Wednesday 21 September 2016

What To Know About Ocala Compounding Pharmacy

By Virginia Olson


Pharmaceutical compounding refers to the science by which personalized medications are prepared. The process is done by a licensed pharmacist, and it involves combining, mixing, or altering ingredients in a drug so that the created medication is tailored to meet the particular needs of a person. Prescription for compounded medication must be made by a licensed physician. Any Ocala compounding pharmacy is licensed and certified by the state and federal authorities to engage in the business of preparing medicines.

The term compounding is only used on processes that involve mixing or combining several drugs to produce a single medication. Different reasons make it necessary for a patient to require compounded medication. For starters, one may need such medication if they do not get affected in the required manner by conventional medication. An instance like that is where one exhibits allergic reaction to certain components making up a given medication.

Compounded medications are usually customized to accommodate the specific needs of patients. As such, they are not approved by the FDA. That implies that the FDA does not verify the effectiveness of safety of the drugs. The safety and effectiveness of the drugs relies on the drug approval process to ensure that the medications meet quality standards enforced by the federal government.

Usually, the responsibility of ensuring that state-licensed compounding pharmacies stick to the set standards in their operations rests with state boards of pharmacies. However, the FDA also has some authority over these facilities too. Additionally, the FDA imposes stricter regulation over outsourcing facilities. The FDA also conducts inspections based on a risk-based schedule.

The services, operations, and products in these pharmacies are associated with certain risks and health concerns. Often these concerns and risks are due to lack of compliance with FDA standards. There are reports that drugs are compounded without following quality practices. The effect is that there is increased risk of contamination, super-potency, sub-potency, and adulteration of drugs. The likelihood of people using compounded drugs over those that are approved by the FDA contributes to the risks.

Advancements in technology are enabling pharmacists to compound medications that are safer and more effective at a high degree of precision. The technological developments in this field have resulted in the revolution and standardization of various processes that pharmacists use to make drugs. Today, it is possible to compound drugs that are very specific in their ingredient, dosage, strength, and flavor requirements.

Some years back, compounding was the mode of producing all kinds of prescribed medications. However, with the emergence of mass production in the 50s and 60s, this changed. Mass production changed the roles played by pharmacists of preparing medications to dispensing manufactured drugs. The training of pharmacists in drug preparation was limited almost to a point of extinction.

However, mass production, as always, did not meet the needs of all patients. There were some patients who still needed customized drugs, and so, compounding pharmacies continued to exist. Today, it is a requirement for a licensed pharmacist to be on-site at any pharmacy involved in the preparation and dispensation of medications.




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