American Pharmacists Month: What Your Compounding Pharmacist Does Before Your Prescription Ships

A month for the people behind the counter

October is American Pharmacists Month, a good moment to look at a part of your care that usually happens out of sight. When your prescriber orders a compounded medication, it is not pulled from a shelf. It is prepared for you, and a pharmacist is involved at every stage between the order and your front door.

Here is what that work looks like at ProCompounding.

1. Reading the prescription and reviewing the formula

Every compounded prescription starts with a pharmacist reading it closely: the medication, the strength your prescriber specified, the form and the base. The pharmacist reviews the formula before anything is made, so that what reaches you matches what your prescriber ordered.

If your prescriber later adjusts the strength, send us the new prescription and we will prepare it to match.

2. Working around what you react to

One of the most common reasons people come to a compounding pharmacy is a sensitivity. A commercially manufactured product may contain a dye, lactose, a filler or an oil that does not agree with you. When your prescriber orders it, we can prepare a medication without the ingredient you react to. Our page on dye-free compounded medications explains how that works.

A good example is progesterone. The commercially manufactured micronized progesterone capsule is made with peanut oil. Our compounded progesterone capsules contain no peanut oil, which matters if you have a peanut allergy. You can read more about compounded progesterone.

3. Calling your prescriber when something needs clarifying

If a prescription is missing a detail or something needs a second look, our pharmacist contacts your prescriber and asks. Your prescriber makes the clinical decisions. We do not prescribe. The pharmacist's job is to make sure the prescription can be prepared exactly as intended.

4. Preparing it to order in our lab

Your medication is compounded to order in our lab in Johnson City, Tennessee, where we have been compounding since 1936. We prepare non-sterile preparations following USP 795, and USP 800 for hazardous drugs, with periodic third-party potency testing depending on the preparation. ProCompounding is PCAB accredited, and our quality standards page sets out what that involves.

Most preparations have a 48-hour compounding time. Shipping time is additional.

5. Making sure you know the cost first

Before anything is processed, made, or shipped, a member of our team confirms the cost with you. There is always a cash option, and you can call 423-975-0597 for current pricing and shipping options for your state.

Bringing your prescription to us

There are two simple routes. Your prescriber can send the prescription to ProCompounding directly, or you can move an existing prescription to us. Our guide to transferring a prescription to a compounding pharmacy walks through the steps, and the transfer form takes a few minutes.

We are licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, so we can ship to you wherever you live. If you have a question for one of our pharmacists, call us at 423-975-0597.

This article is general information, not medical advice. Decisions about your care rest with your prescriber. Compounded preparations are not reviewed or approved by the FDA for safety or efficacy.