If you need pain medication or cough syrup, most probably you will head towards the nearest pharmacy. Retail pharmacies are commonly found in hospitals and shopping complexes. You can easily go there with a prescription to get the needed medication. For many people, these general pharmacies located around the corner are the only solution for getting the needed medication. But what if a person has an allergy to ingredients found in commercial medications?
Not many people know that pharmacies are also of different types. These are a critical part of the healthcare system, helping patients get the needed medication. The two common types of pharmacies are retail and compounding pharmacies. The purpose of both is simple- provide prescription medication to patients. However, the type of medication they offer differs. In this post, we’ll find out how compounding pharmacies differ from traditional retail pharmacies.
Retail Pharmacy
When you need medicine, you head straight to the nearest medical store. There are many pharmaceutical companies manufacturing medications for the masses. These companies make standardized formulations to suit the medical needs of most people. A general pharmacy helps you get quick access to medicines when you need a quick solution. Whether you have a sprained ankle or need relief from a cold and flu, over-the-counter medications provide a quick fix. These standardized prescription medications are created for the general needs of patients. Commercial drug manufacturers follow a one-size-fits-all approach that sometimes fails to meet the medical needs of patients with specific needs. And this is where compounding pharmacy comes in!
Compounding Pharmacy
As mentioned above, retail pharmacies sell standard prescriptions in set dosages. For some patients, these standard does can be too high or too low. It is also possible some ingredients present in commercial drug has an allergic reaction in a patient with special needs. To deal with such issues, compound pharmacies exist. Compound pharmacists have access to raw ingredients to create the same prescription but without the allergic ingredient and in a specific dose. Both retail and compounding pharmacies are engaged in offering medication. However, the process involved is not the same. The goal of a compounding pharmacy is to create customized medications from base ingredients to suit the individual patient’s needs. A compounding pharmacist is a licensed professional who uses a doctor’s prescription and base ingredients to adjust the dosage.
Retail Vs. Compounding Pharmacy
Pharmaceutical companies have pre-set formulas and fixed dosages to manufacture drugs on an industrial scale. This mass manufacturing fails to provide customization for patients with special needs. Here’s how a compounding pharmacy differs from a retail medical store.
1. Specific Dosages & Ingredients
Compounding pharmacies, as mentioned before, customize prescriptions to adjust the dosage to fit the needs of the patient. Unlike regular pharmacies that sell OTC medicines in fixed dosages, a compound pharmacy can reduce or increase the dosage. They can also eliminate allergy-causing ingredients to make the medication safe and effective for consumption.
2. Create Discontinued or Hard-To-Find Medications
If a pharmaceutical company has discontinued the production of medication that a patient needs, a compound pharmacist can recreate that formulation. Commercial manufacturers operate to earn profit and sometimes take medication off the market due to low demand by the masses. In this case, compounding is the only option to prepare currently unavailable or hard-to-find medications.
3. Alter the State of the Medication
Different patients have different needs. A child may refuse to take bitter-tasting syrup while an elderly patient may have trouble swallowing large pills. In such situations, a compound pharmacy can help. Whether you’re uncomfortable consuming medication or your doctor has prescribed some other form of medication, you can visit a licensed compound pharmacy to change the state of medicine. These trained professionals can alter the dosage form and create the same prescription as a syrup, tablet, ointment, or other topical forms. It is also possible to add flavor to make medication more palatable.