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Unique People, Unique Problems,
Unique Beginning, Unique Solutions
Peggy Ann McKay in Shel Silverstein's poem "Sick" qualifies as a unique individual. But aren't we all? It is repeated throughout the years that nobody is exactly alike; yet, we still expect every medication to effect us in the same way as the next person. Compounding is a way to make the medicine work for you; the individual.
Like the little girl in the poem, we each have unique problems. I'm not sure anyone has symptoms such as purple bumps, but what if you had a itchy rash, difficulties swallowing medicines, or a nauseous stomach every time you took your medication. Check out our Compounding Center medications and dosage applications that can make your medicine work effectively and more pleasantly the first time.
Compounding medicines returns to the foundation of pharmacy. You learn from the past and independent pharmacies like Causey's are returning to their roots. Take a look at the history of compounding in our article What is compounding?
Although we can't relieve your symptoms by saying it's a Saturday, we might have another trick up our sleeve. See our section addressing Problem Solving Station and we'll see if we can find some answers. |
| Is Compounding the right solution for you? |
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If you would benefit from the following check list compounding medicines could be the solution to all your health care problems. |
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- Modifying dosage and strength of prescriptions
- Eliminating preservatives
- Combining drugs
- Changing medicine flavor
- Changing medicine color
- Altering medicine delivery
- Substituting fillers, dyes, binders or additives that may cause allergic reactions
- Creating "special-need formulations"
- Developing your commercially unavailable medicines
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At Causey's Pharmacy, we have two pharmaceutical specialists in the area of Compounding that can customize medicine to fit your needs best. Click here to purchase our over the counter compounds.
What is Compounding?
Compounding pharmacist provide valuable service through customized medications.
The role of the independent community pharmacist is changing these days. With increasing competition from large chain pharmacies and a continually evolving healthcare environment, many pharmacists have returned to the early roots of pharmacy when they made medications tailored to the individual's need. Also known as "problem solvers," these pharmacists are practicing the art of pharmaceutical compounding, which is the method of preparing medications to meet each physician's and patient's unique needs.
The Triad Relationship
Compounding is achieved through an essential triad relationship -- patient, physician and pharmacist. The physician first prescribes the medication, then the pharmacist takes the necessary ingredients, compounds them, and dispenses the medicine to the patient after a thorough consultation. This enables patients to receive the type of personalized care they deserve and allows independent community pharmacists the opportunity to provide superior, patient-oriented services.
History of Compounding
The practice of preparing medications dates back to the origins of pharmacy; yet, compounding's presence throughout the pharmacy profession has changed over the years. In the 1930s and 1940s, approximately 60 percent of all medications were compounded. During the 1950s and 60s, with the advent of manufacturing, compounding declined. The pharmacists's role as a preparer of medications quickly changed to that of a dispenser of manufactured dosage forms. In the 1980s, and especially in the 90s, physicians and patients are again realizing the benefits of preparing customized medications to meet specific patient needs. Today, an estimated 43,000 prescriptions are compounded daily, or one percent of total prescriptions dispensed.
Reasons for Compounding
There are several reasons why pharmacists compound prescription medications; yet, the most important one is 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, and add flavor to it 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, for those patients who are having a difficult time swallowing a capsule, a compounding pharmacist can make a suspension instead. Often parents have a tough time getting their children to take their medicine because of the taste. A compounding pharmacist can work directly with the physician and the patient to select a flavoring agent, such as vanilla butternut or tutti frutti, that provides both an appropriate match for the medication's properties and the patient's taste preferences. Compounding pharmacists also have helped patients who are experiencing chronic pain. For example, arthritic patients who cannot take certain medications due to gastro side effects. Working with their physician, a compounding pharmacist can provide them with a topical preparation with the anti-inflammatory or analgesic their doctor prescribed for them.
Meeting Patient and Practitioner Needs
Compounders focus on meeting special needs. This may involve compounding an eye drop in a sterile compounding lab, an injection for impotency, preparing medications for veterinarians in a variety of dosage forms and flavors, providing natural alternatives in hormone replacement therapy, or assisting physicians in treating hospice patients.
The ultimate goal in preparing any of these customized medications is to help the physician and patient achieve a more positive therapeutic outcome.
How to Start?
That is the real question. Compounding requires a prescription, so check with your doctor to see if this could benefit you. Simply ask him to contact us by phone or fax.
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