Compounding is the practice of preparing customised solutions to the medication needs of specific patients or customers. This is done either by creating adjusted formulations, or changing the medication format to accommodate a range of special considerations including allergies or pill sizes that may be difficult to swallow. A customised compounding pharmacy offers conventional over-the-counter drugs while also offering compounding services for individuals who may need additional options.
Contrary to common misconception, compounding is nothing new. The customisation of the amount, format, and sourcing of active ingredients in remedies is a historical keystone of pharmacological practise going back to tribal and ancient Chinese medicine. The returning popularity of tailored treatment options understandably offers a number of advantages over mass-produced drugs, but also some challenges. This article goes over everything you need to know about the pros and cons of compounding services.
Common Pros vs. Cons of Compounding
Pharmaceutical compounding has the obvious advantage of providing personalised medications accommodating the needs of individual patients, but also challenges around quality control. Let’s go over these advantages and disadvantages below.
Advantages
- Tailored dosages allow for proper administration of medication across all age groups. As an example, geriatric or pediatric patients require smaller and more precise dose ranges than over-the-counter drugs provide. Conversely, overweight individuals or those with higher body fat may require more concentrated delivery of active ingredients.
The customising of formulations is the single best approach to addressing individual ingredient sensitivities, allergies, or reactions. The most common risk factors for adverse reactions include gluten, dyes, preservatives, and excipients. These can be removed or replaced in the compounding process in order to create risk-free and well-tolerated medications. - Control over ingredients also allows for changing the physical form of medications to accommodate individual needs. A large pill, for example, can be modified into a syrup, gel cap, or even suppository depending on customer preference.
- Local as well as regional drug shortages have highlighted the usefulness of compounding services for individuals with urgent need for continuity of care. Individuals undergoing hormone replacement therapy require continual and precise adjustment to their hormone levels, and sudden unavailability of the relevant drugs can significantly affect therapeutic outcomes.
Other relevant scenarios for continuity include patients with chronic conditions producing symptoms that cause impairment, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Compounding services provide a reliable fallback during unexpected shortages of conventional medications.
Disadvantages
- There’s a potential chance for inconsistency particularly with regard to quality control. While mass-produced drugs are subject to rigorous Therapeutic Goods Administration protocols around inspection and regulations, compounded formulations can be created with less stringent oversight.
A lack of uniform production protocols may cause differences in the potency or purity of active ingredients from one batch to the next. Patients must do their due diligence, and only enlist the services of reputable compounding pharmacies. - Compounded medications can be made from a wide variety of ingredients, some of which may lack extensive efficacy or safety data. Conventional drugs are often inspected and approved by the TGA before authorisation for stocking behind pharmacists’ counters. Less exhaustively analysed ingredients or components may not have fully understood side effect profiles, and the shelf life and stability of custom preparations can vary.
Compounding pharmacies must be willing to work closely with GPs in order for all parties involved to make informed decisions that best serve the end user. Again, this highlights the need for patients to carefully vet their pharmacies for a track record of know-how and professionalism. - Without automated processes and industrial-grade facilities, there is also a real risk of human error. This involves anything from simple miscalculations to differences in preparation techniques, which potentially sets the stage for inaccurate, inconsistent, or even contaminated medications. This risk is effectively mitigated by selecting pharmacies staffed with qualified and experienced professionals, yet again highlighting the importance of due diligence.
Selecting a Compounding Pharmacy
To sum up, enlisting quality services isn’t as easy as simply Googling “compounding pharmacy near me”. Just about all potential disadvantages of compounding can be minimised with a little research on the part of prospective customers: only use pharmacies with plenty of positive feedback, who make a point to use only ingredients with certificates of analysis when preparing your custom medications.
Kennedy’s Pharmacy is a reliable Sydney pharmacy with confidence in not only our customer feedback, but the professionalism and ability of our staff. If you live in New South Wales and would like to try our compounding services, contact us today.
