Pharmacy Compounding

Dermatologists, physicians, health care professionals and patients encounter numerous problems that may be helped with customized medications.

Dermatologics is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases. Compounding helps the dermotologist with topical anesthetics that work with cosmetic procedures, providing chemical peels to meet patient needs, barrier creams for various applications and all sorts of skin and wound care formulations that improve results.

Compounding solutions improve treatment for:

Acne Psoriasis Eczema Rosacea Sunburn Hair loss Fever blisters Plantar wart

Warts and molluscum Fungal and viral infections Wrinkles and photoaged skin Pigmentation abnormalities Plant irritations (i.e. poison ivy) Traumatized or diseased nails Head lice and Scabies Scarring and Keloids

Pharmacy Compounding

What is compounding and what are its benefits

Pharmacy compounding is the art and science of preparing customized medications for patients. Its practice dates back to the origins of pharmacy; yet, compounding’s presence in the pharmacy profession has changed over the years. In the 1930s and 1940s, approximately 60 percent of all medications were compounded. With the advent of drug manufacturing in the 1950s and ‘60s, compounding rapidly declined. The pharmacist’s role as a preparer of medications quickly changed to that of a dispenser of manufactured dosage forms.

Within the last two decades, though, compounding has experienced a resurgence as modern technology and innovative techniques and research have allowed more pharmacists to customize medications to meet specific patient needs.

There are several reasons why pharmacists compound prescription medications. The most important one is what the medical community calls “patient non-compliance.” Many patients are allergic to preservatives or dyes, or are sensitive to standard drug strengths. With a physician’s consent, a compounding pharmacist can change the strength of a medication, alter its form to make it easier for the patient to ingest, or add flavor to make it more palatable. The pharmacist also can prepare the medication using several unique delivery systems, such as a sublingual troche or lozenge, a lollipop, or a transdermal gel or cream that can be absorbed through the skin. For those patients who are having a hard time swallowing a capsule, a compounding pharmacist can make a liquid suspension instead.

Compounding pharmacists have the opportunity to work with a variety of practice specialties, such as hospice, pediatrics, pain management, and OB/GYN, which in turn broadens the scope of their practices and creates other opportunities to provide other pharmacist care services. Your pharmacy can become a compounding pharmacy – one that is committed to providing high-quality compounded medications in the dosage form and strength prescribed by the physician. This triad relationship between the patient, the physician, and the pharmacist is vital to the process of compounding so all three can work together to solve unique medical problems.

Source: PCCA (Professional Compounding Centers of America)

Picture CreditL Glebe Apothecary