Compounding Services
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EasyCataract
Our sister brand: A compounded combination cataract surgery eye drop.
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FDA Shortage
The FDA allows compounding to meet a medical need when a drug appears on the FDA Shortage List, such as Semaglutide and Tirzepatide.
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Bio-identical Hormone Restoration Therapy (BHRT)
Unbalanced hormones can make you feel like a stranger in your own skin.
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Pain Management
Everyone experiences some sort of pain in their lives. Don’t let chronic pain keep you from enjoying life.
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Veterinary Compounding
As a pet owner, you want your pet to receive the highest-quality veterinary care.
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Men's Health
Do you have concerns about erectile dysfunction, low libido, loss of zest for life, or prostate and bladder health?
Westmoreland Pharmacy operates in full compliance with Section 503A regarding compounded drugs as defined in the FD&C Act.
Compounded medications are generally not reviewed by the FDA for safety or efficacy. Westmoreland does not compound copies of commercially available products.
What is Compounding?
When the first pharmacists began serving patients, and for many years after, theirs was a very individualized profession. Each prescription was created from the basic ingredients for the particular patient, based on his or her specific circumstances.
In our modern era, what most consumers think of as a pharmacy is actually more similar to a dispensary. The medication you receive is manufactured elsewhere, and the pharmacy simply provides you with the appropriate dosage and quantity as directed by your doctor.
Westmoreland Pharmacy is modeled after the original pharmacies. Working with your doctor, each prescription we create is compounded specifically for you from the highest quality ingredients, according to your unique needs, using advanced technology and methods. In many ways, we represent the pharmacy of the future, combining state-of-the-art technology with deep expertise to develop individualized solutions for every patient.
Who benefits from compounded prescriptions?
A woman who is experiencing all the side effects of menopause — loss of energy, hot flashes, loss of libido and so on — can take advantage of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy from Precision Compounding to restore balance and alleviate those side effects.
A child who has difficulty swallowing medicine can have a prescription created as a flavored liquid or even as a compounded cream that can be absorbed through the skin.
Someone who is allergic to one or more of the ingredients contained in typical prescription medication can have that same prescription compounded without those ingredients.
A patient who cannot tolerate the “standard” dosage of a particular medication can have a compounded solution created that solves this problem.
Patients suffering from chronic pain may find that a compounded topical pain medication brings them greater relief than they have been able to achieve with other approaches.
Even pets who are reluctant to swallow needed medications can benefit from having that same medication created in a compounded form that is easier for the pet’s owner to administer.
In short, compounding benefits anyone whose unique needs may vary even a little from the “average.”
For the academic, here is a collection of journal articles with compounded preparations:
Compounding Q&As
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Pharmacy compounding is the art and science of preparing customized medications for patients. Its practice dates back to the origins of pharmacy, although compounding’s presence in the pharmacy profession has changed over the years.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the majority of prescriptions were compounded. With the advent of mass drug manufacturing in the 1950s and ’60s, compounding declined as the pharmacist’s role as a preparer of medications quickly changed to that of a dispenser of manufactured dosage forms. However, this “one-size–fits–all” approach to medication meant that some patients’ needs were not being met.
Within the last few decades, however, compounding has experienced a renaissance as modern technology and innovative techniques and research have allowed more pharmacists to customize medications to meet a patient’s unique needs. -
Yes! Children and the elderly are often the types of patients who benefit most from compounding.
It is common for parents to have a tough time getting their children to take medicine because of the taste. A compounding pharmacist can work directly with the physician and the patient to select a flavoring agent, such as bubble gum, grape, tutti frutti, or vanilla butternut, which provides both an appropriate match for the medication’s properties and the patient’s taste preferences.
Just think – no more wasting medicine when a cranky patient spits it out!
Compounding pharmacists also can help patients who experience chronic pain. For example, some arthritic patients cannot take certain medications due to gastrointestinal side effects. Working with a physician’s prescription, a compounding pharmacist can provide these patients’ anti-inflammatory or pain-relieving medicationsas topical preparationsthat can be absorbed through the skin.
Compounded prescriptions frequently are used to ease pain, nausea, and other symptoms for hospice patients as well. -
Compounding has been part of healthcare since the origins of pharmacy, and is widely used today in all areas of the industry, from hospitals to nuclear medicine.
Over the last decade, compounding’s resurgence has largely benefited from advances in technology, quality control and research methodology.
The Food and Drug Administration has stated that compounded prescriptions are both ethical and legal as long as they are prescribed by a licensed practitioner for a specific patient and compounded by a licensed pharmacy.
In addition, compounding is regulated by state boards of pharmacy. -
Some insurance plans do cover compounding, but they are few and far between.
As a courtsey we will attempt to bill insurance. In reality, most compounded prescriptions are self-pay.
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Compounding may or may not cost more than conventional medication. Its cost depends on factors such as the type of ingredients and equipment required, plus the time the pharmacist spends researching and preparing the medication.
Fortunately, compounding pharmacists have access to pure-grade quality chemicals which dramatically lower overall costs and allow them to be very competitive with commercially manufactured products.
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There are several reasons why prescribers and pharmacists provide compounded medications for patients.
The primary reason is to avoid patient non-compliance, which means the patient is either unable or unwilling to use the medication as directed.
Many patients are allergic to preservatives or dyes, or require a dosage that is different from the standard drug strengths. With a practitioner’s consent, a compounding pharmacist can adjust the strength of a medication, add flavor to make it more palatable, or alter its form to make it easier for the patient to ingest.
Pharmacists also can prepare medications using unique delivery systems. For those patients who find it difficult to swallow a capsule, a compounding pharmacist can prepare the drug as a flavored liquid suspension instead. Other dosage forms include topical gels or creams that can be absorbed through the skin, suppositories, sublingual drops, or troches (lozenges). -
Almost any kind! Compounded prescriptions are ideal for any patient requiring unique dosages and/or delivery devices.
Compounding applications can include: bio-identical hormone replacement therapy; hospice; pediatric; pain management;ophthalmic; dental; otic (for the ear); dermatology; medication flavoring; neuropathy; veterinary; sports medicine; infertility; wound therapy; podiatry and gastroenterology. -
Prescription compounding is a rapidly growing component of many practitioners’ practices, but some may not realize the extent of compounding’s resurgence in recent years due to today’s climate of aggressive marketing by drug manufacturers.
Ask your prescriber about compounding, or get in touch with a compounding pharmacy – one that is committed to providing high-quality compounded medications in the dosage form and strength prescribed by the practitioner. Through the triad relationship of patient, prescriber and pharmacist, all three can work together to solve unique medical problems.