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What is Compounding?
Compounding dates back to the
earliest practices of pharmacy. It was the pharmacist's
responsibility to prepare custom made medications to meet the
patient's needs. In the 1930s and 40s, 60 percent of all medication
was compounded.
As manufacturing took
hold in the 1950s and 60s, the practice of compounding dropped
dramatically. Pharmacists became dispensers of manufactured
medications instead of being preparers of custom medications.
However, in the 1980s and 90s, physicians began to realize the
importance of custom made medications to better meet their patients'
needs. They began calling on pharmacists to help them and, again,
compounding had somewhat of a rebirth.
Today, compounding
pharmacists are often advertising themselves as "problem solvers".
The label is appropriate, because compounding pharmacists are
working with physicians and patients, implementing modern
compounding techniques, to solve problems that some patients have
with taking manufactured medications.
Why do we need it?
There are many reasons why
compounding should be an important practice of pharmacy. First of
all, a patient could possibly have an allergic reaction to a
preservative or a dye in a manufactured medication. In that
instance, perhaps we could prepare a formulation that contains no
preservatives or dyes, so that the patient could continue taking the
medication he or she needed, without worry or concern.
Limited strengths and
dosage forms are always a problem with manufactured medication.
Working with the physician, we can compound certain medications in
many different strengths and dosage forms. Some of the dosage forms
we are able to compound are capsules, transdermal creams and gels,
troches, lozenges, liquids or suspensions. We can make them taste
better too! Adding a flavor here and there greatly increases the
chance of patients, especially children, taking the medication as
directed by their physician.
Don't forget about your
animals! We can help them too! We also work with veterinarians to
help your animals get the medications they need!
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here for more information
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