Your compounded prescription

We all, at some time, will need medication to treat a condition; relieve symptoms or, perhaps, to relieve pain. These medications may be over the counter or on prescription. They may even be in a class we call herbals.

If the medication we need is restricted to prescription, it will probably be a drug from a pharmaceutical manufacturer. However, in about 1% of the cases, the physician, dentist or other prescriber may decide to use a customized medication, compounded by a pharmacist according to orders from the doctor. Remember, all medication should be treated with respect and no medication is without some measure of risk.

Every time a medication is prescribed, the prescriber makes a risk assessment to weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks. The same is true with each compounded medication. The risk of using customized medication must be weighed against the benefits it potentially can provide. Several factors must be weighed, including what manufactured drugs could provide equal benefits. Of course, no prescription medication is without risk.

PCAB Accreditation allows patients and prescribers select compounding pharmacies based upon PCAB Accreditation Standards. Each PCAB Accredited compounding pharmacy also agrees to a statement of Principles of Compounding. While there can be no guarantees, you can know that a PCAB Accredited compounding pharmacy is reviewed annually for policies and procedures according to strict compounding standards. Every three years each pharmacy must also pass an in-pharmacy inspection/survey.

The PCAB Board of Directors has adopted the Code of Ethics of Pharmacists and encourages all pharmacies to practice according to its tenets.