Prescription compounding is a rapidly growing element in the medical field. Unlike traditional pharmacies, a compounding pharmacy works by altering or mixing two or more drugs to meet the requirements of a particular patient. Initially, compounding pharmacies came into the light to help people who could not take medications approved by the FDA for some reason.
Therefore, if you have a particular medical condition, say cancer, and you need to treat breast cancer with low-dose naltrexone, you can always rely on a compounding pharmacy to provide the medication for you.
But, how do you look for a compounding pharmacy? What aspects make a formidable compounding pharmacy?
PCAB Accreditation
One of the most important things to look for in a compounding pharmacy is whether it has been accredited by the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB). Even better, all PCAB accredited compounding pharmacies have gone an extra mile in ensuring that they comply with all state and nationally accepted standards of operation.
Selecting an accredited compounding pharmacy means that you will be guaranteed that all your medications will come from a trusted source. Therefore, you can rest assured that all the stipulated standards of compounding medications have been followed to the letter.
Experience
Contrary to common belief, experience plays an integral role in choosing a compounding pharmacy. Remember that some compounding pharmacies operate as a sideline for another pharmacy that is only designed to compound medications.
It would be best if you always went for a compounding pharmacy that is well acquainted with the art and science of mixing different medications. After all, who wouldn’t want to deal with professionals in the health sector?
Batch Testing
It’s one thing for a compounding pharmacy to be accredited and another to conduct batch testing in all its medications. Whenever you are looking for a compounding pharmacy, it’s crucial to determine whether the compounding pharmacy uses independent laboratories to test every batch produced.
Remember that every batch produced by a compounding mediation is unique. Therefore, to minimize human error, it’s essential to find a second opinion about the medication’s quality and safety. This can only be accomplished by carrying out batch testing for every mediation produced by the compounding pharmacy. Knowing if a compounding pharmacy carries out batch testing is essential, as it also makes you feel safe and secure knowing that your medication is safe and cannot harm you.
Ingredients Used
Since every medication produced by a compounding pharmacy is unique, you can expect different ingredients to produce a particular medication from different pharmacies. To ensure that your medication is safe and has the desired effect, it’s of utmost importance to ensure that the pharmacy uses quality ingredients to produce it.
A reputable pharmacy should have proof of sourcing all their ingredients from reliable sources. It’s also essential to ascertain that all the chemicals used in medication production are potent enough. To act as proof of quality, the compounding pharmacy should have a certificate of Analysis (CoA) for each ingredient used in the medication. This should be displayed in each medication batch as an assurance of quality.
Staff Training
A reputable compounding pharmacy will always ensure that all its pharmacies have attained the highest standards possible. Therefore, before choosing a compounding pharmacy, you should do your due diligence to identify what type of qualifications the pharmacists have. Ideally, all compounding pharmacists should have trained in a recognized pharmaceutical school. Also, the pharmacist should be certified from the particular center of training.
In a Nutshell
Since compounding pharmacy is a pretty new concept, many flaws should be kept in check. The above factors are essential in ensuring that you deal with a reputable compounding pharmacy.
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