Compounding Pharmacy Near Me Locator
What is Drug Compounding?
Pharmacy compounding is the art and science of preparing personalized medications for patients. Compounded medications are made based on a practitioners prescription in which individual ingredients are mixed together in the exact strength and dosage form required by the patient. This method allows the compounding pharmacist to work with the patient and the prescriber to customize a medication to meet the patient’s specific needs.
Why do doctors order compounding prescriptions?
- Ease of use
- Comfort
- 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, non-essential ingredient, such as lactose, gluten, or a dye to which a patient is allergic.
- 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, transdermal gels, suppositories, or other dosage forms suitable for patients’ unique needs. Compounding does not include making copies of commercially available drug products, as this is not allowed by law.
How is pharmaceutical compounding different from drug manufacturing?
Traditional compounding is the preparation of a medication to meet the prescriber’s exact specifications and to be dispensed directly to the patient, pursuant to a valid prescription for that patient. Pharmaceutical compounding is performed or supervised by a pharmacist licensed by a state board of pharmacy (see question below on legal oversight of compounding versus manufacturing). Manufacturing is the mass production of drug products that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are sold to pharmacies, health care practitioners, or others who are authorized under state and federal law to resell them.
Do Compounded Medications Require FDA Approval?
The FDA approval process is intended for mass-produced drugs made by manufacturers. Because compounded medications are personalized for individual patients, the federal government has approved the use of compounded medications for those individuals who have received a prescription for that specific compounded medication.
The practice of compounding is regulated by state boards of pharmacy. Community and hospital compounding pharmacists are allowed exemptions to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 if they comply with the regulations outlined in Section 503A. All pharmacists and pharmacies engaged in compounding are subject to oversight by both federal and state authorities.
Pharmacists engaged in compounding are expected to follow applicable standards and regulations for the types of preparations that are compounded
Does Medigap or Medicare Supplements cover compounding?
If your Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B cover expenses, your Medicare supplement (MEDIGAP) plan typically help fill the gap as designed, however, drugs are typically covered under Medicare Part D and that would be then a question for the insurance company based on what tier they slot drug compounding. Often times this question comes up when you or a family member is in short term care and the facility orders out a compounded drug during the Medicare prescription cycle and it is denied because you have your monthly prescriptions overlap with your short term stay drugs and there is a conflict in the prescription database.
Do rehab facilities have the right to tell you what pharmacy to use?
In general a facility or provider can not make you chose a particular pharmacy, however, they can make it very easy or hard to use on they do not choose making you feel like that is the case. If you are on Medicare there are laws for example from let’s say a PAIN MANAGEMENT DOCTOR NEAR ME can not be pai by the referring doctor and that same center can not pay for the referral but they can share a building and make it very easy to help one another grow there business with out direct compensation.
Do compounded drugs cost more?
The white glove movement is in full steam, and what we are finding is that just like Concierge medicine and Doctors that make House Calls…these premium providers and Doctors are in high demand so is top notch compounding pharmacies.
