Medical conditions can affect individuals from a broad variety of age groups and lifestyles. These can have notable effects on personal factors like weight, drug tolerance, and metabolic rate. For people with special needs, customised preparations from a compounding pharmacy may be preferable to conventional drugs.
What are compounded medications?
They are alternative or combined forms of prescription compounds, tailored to various unique considerations such as allergies or difficulty swallowing. This can be of significant benefit to numerous patient populations, including young children, high level athletes, and even the elderly.
There are a number of ingredients that typically comprise a medicinal compound: drugs, diluents, and binders, among others. Any of these could be a risk factor to individuals with special needs. In this article, we go over five common reasons your general practitioner may recommend a compounding pharmacy delivery in Sydney over a conventional drugstore.
Reactions or Allergies to Commercial Drug Ingredients
Among the ingredients commonly found in over-the-counter medications are dyes, gluten, preservatives, or lactose — all common allergens that can cause reactions in many patients. A customised preparation can strictly combine active drugs with a hypoallergenic base, eliminating risks as needed on an individual level.
Issues with Standard Dose Strength or Forms
Most commercially available drugs are standardised to specific dose ranges and formats, such as 200mg capsules or 20mg tablets. This can be problematic for some patients, including:
- Children who commonly have difficulty swallowing large tablets, and find it to be an unpleasant experience. In many cases, children prefer flavoured syrups or even powders to having to swallow a large pill.
- Plus-size individuals whose above average height, weight, or body mass may require them to take two or more pills at a time. This can become inconvenient over time, and introduce an inordinate amount of filler ingredients into the system.
Drug Discontinuations
It’s not uncommon for drug manufacturers to discontinue one or several of their medications due to patent changes, low demand, or other business-related reasons. Recent examples of this include the appetite suppressant Sibutramine (brand name Meridia), the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug Rofecoxib (Vioxx), and the popular weight loss combination Fenfluramine (Pondimin) and Dexfenfluramine (Redux), known commonly as “Fen-Phen.”
In cases where a patient is stable on a discontinued medication and not responding well to a substitute, compounding can be a good avenue to continued access to an active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API. This continues successful treatment without it being subject to market changes.
Combining Multiple Medications
For patients who are prescribed several different drugs for treating a single condition — or set of related conditions — it can be more practical for a compounding pharmacist to combine compatible medications into a single preparation. This addresses the possibility of adherence issues that can be introduced with the hassle of taking several pills, and at different times of day. Simplifying a patient’s drug regimen is shown to consistently improve compliance, ultimately leading to better treatment outcomes over long periods.
Improving Palatability
Palatability is an often overlooked but nevertheless relevant issue, particularly in the areas of veterinary and pediatric medicine. Commercially available liquid medications often have an unpleasant or bitter aftertaste, making children and pets less inclined to consistently take their medicine. A tailored preparation can utilise various flavourings ranging from fruit to bubblegum or even meats like beef as preferred by individual patients, significantly improving their experience.
Choosing the Right Compounding Pharmacy
If you have a viable use case for tailored medications, it’s important to choose the right service provider. Here are the top three things to look for:
- Licensing and accreditation in accordance with your state or territory. Look for accreditation from organisations like the Pharmacy Board of Australia (PBA), Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), or The Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s Quality Care Pharmacy Program (QCPP).
- Transparency around ingredients and testing on the part of the pharmacy. A reputable provider will use pharmaceutical-grade ingredients, and should be willing to provide certificates of analysis (COAs) for ingredients or components they use.
- Training and relevant expertise on the part of pharmacy staff. When you describe your specific needs or hand over your GP’s notes, the personnel behind the counter should be able to quickly identify unique solutions for you, and make sound recommendations to facilitate them.
Choosing a reputable provider ensures you receive safe as well as viable alternatives to mass-produced drugs in terms of quality and efficacy. To enquire about our compounding services, don’t hesitate to reach out today!
