An internal-use pharmacy may have some of its control operations relating to the preparations mentioned in 1°, 2° and 3° of Article L. 5121-1 carried out by a subcontracted laboratory under the terms of a written contract. In this case, the managing pharmacist must ensure that the subcontracted laboratory has the necessary skills and resources to carry out the services. He shall inform the Director General of the regional health agency with territorial jurisdiction of the subcontracting or, if the services are requested by the in-house pharmacy of an armed forces hospital, the technical inspectorate of the armed forces pharmaceutical services. Where the subcontracting laboratory is part of a pharmaceutical manufacturing establishment, the subcontracting activity is authorised by the Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé.
For an army hospital, when the subcontracting laboratory of the pharmacy for internal use is part of the Central Army Pharmacy, the subcontracting activity is authorised by the Minister of Defence, who informs the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products.