What is Compounding?

Find out how it can transform your approach to health.

Before globalisation and ‘generics’, pharmacopoeia was the making of drugs, medicines and supplements. It now refers to ‘a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines’ as if this was a lost art, along the lines of alchemy. It’s not. Compounding is alive and well, and in the hands of expert pharmacists.

 

The Art and Science of Personalised Medication.

Compounded medications are ‘made from scratch’ – individual ingredients are mixed together in the exact strength and dosage form required by the patient. This method allows the compounding pharmacist to work with the patient and the prescriber to customise a medication to meet the patient’s specific needs.

We help you overcome difficulties with taking medication.

Many people experience issues when they take medication:

  • Stomach upset from oral medication
  • Reluctance due to taste
  • Difficulty swallowing pills
  • Requiring a different dose than that made available by a manufacturer
  • Not wanting to take medication at all — especially children or pets.

A compounding pharmacist may be able to provide solutions for challenges such as these. Working closely with the patient and the prescriber, compounding gives the pharmacist the means to customise medication to meet the individual needs of each patient.

We can help if your medication has been discontinued.

Sometimes a large pharmaceutical manufacturer discontinues a medication — often because not enough patients are taking the drug, and it becomes unprofitable to keep mass producing it. What about the patients who still need that drug? A compounding pharmacist can re-create that medication by compounding it, so even if only one person in the world still needs that medication — or a hundred, or thousands — they can have it thanks to compounding!

We formulate medications to make them allergy-friendly.

A patient may be allergic to or intolerant of an ingredient commonly found in the commercially manufactured form of a medication, such as:  

  • Lactose
  • Preservatives
  • Dyes
  • Gluten
  • Sugar.

A compounding pharmacist can create a personalised medication, formulated to give you the treatment you need, while leaving out the problematic ingredient.

We make medication easier to use.

Some medications have a very unpleasant flavour, which makes the patient less likely to take it as directed. A compounding pharmacist can flavour many medications to make them more palatable without compromising their effectiveness. This is especially handy when dealing with patients who may refuse medication, such as young children, elderly patients, or even pets!

 

A patient may need their medication in a different dosage form. For instance, patients who have difficulty swallowing a pill may find it easier to take their medication in a pleasantly flavoured liquid form. Some medications can be compounded in a topical form such as a cream or a gel that allows the medicine to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin.