How to Choose a Compounding Pharmacy for Hormones
Compounded hormone therapy is prepared patient-by-patient, which means the pharmacy doing the compounding materially affects what you receive — the strength, the dosage form, and the quality systems behind it. Here is how to evaluate one, and the questions worth asking before you commit.
Why the Pharmacy Matters for Hormone Therapy
Commercially manufactured hormone products come in fixed strengths and fixed combinations. A compounded preparation is different: it is made to the prescriber's specification for one individual patient, which is why prescribers turn to compounding when a commercial strength, combination, or route does not fit.
That flexibility puts more weight on the pharmacy itself. Quality systems, the range of dosage forms a lab can actually make, and how involved the pharmacist is in the formulation all vary from one compounding pharmacy to the next. Those differences are worth checking before your first fill rather than after.
Seven Things to Look For
1. PCAB/ACHC accreditation
PCAB accreditation is an independent survey of a pharmacy's compounding quality systems — not a self-declaration. Out of roughly 3,000 compounding pharmacies, fewer than 200 are PCAB accredited, under 1%. ProCompounding is PCAB/ACHC accredited. What PCAB accreditation involves.
2. Third-party potency testing
Ask whether compounded preparations are routinely sent to a third-party laboratory for potency testing, so the strength dispensed matches the strength prescribed. ProCompounding uses third-party potency testing as part of its quality program. See our quality standards.
3. Compliance with USP 795 and USP 800
USP 795 covers non-sterile compounding and USP 800 covers hazardous drug handling. Ask whether the pharmacy follows both, and how it handles containment, temperature and humidity control, and surface testing. ProCompounding compounds under USP 795 and USP 800, using powder containment hoods, negative pressure for hazardous compounding, decontamination processes, and surface testing.
4. Range of dosage forms
A pharmacy that can only make one or two forms limits your prescriber's options. Creams, oils, oral capsules, and vaginal preparations each suit different patients, and the route should be matched to the patient rather than to what the lab happens to be able to make. ProCompounding prepares all four.
5. Pharmacist access and prescriber collaboration
Find out whether a pharmacist will actually talk through the formulation with you, and whether the pharmacy will coordinate with your prescriber's office on strength, base, and dosage form. Our pharmacists review each formulation and confirm details with the prescriber before compounding begins.
6. Licensure in your state
A compounding pharmacy can only dispense into states where it holds a license, so a pharmacy in another state is fine as long as it is licensed in yours. ProCompounding is licensed in 49 states plus the District of Columbia — every state except Kansas. Where we are licensed.
7. Clear turnaround and refill process
Before you transfer anything, know how long a fill takes and how refills and transfers are handled, so a therapy you take daily does not lapse. ProCompounding holds a 48-hour turnaround on most compounds, and your pharmacist confirms timing for your specific preparation.
Questions to Ask Before You Choose
- Are you PCAB accredited?
- Do you send preparations for third-party potency testing?
- Are you licensed in my state?
- Which dosage forms can you make for this hormone?
- Can I speak with a pharmacist about my formulation?
- What is your typical turnaround on a compounded hormone prescription?
- How do you handle refills and prescription transfers?
A pharmacy that answers these plainly, without hedging, is usually one that has the documentation to back the answers up.
What a Pharmacy Should Never Claim
No compounding pharmacy can call a compounded preparation FDA approved. Compounded preparations are made for an individual patient on a valid prescription and are not FDA approved; 503A pharmacies are regulated by state boards of pharmacy.
Be equally cautious about guaranteed results. Hormone therapy carries real risks, responses differ between patients, and no pharmacy is in a position to promise an outcome — that conversation belongs with your prescriber.
Finally, watch for pharmacies advertising shipping to "all 50 states" without saying which licenses they actually hold. Licensure is verifiable state by state; a pharmacy should be able to tell you exactly where it is licensed.
Already Working With a Provider?
If your prescriber has already written a compounded hormone prescription, or you are taking one at another pharmacy, there are two straightforward next steps.
Related Reading
Understanding BHRT
A plain-language look at bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
PCAB Accreditation Explained
What an independent survey of compounding quality systems actually covers.
Our Quality Standards
Third-party potency testing, containment, and the SOPs behind each preparation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about compounding, prescriptions, and working with our pharmacy.
Hormone Compounding Pharmacy FAQ
Compounded preparations are prepared for an individual patient on a valid prescription and are not FDA approved.
Talk Through a Hormone Formulation
ProCompounding is a woman-owned, PCAB/ACHC-accredited 503A compounding pharmacy at 527 N. State of Franklin Rd. in Johnson City, Tennessee. Our pharmacists work with your prescriber on the strength, base, and dosage form of your compounded hormone therapy.