About Compounding

Patients come in all different shapes and sizes, and so should their medication. Val-Est pharmacy specializes in compounding customized medications to meet the individual needs of our patients. Patients and prescribers are no longer limited to the strength, dosage form, or flavour of mass-produced medications. Customized medication preparations allow for removal of problem-causing additives. Compounding is also ideal for unavailable medications or combination prescriptions.

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF NEEDS WE MEET

Dosage form
Medication strength
Custom flavouring
Providing commercially unavailable, unformulated, or discontinued medication
Eliminating unwanted preservatives

Pharmacy compounding is the art and science of preparing personalized medications for patients. Compounded medications are made based on a practitioner’s prescription in which 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 customize a medication to meet the specific needs of each patient.

WHY USE A COMPOUNDED MEDICATION?

Medications are unavailable, unformulated, or discontinued by the manufacturer
Eliminate unwanted dyes, preservatives, or fillers found in commercially available medications
Non-addictive formulations
Treatment requires tailored dosage strengths for patients with unique needs (Ex: infants, animals)
Patient compliance
Patient cannot ingest the medication in a commercially available form
Fewer adverse effects (Ex: renal/gastric effects from NSAIDS)
Reduces drug interactions
Medications can require flavouring to make them more palatable, most often for children

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How does compounding benefit me?

There are several reasons why prescribers and pharmacists provide compounded medications for patients. The primary reason for compounding is to avoid patient non-compliance, which means the patient is either unable or unwilling to use the medication as directed. Many patients are allergic to preservatives or dyes, or require a dosage that is different from the standard drug strengths.

WITH A PHYSICIAN’S CONSENT, A COMPOUNDING PHARMACIST CAN

Adjust the strength of a medication
Avoid unwanted ingredients, such as dyes, preservative, lactose, gluten, or sugar
Add flavour to make the medication more palatable
Prepare medications using alternate delivery systems. For patients who find it difficult to swallow a capsule, a compounding pharmacist may prepare the drug as a flavored liquid suspension instead. Other medication forms include topical gels or creams that can be absorbed through the skin, suppositories, or sublingual troches.

Compounding Applications can include

Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT)
Hospice
Pediatrics
Pain management
Dentistry
Otic (for the ear)
Dermatology
Medication flavouring
Neuropathy
Veterinary
Sports medicine
Infertility
Wound therapy
Podiatry
Gastroenterology and many more...