PCCA Australia News

  Compounding Pharmacists –

helping patients in the “too hard basket”

  “I’ve been told by doctors that I’m in the too hard basket,” says Melbourne based Susan Simpson who has chronic pain from nerve damage. “Pain killers have side effects and sometimes the medications are as much of a problem for me as the pain. That’s why the special gel compound that my pharmacist specially makes up for me, adjusting the pain relieving dose according to my situation, is a godsend. 

Every person is different and responds to medications in their own way. A large and growing group of pharmacists in Australia is committed to using both high technology and traditional techniques to tailor therapy to individuals’ needs. They call themselves Compounding Pharmacists. 

“Because this condition of living with constant pain, literally takes away any kind of lifestyle and the constant battle to “mentally” stay positive wears very thin most of the time, I truly believe that it is imperative to get the message across that there is a wonderful treatment available that does give relief, is non-invasive, convenient to use and will give people who are suffering, not just hope, but a better quality of life,” says Susan Simpson. 

“I have my special gel massaged down my spine and there is an immediate warm and relieving sensation with no upset stomach,” claims Susan Simpson. “ I have the utmost confidence that if doctors were made aware of these compounds and gels, thousands of patients would be given relief who’d otherwise have had none at all,” she added. 

"There's no doubt that the advent of modern, mass produced medications has been extremely important, but there are always those people that fall through the cracks" says Heather Taylor of Compoundia in Melbourne’s Docklands, who’s Susan Simpson’s Compounding Pharmacist. "The old fashioned skill of the pharmacist to find the most effective way of delivering medication to the patient is still a relevant and very essential one for a percentage of the population". 

“All pharmaceutical manufacturers can do is try and cater to the majority of patients to decide the best way of safely administering their drug,” argues Jenny Giam of Professional Compounding Chemists of Australia (PCCA). PCCA is the body which represents pharmacists who maintain and enhance their profession’s skills at making up preparations tailored to individuals’ needs. 

“But some people can’t swallow or have sensitive stomachs and if you wantonly crush a tablet or break open a capsule it can render the medication ineffective or downright dangerous. So what do you do then?  Well I’d say, look for a Compounding Pharmacist who knows what the alternatives are.”

 “"Dermatology is another area that frequently uses the skills of compounding pharmacists,” says Heather Taylor. "Skin specialists can custom design preparations taking into consideration sensitivities or special needs of the patient.”

 “Another area is children’s medications where all that’s available are adult preparations,” says PCCA’s Jenny Giam. “Our members are able to make up easy to use preparations, which can even be taken by babies. We are also often able to provide medications which are perfectly good but which have been discontinued for commercial reasons by the manufacturers.”

 Background

Compounding used to be the main work of high street pharmacists (or chemists). Those were the days before the international pharmaceutical industry developed to the extent it has today. Indeed given scale of the manufacturing process and the number of medications now available compared to 100 years ago, it would be impossible to hand tailor drugs for every person.  But there’s no point in having a potentially beneficial medication if there’s no way to get it into a person because they can’t tolerate the delivery technology (eg tablets/capsules, creams) that they come in from the manufacturer. That’s when compounding comes into its own.

 Professional Compounding Chemists of Australia (PCCA) is the body which represents pharmacists who maintain and enhance their profession’s skills at making up preparations tailored to individuals’ needs. It provides training and is also a TGA licensed supplier of ingredients for extemporaneous compounding to pharmacists who prepare medicines for patients for whom the available commercial products are unsuitable. The Therapeutic Goods Act specifically allows pharmacists, doctors, and veterinarians to prepare medicines for individual patients when a suitable commercially manufactured product is unavailable. PCCA does not supply or advertise products to the public. 

In terms of regulation, The Therapeutics Goods Administration specifically exempts compounded products from having to be approved as they are made on an individual basis for specific patients who would otherwise have to use less suitable medicines, import the product (at great expense) or just be denied the medicine that their doctor recommends. 

The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has published specific Professional Practice Standards for Compounding with which pharmacists are required to comply. The Pharmacy Boards of each state are responsible for regulating compounding since this has always been part of professional pharmacy practice.

 Issued through: Lanham Public Relations

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