Monday, April 2, 2018

Facts About Compounding Pharmacy In Ocala FL

By Susan Jackson


Compounding is a medical term that refers to pharmaceutical preparation of drugs by a licensed pharmacist. The preparations are made to suit specific unique needs of an individual patient. The patient may be an animal or a human being. A patient may need a compounded drug when the commercially-available version of the same drug does not meet their unique needs. Here are facts about compounding pharmacy in Ocala FL.

Compounding pharmacies are the kind of pharmacies that engage in drug compounding for patients. This is an activity that is done only by state or federal licensed pharmacists in many cases. The uniqueness of compounded drugs is achieved in many different ways. The first method of achieving customization is by varying the dosage, hence the strength of the drug. This may be done by adding or reducing the strength of the drug in question.

Customization may also be done in the flavor for pets and children to find a drug easier to take. Making a drug more palatable makes it easy for pets and young children to take. Exclusion of certain ingredients is also a form of customization of a drug. The ingredients excluded should be nonessential and unwanted. Dyes, gluten, and lactose are main examples.

Unwanted components are usually excluded because they cause allergic reaction to patients. As such, by excluding them, the patient can use the drug without risking adverse allergic reaction. Lastly, drugs are compounded to change their form. For instance, a drug may be compounded so that its form is changed from solid tablets to liquid. This may be necessary in cases where a patient has problems swallowing tablets but is more comfortable with taking liquids.

Drugs can have their physical characteristics modified fully when they are compounded. For example, transdermal gels, suppositories, topical creams, and flavored liquids can be made for a drug that was initially a tablet. The preparations that pharmacists compound are not allowed to be replicas of drugs that are commercially sold. Doing that amounts to criminal conduct.

Part of training for pharmacists is to produce compounded drugs. They learn to do this using basic tools like spatulas, ointment slabs, weighing scales, pestles and mortars, and graduated cylinders. Each tool has a specific task in the process. Preparations are made following a prescription given by a medical practitioner. Patients only receive compounded drugs if they have a prescription.

State boards of pharmacies are the ones that regulate this field in the US. State and federal authorities are in place to supervise all activities that these practitioners engage in. All work activities are regulated by strict standards and laws. The standards and laws also apply to what type of preparations can be made.

Similarly, standards exist for strength, purity, quality, identity, dietary supplements, and food ingredients that are allowed for use in preparations. All these standards ensure that patients are safe to use compounded drugs even though they are not produced in a controlled factory setting like commercial drugs. Pharmacists who go against any of the standards put in place may be charged with criminal conduct and have their licenses revoked.




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