A dilemma that a physician regularly faces is the situation where a drug of choice for a patient becomes unavailable or hard-to-find. When the most appropriate medication known to the physician is no longer available, the physician normally has three options:

(1) use a less familiar drug.

(2) use a less effective drug.

(3) not prescribe a medication.

However, there is a fourth option. The physician can contact our pharmacist, who is specially trained in the art of extemporaneous compounding, and request that unavailable medication. Many times, we can obtain the active ingredient as a bulk pharmaceutical grade powder which we can use to compound a very similar preparation, or a modified formulation which will better meet the needs of a specific patient. This process occurs on a regular basis in our pharmacy.

Recently, physicians have requested that our pharmacy compound alternatives for many unavailable medications, such as:

· Betahistine (for Meniere’s disease or vertigo)

· Hydrocortisone suspension

· Nystatin suspension

Many drugs frequently used in infants and young children are not commercially available in suitable dosage forms, and often liquid preparations must be extemporaneously compounded. We can compound medications in a flavor and color that the patient will like, and in a concentration (strength) that will simplify administration.

Courtesy of Soldotna Professional Pharmacy

262-3800