Here, prescribers will find valuable information and resources for compounded medications and answers to

frequently asked questions about compounding.

It is important that prescribers be an active participant in the Triad Relationship created when the Prescriber, the Pharmacist, and the Patient work together.  This is especially true for compounded medications, since the design of an individualized dosage form will be optimized when the diagnostic and prescribing skills of the prescriber and the formulation and counseling skills of the pharmacist are combined with the patient’s own self-awareness and preferences.

But it is also important that prescribers be aware of issues surrounding compounding.  Different medical professionals have differing perspectives on the use of compounding, so it is crucial that your experiences and your voice be heard.

P2C2: Patients and Professionals for Customized Care

(www.savemymedicine.org)

Free physician membership available

You have the power to protect your ability to prescribe compounded medicines.  P2C2 brings together people who know first-hand that compounded medicines are a critical part of modern, individualized healthcare and gives them the necessary tools to win the fight to keep their access to compounded medicines.  With a free membership to P2C2, you can receive electronic updates on the latest news and information affecting compounding.  You can also share your own story of how compounding helped you with others – from your local Congressional representative to your local newspaper – so they know you rely on compounded medicines to treat your patients effectively, and that you are committed to making sure they remain available.

IACP: International Academy of Compounding Pharmacy

(www.iacprx.org)

Prescribers can support IACP by joining P2C2, above 

Since 1991, IACP has fought to protect, promote and advance the art and skill of the compounding pharmacy profession. IACP represents more than 1,800 pharmacists, physicians, technicians and patients who are committed to practicing quality pharmacy compounding.  The Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Supreme Court, Congress, and virtually every major association of healthcare professionals have recognized the value of compounding pharmacists. Unfortunately, misguided efforts to alter the regulatory landscape threaten pharmacists' ability to practice compounding and, subsequently, physician and patient access to these medication choices.   IACP is fighting in courts, in Congress and in the public arena to raise awareness of the value of compounding and to reverse these policies and maintain states’ historically established authority over the practice of compounding.  IACP also acts as a referral service for patients and prescribers who would like to work with a compounding pharmacist in their area.

PCCA: Professional Compounding Centers of America 

(www.pccarx.com)

Visit the "About Us" and "Physicians" sections

PCCA is the nation’s complete resource for fine chemicals, equipment, devices, flavors, ACPE-accredited training and education, pharmacy software, marketing, business and pharmacy consulting assistance. The network of PCCA Member Pharmacies includes more than 3,500 independent community pharmacists in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and New Zealand.  PCCA's mission is to strengthen the role, position and skills of member compounding pharmacists so they can meet the unique healthcare needs of patients through PCCA’s exceptional service, highest-quality products, shared innovations and education.  One patient. One physician. One pharmacist. A triad relationship with a common goal: achieving a positive therapeutic outcome for the patient. And in the midst of this relationship and this common goal is PCCA, the leader in pharmacy compounding since 1981.

Frequently Asked Questions

Click each question to jump to the answer...

• How do I prescribe a compounded medication?
• How do I know that a compounded medication will be safe?
• How do I know that a compounded medication will be effective (or efficacious)?
• How can I learn more about a compounded medication?
• Will my patients' prescription insurance cover their compounded medication?
  

How do I prescribe a compounded medication? 

The pharmacists at Westchase Specialty Pharmacy are pleased to answer any questions you might have about prescribing a compounded medication.  In general, writing a prescription for a compounded medication is no different than writing for a manufactured medication.  The patient’s personal information must be provided, as well as the prescriber’s.  For the drug information, your prescription should include the drug name and dose.  If you have a specific dosage form in mind – for instance, a transdermal gel or a buccal troche – you can indicate it on the prescription.  However, it may benefit the patient more if you indicate that the compounded form is “to be determined by patient, pharmacist and prescriber.”  This will allow the Westchase pharmacist to speak with the patient about his or her preferences, discuss multiple options with you, the prescriber, then execute the prescription to accommodate the suggestions of everyone in the Triad.

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How do I know that a compounded medication will be safe?

The safety of a compounded preparation is dependent upon the compounders who make it, the chemicals that are used, and the facility in which it is made.  Not all pharmacies are appropriately equipped to compound safely and accurately, so you should refer your patients to a compounding pharmacy in which you are confident.  Please visit the “Why Westchase?” page.

Westchase Specialty Pharmacy enforces rigorous quality control and quality assurance programs that include product potency testing, as well as sterility and endotoxin testing when appropriate.  The sterile and non-sterile compounding labs are technologically advanced and allow us to employ the most accurate equipment and methods available.  Westchase compounders undergo extensive initial training, as well as ongoing training and evaluation.  Only the highest quality chemicals are used.  You are invited to personally visit Westchase Specialty Pharmacy to speak with our staff, take a tour of our compounding facility, and examine results of independently-conducted quality testing.
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How do I know that a compounded medication will be effective (or efficacious)?

The single most basic but crucial step in maximizing effectiveness of medication is to increase adherence.  Many of the prescriptions that are compounded are done so with that express purpose in mind.  For instance, Westchase pharmacists will determine whether multiple medications can be safely combined in one capsule or formulated into a sustained-release capsule, allowing the patient to swallow fewer capsules each day.  Many compounded dosage forms utilize administration routes similar to commercially-available products: oral liquids, rapid-dissolve tablets, and effervescent powders all utilize the same oral-gastrointestinal route that manufactured tablets and capsules use, with the added benefit of a more palatable and easily-administered form.  Increasing compliance is a major goal of compounded preparations.

Other routes of administration – such as transdermal, transmucosal (buccal or sublingual delivery), rectal, or vaginal systems – are very helpful in increasing compliance and have benefits that manufactured oral products cannot provide.  These vary by drug and dosage form.  Published data are available, and in some cases, you will use the same analysis tools to determine if the drug is effective.  The best examples of this are in the treatment of pain and nausea.  As a practitioner, you do not obtain blood levels or run tests to determine if medicine is treating pain or nausea effectively.  You simply ask the patient.  Changing the dosage form does not change this follow-up technique, and in some cases, adjusting the dose of a compounded prescription in response to the patient’s response can be easier.

The primary barrier to medication effectiveness is patient-compliance.  Compounding pharmacy offers limitless options to help the patient become more compliant with the medication you have prescribed.

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How can I learn more about compounded medication?

Westchase pharmacists are happy to speak with you, at your practice site or at ours.  Westchase Specialty Pharmacy is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 6 pm.  We are closed from 12 to 1 pm for lunch, but would be happy to share our lunch hour with you or schedule an after-hours visit to discuss how compounding can help your patients.  You are invited to personally visit Westchase Specialty Pharmacy at your convenience: a tour of our compounding labs can be arranged.  Please visit the “Contact Westchase” page.

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Will my patients’ prescription insurance cover their compounded medication? 

Prescription insurance coverage does include compounded medications in most cases.  Since coverage of compounds varies from one plan to the next, patients can speak with their benefits provider to learn the extent of their own plans’ coverage.  In order for a pharmacy to bill an insurance company directly, the insurance company requires the medication be assigned a National Drug Code (NDC) number.  However, since compounded prescriptions are, by law, exempt from having an NDC number, Westchase Specialty Pharmacy cannot bill insurance for the patient.  Rather, the patient will pay a cash-price for the prescription and the Westchase pharmacist will provide the necessary paperwork and information that the patient can submit to his or her insurance provider for reimbursement.

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If you have any other questions, please click here to visit the "Contact Westchase" page.