Most people don’t think much about how their prescription is actually made. Your doctor sends a prescription to the pharmacy, the pharmacist fills it from a manufacturer’s bottle, and you take it home.
But what happens when the standard, commercially manufactured medication isn’t the right fit for a patient’s individual needs?
That’s where prescription compounding can sometimes help.
At Foster Corner Drug, compounding gives us another way to work with patients and their healthcare providers when an available manufactured medication doesn’t appropriately meet a patient’s needs.
What Is Prescription Compounding?
Compounding is the practice of preparing a customized medication for an individual patient based on a prescription from an authorized healthcare provider.
Instead of simply dispensing a medication exactly as a manufacturer produced it, a compounding pharmacy may combine, mix, or alter ingredients to create a prescribed strength or dosage form that isn’t commercially available or otherwise meet a specific patient need.
Most traditional compounding pharmacies operate under what’s known as Section 503A, preparing compounded medications based on patient-specific prescriptions. A separate category, known as 503B outsourcing facilities, operates under a different federal framework and is subject to additional FDA requirements.
For most patients, though, the important question isn’t which regulatory category a pharmacy falls into. It’s why someone might need a compounded medication in the first place.
Why Would Someone Need a Compounded Medication?
There are several situations where compounding may be appropriate.
A specific strength isn’t commercially available.
Medications are manufactured in predetermined strengths, but those strengths don’t meet every patient’s needs. A prescriber may determine that a patient needs a different strength that isn’t available as a manufactured product.
A different dosage form is needed.
Not everyone can easily swallow a tablet or capsule. Depending on the medication and patient’s needs, a compounding pharmacy may be able to prepare a medication as a liquid, cream, ointment, or another appropriate dosage form.
A patient has an allergy or sensitivity to an inactive ingredient.
Commercial medications can contain dyes, preservatives, fillers, flavorings, or other inactive ingredients. When appropriate, compounding may allow a medication to be prepared without a particular ingredient that creates a problem for an individual patient.
A patient needs a specific combination.
In some circumstances, a prescriber may determine that a compounded preparation containing more than one ingredient is appropriate for a patient’s individual treatment plan.
Compounding isn’t about making a medication “better” than the manufactured version. It’s about providing another option when an available manufactured product doesn’t appropriately meet an individual patient’s needs.
Compounding Can Be Especially Helpful for Children
Pediatric medications are a great example of why compounding exists.
Children may need doses based on their age, weight, and medical needs, but a medication may only be manufactured as a tablet or in strengths intended for adults.
When appropriate, a prescriber may order a compounded medication in a specific concentration that allows a parent or caregiver to accurately measure the child’s prescribed dose.
A liquid dosage form can also be much easier for a child who can’t swallow a tablet.
And Compounding Isn’t Just for People
Our four-legged family members can have unique medication needs, too.
Veterinarians sometimes prescribe medications that aren’t commercially available in an appropriate strength or dosage form for a particular animal. Depending on the medication and circumstances, veterinary compounding can provide another option.
Just like human medications, compounded medications for pets require an appropriate prescription and must meet applicable compounding requirements.
What About Drug Shortages?
Drug shortages are another reason you may hear about compounding.
Shortages can happen for many reasons, including manufacturing problems, supply-chain disruptions, increased demand, shortages of ingredients, or discontinued products.
