?

D

K

O

M

Motivation

Were the motivating factors around the person supportive of doing the right thing?

Opportunity

Did the person have the opportunity to do the right thing?

Knowledge

Did the person know the right thing to do and consequences of not doing the right thing?

Decision

Was the person directed properly to do the right thing?

Human Error

Mistake

Lie / omission

Poor behavior

Data falsification / destruction

Harassment

Quarantine of systems

Confiscate of files

Lock down equipment

Remove people involved

Notify HR, corporate

Gather the facts

Interview witnesses

Interview people involved

Find facts with ADKOM in mind

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Root cause analysis

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If 1 or more answers are “No” then the root cause is unlikely to be a performance issue

Probable Corrective / Preventive Action

The person can’t do the right thing. Solve with training or ergonomic fix if it is a physical limitation.

The person isn’t being directed properly. Improve supervision and/or redesign information sharing.

The person doesn’t know the right thing to do. Reinforce policy, increase signage or mistake proof.

The person isn’t being given the opportunity to do things right. Address the process or staffing causes.

The person is being motivated to do the wrong things. Address the cultural issues and clarify team expectations.

The person made a mistake or chose to do the wrong thing. Follow the disciplinary process.

If the facts show the answer to all 5 questions is “Yes” then it is a performance issue

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Mitigation Approach

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  • Understand regulatory landscape – Patient safety is a key to everything that we do

  • Create a culture for Quality – Top down and Bottom-up approach

  • Have your policies clear and unambiguous

  • Company reputation is much more important than few batches

  • Create highly effective detection system

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Mitigation Approach

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  • Understand regulatory landscape – Patient safety is a key to everything that we do

When manually recorded data requires stringent oversight, consideration should be given to risk reducing supervisory measures. Examples include contemporaneous second person verification of data entry, or cross checks of related information sources (e.g., equipment logbooks).

The inherent risks to data integrity relating to equipment and computerized systems may differ depending upon the degree to which data (or the system generating or using the data) can be configured, and therefore potentially manipulated

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Mitigation Approach

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  • Understand regulatory landscape – Patient safety is a key to everything that we do

Designing systems to assure data quality and integrity

Systems and processes should be designed in a way that encourages compliance with the principles of data integrity. Consideration should be given to ease of access, usability and location whilst ensuring appropriate control of the activity guided by the criticality of the data. Examples includes,

• Access to appropriately controlled / synchronized clocks for recording timed events.

• Accessibility of records at locations where activities take place so that ad hoc data recording and later transcription to official records is not necessary

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Mitigation Approach

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  • Understand regulatory landscape – Patient safety is a key to everything that we do

  • Free accesses to blank paper proformas for raw/source data recording should be controlled where this is appropriate.

  • User access rights that prevent (or audit trail) unauthorized data amendments

• Automated data capture or printers attached to equipment such as balances

• Control of physical parameters (time, space, equipment) that permit performance of tasks and recording of data as required.

• Access to raw data for staff performing data checking activities.

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Mitigation Approach

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  • Understand regulatory landscape – Patient safety is a key to every thing that we do

  • The use of scribes to record activity on behalf of another operator should be considered ‘exceptional’, and only take place where:

  • The act of contemporaneous recording compromises the product or activity e.g., documenting line interventions by sterile operators.

• To accommodate cultural or staff literacy/language limitations, for instance where an activity is performed by an operator but witnessed and recorded by a Supervisor or Officer.

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Mitigation Approach

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  • Understand regulatory landscape – Patient safety is a key to every thing that we do

In both situations, the supervisory recording should be contemporaneous with the task being performed and should identify both the person performing the task and the person completing the record. The person performing the task should countersign the record wherever possible, although it Is accepted that this countersigning step will be retrospective. The process for supervisory (scribe) documentation completion should be described in an approved procedure, which should also specify the activities

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Knowledge Checks

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Intentional data manipulation or falsification

Poor documentation practices that result in unreliable data

Lack of computerized system, instrument and/or data control

Absence of detectability / review process

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Knowledge checks

You are a Quality Supervisor

An analyst tells you that he suspects that a sample he is testing may be out-of-specifications. He utilized the sample to optimize his analytical equipment and noted that the sample reading was much lower than readings he had obtained for similar samples previously. He asks whether he should formally analyze the sample or request a new sample of the same lot from storage. He also adds, with a wink, that he had a batch earlier that day that “produced some really good data” and that there were plenty of tablets left in case he needed to “make some more good data”. How would you proceed? What types of errors occurred here?

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Knowledge Checks

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Good Documentation Practices ( GDP) – Simple rules