What Is a Compounding Pharmacy?

A compounding pharmacy is a type of pharmacy that can make customized medications to meet specific needs. Licensed pharmacists can make drugs in the strength, dosage, or form that you need to get the most benefits from your medications. Not all pharmacies can make customized compounds. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about what a compounding pharmacy can do and how you could benefit.

What Is Drug Compounding?

Drug compounding is a pharmacy practice that involves preparing customized medications that are tailored to meet the unique requirements of an individual patient. A licensed compounding pharmacist mixes, blends, and adjusts active ingredients with binders, fillers, and flavoring agents to create a medication in the form and strength that a patient requires. Compounding allows a patient to receive the medications they need without preservatives, dyes, sugars, alcohols, gluten, or other inactive ingredients to which they may react negatively.

How Is a Compounding Pharmacy Different from a Traditional Pharmacy?

According to the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), only about 7,500 of the 56,000 pharmacies in the United States specialize in drug compounding. Most community and hospital pharmacies only sell FDA-approved medications made by drug manufacturers. Some of these traditional pharmacies can perform basic compounding services, but they do not have the same specialized equipment or certifications as compounding pharmacies, so the medications they can make are much more simple. A compounding pharmacy can make complex medications to meet a wider range of needs. The compounded medications that these pharmacies produce are not commercially available or mass-produced by drug manufacturers.

What Types of Medications Can Compounding Pharmacies Create?

Compounded medications can be created in many different forms. These forms fall into two main categories: sterile compounds and non-sterile compounds. Sterile compounds are medications that are injected into the blood or tissue or put into the eyes, such as injections, infusions, and eye drops. These forms have a higher risk for contamination and must be prepared in a sterile environment within a certified compounding pharmacy. Non-sterile compounds are at a lower risk of contamination and can be prepared in a non-sterile environment. These compounded medications can take on various forms, including capsules, flavored liquids, gummies, lozenges, creams, ointments, suppositories, patches, oral rinses, and others.

Why Would I Need a Compounding Pharmacy?

There are many reasons why a healthcare professional may prescribe a compounded medication. If there is not a commercially available drug that meets your needs or is in the wrong strength or form, then a compounded drug can be created for your individual requirements. Some of the most common reasons you could need a compounded drug from a compounding pharmacy include:

• Allergic or sensitive to specific inactive ingredients (such as gluten or dyes) in commercially available medications
• Difficulty swallowing pills and require age-appropriate drug forms and flavors
• Require combination therapies that combine multiple medications into a single dose
• Need a medication that is out of stock or discontinued on the market
• Require customized dosage forms that are not commercially available
• Specialized medication needs to meet specific conditions, such as hormone replacement therapy, postpartum care, pain management, dermatologic conditions, etc.
• Have a pet who needs a medication for their size or in an easy-to-administer form such as a treat or ointment

Kizer Pharmacy in Union City, TN, offers compounding services that allow us to make custom medications tailored to your unique needs. Reach out to us today to talk to one of our pharmacists about using compounding and to find a treatment that works for you!