Compounding

A compounding pharmacy creates many forms of prescription medications, with different delivery systems. That’s important because it makes medications available in forms that may be easier for some people to take.

For example, the prescribing physician may be able to order medications in the form of suppositories, emulsions, and eye, ear, and nose drops instead of pills or caplets. That gives the patient more options.

Compounding brings to mind a more traditional kind of pharmacy, one where a well-trained pharmacist uses a deep knowledge of medicine to formulate medications to order for each patient’s needs. These days, compounding pharmacies like Lutz Pharmacy use state-of-the-art technology along with the latest pharmaceutical knowledge to create customized medications.

Even though most drugs are now produced via mass production, compounding is still important — and growing in popularity, because mass-produced medications don’t necessarily come in the right dosage for each patient. A compounding pharmacist can produce the medication in a more precise and correct dosage, or combine it with other compatible medications that are also prescribed so it’s easier to administer.

Compounding is also ideal in situations where you need:

Medications that are not available commercially.
Medications that don’t include inactive ingredients you don’t want, such as sugar, dyes, alcohol or lactose.
Medications in a dosage form that is not usually or easily commercially available but can make it easier to administer the dose, such as lollipops, sublingual drops, “chewies,” transdermal gels or troches (a type of lozenge).
The compounding pharmacist has a lot of variables to keep in mind when formulating medications — not just the dosage form that is best for the medication, but also the physical and chemical properties of the active ingredient and the other ingredients. Our compounding pharmacy operates according to Standard Operating Procedures, and we perform potency testing to ensure that you’re getting the exact dose you need.

Compounding doesn’t just make it easier to administer the correct dosage of a given medication (or combination of compatible medications), but can also help promote better therapeutic outcomes by offering customized medications