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Nearly 4.2 billion prescriptions were filled in 2019, but did you know that rather than receive manufactured pharmaceutical prescriptions, you can get custom medications specialized to meet your needs?
The United States compounding pharmacy market industry is expected to reach nearly 5 billion dollars or more by 2027. This may be because people recognize the benefits of personalization, even with medications.
Rarely are there illnesses or diseases that are one-size-fits-all. So, why would anyone expect a one-size-fits-all medicine?
Further reported reasons for growth in this industry include an increasing geriatric population, convenience, and because there have been drug shortages with some medicines. Fortunately, pharmacists have recognized a need for improvement in this area and have provided custom prescriptions at their compounding pharmacy.
What Are Compounding Pharmacies?
Most pharmacies keep an inventory of common medications prescribed. The drugs arrive pre-made and pre-packaged. When you turn in your prescription, the pharmacist or technician will take the pre-made medicine and put it in a container with instructions specific to your doctor’s request.
The pharmacist may alter the medicine, but in limited ways, like cutting it in half. This type of delivery is most common.
However, across America, there are over 7500 pharmacies where the pharmacist is making medications from scratch. They follow a recipe and then alter it to meet the individualized needs of patients for whom a physician has given a prescription. Rather, these pharmacists are creating custom prescriptions.
What Are Custom Prescriptions?
Most medications you receive are made by a pharmaceutical brand name or generic name manufacturing company. Custom prescriptions are not available on a commercial basis. Only you have access to the medication made for you based on your doctor’s instructions.
Custom prescriptions can be made for almost any medical issue. The most commonly made custom medicines are for skin conditions, hormone replacement treatments, and pain management.
Pills and tablets are usually commercially made, and there is no need to compound them. However, it is more common for pharmacists to compound liquids, creams, ointments, lozenges, and suppositories.
Pharmacists must meet specific criteria to make custom prescriptions.
Who Can Make Custom Prescriptions?
Licensed and State board-certified pharmacists can compound medications. They receive guidelines and oversight by the state licensing boards. They must prove they are using safe ingredients and proper compounding methods for each medicine they create and must follow standards set forth by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention.
Benefits of Custom Prescriptions
There are many benefits of working with a pharmacist who can tailor medications to meet your needs. Below are five benefits you may not be aware of.
1. You Don’t Have To Worry About Allergies
Medications are made with the chemicals you need to heal and with ingredients that preserve the medicine and bind it or coat it. These added ingredients can present problems for people with allergies.
With custom prescriptions, your pharmacist can take your allergies into account and ensure they are not an ingredient in your medicine. They can add or remove ingredients as needed to ensure your safety.
For example, many people do not know that some medications contain gluten in the form of excipients. If you are allergic to gluten or have Celiac’s disease, this can lead to dangerous consequences. In this case, your compounding pharmacist would create a custom medication that does not contain gluten to ensure that your medication works properly while also keeping you safe.
2. Medicines Can Be Adapted to Your Preferences
Commercially made medicines usually come in standard sizes, shapes, and flavors. This means many people will be forced to use medications that are difficult to consume and taste bad. While most people find a way to take medicine no matter what, others will skip doses or stop taking them altogether.
Skipping doses or discontinuing use can result in more severe health concerns. A compounding pharmacist can help patients reach their health goals by creating medicines people do not mind taking as prescribed.
Your pharmacist can prepare medicines in many different forms, including liquids, creams, lotions, sprays, ointments, powders, and more. Likewise, they can create your medication with different flavorings, which can be beneficial for convincing children to take medication.
3. Gives You Better Access to Medicines
Commercial pharmaceutical companies seem to always be on the lookout for the newest medication to promote. In doing so, they stop promoting the older medicines that were just as effective. Many companies go further and stop making older medications.
If your doctor wants you to take one of the older, less accessible medicines, your pharmacist can customize it for you when it is not available elsewhere.
4. Your Pharmacist Knows Your Health
When a compounding pharmacist creates medicine for you from scratch, your safety is a priority. Therefore, they take the time to get to know you and your health. They check for possible drug interactions with others you may be taking, including over-the-counter drugs.
For example, if you have several medications for pain, your pharmacist can create a cream or lotion with those ingredients that make them much safer as a topical. If you were to take the medicines orally as pills, you might be taking too many medications.
You do not get this close attention at larger retail pharmacies.
5. More Accurate Dosing
Pre-packaged medications come prepared in doses that increase in specific increments. For some, none of the pre-made varieties are best.
Custom prescriptions can be made for the dose you need. Your size, weight, sex, and other factors will help to determine the correct quantity of medicine. With commercially prepared drugs, this is impossible.
Compound pharmacists can take all of these into consideration. This can help ease or eliminate potential side effects of medicines. This is especially helpful to children who have been prescribed a medication that is mainly created for adult dosing. Pharmacists can adapt the medicine for child safety.
Final Thoughts on Custom Prescriptions
Building a relationship with your pharmacist can benefit you and your entire family. At retail-only pharmacies, you are another number in the crowd. Compounding pharmacists take everything from your lifestyle to religious restrictions into consideration when creating medicines for you, your loved ones, and even your pets.
That’s right. Pharmacists can customize pet medicines to make it easier for them to stay healthy.
Depending on the medicine you need, you may even be able to save money with custom prescriptions. Additionally, other factors your pharmacist will review is your preference for a storage container and ease of access into the container.
Compounding puts you first rather than the giant pharmaceutical corporation. You deserve to be a priority when it comes to your health. Because your health issues are unique, so should be your medicine.
Reach out to your local compounding pharmacy today to see how you can customize your prescriptions.
