The Case for Compounding Pharmacies
Modern medicine has come a very long way in the last few decades. It seems that there is now a drug or pharmaceutical preparation to meet nearly every need, yet the needs of some patients still fall outside of these extensive lists of available prescriptions. When this happens, it is up to a compounding pharmacy to create the medication that the patient can use.
What Kind of Drugs Do Compounders Make?
Most prescription medications are premade and shipped to pharmacies nationwide to meet everyday needs, from heartburn to depression to blood pressure problems and more. When these prescriptions won’t work for a patient – but that patient still needs the benefits the prescription provides – a compounding pharmacy can make a new medication that might better suit their individual needs.
Some reasons why a compounder might need to be brought in for creating new medications include:
- Strength or dosage of a premade medication is not sufficient.
- Flavor of premade medication is not palatable to the patient, frequently used in children and pet medications.
- One or more ingredients that are part of the premade medication are outside prescribed diets for the patient or may cause allergic reactions. (Lactose, gluten, dyes, and flavors are all examples of this.)
- A patient is unable to swallow, chew or otherwise ingest the medication as it is typically made.
For these and many other reasons, compounding pharmacies create new versions of preexisting medications – or create entirely new combinations of medicinal ingredients – to meet the needs of approximately 3-5% of the American public every year.
When to Bring in the Compounder
If you believe that a particular medication your doctor or medical provider has recommended for you might not work – either because of allergies, drug interactions or other complications – you have the right to ask about having a prescription custom-prepared for you at a local compounding pharmacy. Today’s compounders create a variety of medical preparations, meeting the needs of adults, children, elderly and even animal patients. Ask your doctor today if a compounder can help make your medication easier for you to swallow.