What you & your patient should expect

You and your patients should expect demonstrated quality from their pharmacy.   As the demand for compounded medications increased, there is a need for an enhanced, profession-wide system of standards by which each compounding pharmacy can test its quality processes. Compounding pharmacists wanted a mechanism to allow them to know that their quality is high and that their patients are as safe as possible. Pharmacists also wanted to give patients and prescribers a way to select a quality pharmacy.

In addition, you and your patients should expect their pharmacy to follow the rules of compounding.   Every pharmacy that has earned the designation "PCAB Accredited™ compounding pharmacy" has agreed to the Principles of Compounding [PDF file]. These are principles every compounding pharmacy should adopt.  

All prescribers are urged to read the full statement of principles.   In essence, they provide:

• A compounded prescription is the result of a practitioner's prescription drug order based on a valid practitioner/patient/pharmacist relationship in the course of professional practice.  
• Compounding does not include the preparation of copies of commercially available drug products, absent a significant difference.
• Both the prescriber (via the prescription) and the patient (via the label) should be aware that a compounded preparation is dispensed.  
• The pharmacy may advertise but it should include only those claims, assertions, or inference of professional superiority in the compounding of drug products that can be independently and scientifically substantiated.  

Once you have decided upon the active medication, you should expect a compounding pharmacy to work with you to develop a way to deliver the medication to fit the needs of your patient.   Solutions for a patient's needs vary, but some examples include:

• The patient is a child who cannot take a pill and needs a liquid version of a medication, or a smaller dose than is available through mass manufacturing.
• The patient cannot tolerate one or more of the components of a manufactured drug (such as preservatives, sugar or gluten)
• A manufacturer decides to stop making a medication for economic reasons.   However, a physician believes that medication is best for his or her patient. In this case, the prescriber may write a prescription for the discontinued drug, and the compounding pharmacist can prepare it by mixing the ingredients into a form of the medication the patient can use.

When searching for a compounding pharmacist that can work with you to address your patients' needs, look for a pharmacy that has earned the designation "PCAB Accredited compounding pharmacy." Look for the PCAB Seal.