Compounding Services

Have you even found that you have had problems taking a medicine as directed?  You are not alone and an increasing number of pharmacies now offer services designed to help you overcome this issue.

These pharmacists are ‘compounding pharmacists’ who use their pharmacy skill & knowledge to work with you and your prescriber to help solve these medication challenges and meet the individual needs of each patient.

The regulatory approval process for medicines is intended for mass-produced drugs made by large manufacturers.

Because compounded medications are personalised for individual patients, it is not possible for each formulation to go through TGA’s drug approval process, which takes years to complete and hundreds of millions of dollars.

Compounded medications are exempted from TGA approval by legislation.

Pharmacy compounding has allowed many pharmacists to find their niche as medication problem-solvers.

The “one-size-fits-all” nature of many mass-manufactured medications means that some patients’ needs are not met by those products. There are also many medications or formulations that are only available through a compounding pharmacy.

Many patients experience issues such as:

• Stomach upset when taking oral medication
• Reluctance to take the medication due to its taste
• Issues with the route of administration, such as difficulty swallowing pills
• Allergy, sensitivity, or other aversion to ingredients such as flavours or dyes, lactose, sugar, alcohol, gluten, or casein.
• Requiring a different dose of medication than that which is available from a manufacturer

At one time, all medications were compounded. Over the past few decades, compounding has experienced a renaissance as modern technology along with innovative techniques and research have allowed more pharmacists to customise medications to meet specific patient needs. This may also include your pet’s needs, with compounding pharmacies also able to compound medications for your pets in consultation with veterinarians.

If you have difficulties taking your medicines, ask your pharmacist about compounding.