Saturday, July 9, 2016

The Role Of A Compounding Pharmacy

By Diane Peterson


In general, most people go to the pharmacy of their choice whenever they get a prescription from a doctor. They do this without a second thought that they may fail to get certain drugs from conventional drug stores. Many drug stores can only dispense drugs, but a compounding pharmacy can acquire the needed components to make a particular drug, measure them and then mix them to come up with the medicine.

A compounding pharmacist is also capable of removing certain ingredients from drugs in order to prevent allergic reactions if you are allergic to some of the ingredients of the medicine prescribed for you. The professional will mix small doses of the chemical substances that are present in the prescription so that you can take the medicine safely. If you wish to have medicines that taste better for your kids, the pharmacist can add flavors to them.

The pharmacies that compound medications seek to create products that fit the unique needs of every patient. This includes the weight, age and size of a patient. If you have problems with using standard prescription drugs or you do not want to use them, you can turn to such a drugstore.

Compounding pharmacies produce medication for various conditions like andropause, adrenal fatigue, pain management and wound care among others. Since the compounded prescription medicine is different from that already available in the market, you may be worried about using it. However, the Food and Drug Administration has stated that compounding drugs is ethical and legal as long as the pharmacist doing so is licensed and qualified.

Medicinal drugs can pose health risks. Therefore, this industry is regulated heavily. The FDA and individual state boards have introduced firm guidelines to make sure that the patients purchasing drugs from these stores are safe. The substances used to compound the drugs must be approved.

Pharmacists are mandated to only do a compound of a drug with ingredients found on the list of approved substances. The substances that have been declared to be ineffective or unsafe cannot be used in this process. Most ethical pharmacies report any new side effect resulting from using compounded drugs even, though they are not required to report such cases.

The pharmacies that compound drugs are also required to maintain high quality control standards. Their laboratories must abide by strict facility guidelines in order to ensure consistency and safety in each batch of the drugs they produce. In order to know that a pharmacy complies with these guidelines, you may contact the board of pharmacy in your state. Inspectors from the state board of pharmacy usually carry out regular checks on licensed pharmacies and on batches of the drugs that are being dispensed to ensure that they are safe.

It is important to get a recommendation from your health insurance company or your doctor when seeking a drug store that compounds drugs. You can also use a directory that contains information about these pharmacies in your state. Trustworthy compounding drug stores ensure that their drugs are effective, ethical and safe. They can explain the measures they use to ensure drug safety.




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