What is “Prescription Compounding” or “Pharmacy Compounding”?
Compounding is the pharmaceutical science of making a medication that is compatible with the needs of an individual patient.
In this day and age most medications are mass produced; that is they are made in bulk by large pharmaceutical companies for thousands of people who at some time may need to have a prescription filled. In many instances mass produced medications will work just fine for a patient has fallen ill. However, in some instances a mass produced medication will not work or be tolerated. Something about the medication is not compatible with a patient’s unique physiological makeup:
- It could be the strength causing the medication to not be tolerated (too much medication in each dose)
- It could be the delivery form (your patient can’t swallow pills)
- It could be an inactive ingredient that causes a side effect (your patient is lactose intolerant and lactose is used as a filler in the mass produced medication)

Compounding allows a specially trained pharmacist to make a medication and a patient (human or animal) compatible. This is done by taking into consideration the patient's unique needs and symptoms.
A compounding pharmacist uses raw chemicals, powders, liquids, and special equipment to make each medication, one at a time. This results in a customized medication made by a pharmacist, according to a doctor's directions, to meet an individual patient need.
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