Compounded medications are created by compounding pharmacies and these are personalized medicine formulas. These allow the pharmacist to create medicine to suit the specific needs of a patient especially if they cannot find the same strength of formula in a commercial pharmacy. You will generally be referred to a compounding pharmacy by your primary healthcare provider.

There are many reasons for referring a patient to a compounding pharmacy

Most of the time it is to change the dosage or strength of the drug. Sometimes the form of the medication will be altered so that the patient is able to take it easily. Sometimes you will need a lower or higher strength of medication to what is commercially available. While you can split a pill to reduce the dosage, you will not be able to do this accurately. And this means you will not be taking the right dosage.

Sometimes the drug has to be administered to the patient in a different way if they are not able to take the medicine in its most commonly available form. There are so many methods of administration such as suppositories, gels, flavored syrups, creams etc. Sometimes the combination of active ingredients that the patient needs will not be available. Then a compounding pharmacist can create a medication according to the specific requirements. The right ratios of the active ingredients can be achieved in compounded medicines so that the patient is getting what the doctor has prescribed.

Some patients tend to have allergies to certain ingredients in a medication and they will not be able to take it. Some of the common things that people are allergic to in medications are preservatives, fillers and dyes. A compounding pharmacist can create the medication without these allergens so that the patient can recover without the risk of their allergies acting up. A customized formulation of medicine ensures that you receive effective medication that allows you to recover quickly.

There can also be a short supply of a certain commercially available drug or you may be looking for a medication that is no longer available in the regular pharmacies. In this case, you can visit a compounding agency to obtain this formulation. If a manufacturer has discontinued a certain medication, that can be formulated by a compounding pharmacist.

When it comes to children or senior patients

They may need smaller doses of a drug that might not be readily available in commercial pharmacies. This can easily be formulated at a compounding pharmacy. And sometimes you can have medicine in the form of gels or topical creams to ensure that they don’t interfere with the digestive system. Also, when it comes to children and the elderly, they will have difficulty swallowing pills.

In this case, the form of administration can be altered creating a syrup, gel or suppository. Bitter medication or drugs that have an unpleasant odor can be altered and flavorings can be added to mask the bitterness. This provides a more palatable version of the medication.