What is Compounding? It is the creation of a pharmaceutical preparation by a licensed pharmacist to meet the unique needs of an individual patient. A patient may not be able to tolerate the commercially available drug, the exact preparation needed may not be commercially available, or a patient may require a drug that is currently in shortage or discontinued.

The U.S. Pharmacopoeia Convention (USP) formally defines compounding as “the preparation, mixing, assembling, altering, packaging, and labeling of a drug, drug-delivery device, or device in accordance with a licensed practitioner’s prescription, medication order, or initiative based on the practitioner/patient/ pharmacist relationship in the course of professional practice.” 

The following are a few examples of how a compounding pharmacist can customize medications:

• Customize strength or dosage.
• Flavor a medication (to make it more palatable for a child or a pet).
• Reformulate the drug to exclude an unwanted, nonessential ingredient, such as lactose or a dye to which a patient may have an allergy to.
• Change the form of the medication for patients who, for example, have difficulty swallowing or experience stomach upset when taking oral medication.

Compounding pharmacists can put drugs into specially flavored liquids, topical creams, trans-dermal gels, suppositories, or other dosage forms. Compounding does not include making copies of commercially available drug products, as this is not allowed by law. 

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