Compounding

Pharmaceutical compounding is the art and science of mixing individual ingredients and drugs by a pharmacist or under pharmacists’ supervision to fit the unique needs of a patient.

Physicians may prescribe an individually compounded medication for a patient with an unusual health need. This allows the physician to tailor a prescription to the exact strength and dosage form needed for each individual patient. Compounding preparations are especially prevalent for:

Patients requiring limited dosage strengths, such as a very small dose for infants.
Patients requiring a different formulation, such as turning a pill into a liquid or trans-dermal gel for people who can’t swallow pills due to disability.
Patients requiring an allergen-free medication, such as one without gluten, corn, lactose, colored dyes and more.
Patients who need drugs that have been discontinued by pharmaceutical manufacturers because of low profitability.
Children who want flavored additives in liquid drugs, usually so that the medication tastes like candy or fruit.
Veterinary medicine, for a change in dose, change to a more easily-administered form (such as from a pill to a liquid or trans-dermal gel), or to add a flavor more palatable to the animal.
Many types of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, for individualized needs.

Compounding and Safety

Pharmacists have been compounding prescriptions for practitioners for centuries. At Essential Wellness Pharmacy we are dedicated to the highest standards in our industry. Some of the regular precautions taken to ensure safety are:

Compliance with the USP guidelines for compounding medications.
Obtain certificates of analysis for all formula ingredients.
Maintain both master formulas and lot specific worksheets for all compounds.
System in place for handling complaints and adverse events.
Purchase only pharmaceutical grade chemicals (USP, NF equivalent) from FDA registered suppliers.
Every step of the compounding process from prescribing to a compounding and labeling through dispensing is reviewed by a registered pharmacist.
Verify the potency of the finished compounds through weight, volume, and yield checks.
Members of American College of Apothecaries, the American College of Veterinary Pharmacy, and the international Academy of Compounding Pharmacists.
Every patient is counseled on the proper use of the compound received.