Pharmacy compounding is the art and science of preparing customized medications for patients.  It was prominent in the founding of pharmacy and used to be the standard means of providing prescriptions.  In the 1930s and 1940s, approximately 60 percent of all medications were compounded.  With the advent of drug manufacturing in the 1950s and 1960s, compounding rapidly declined.  The pharmacist’s role as a preparer of medications quickly changed to that of a dispenser of manufactured dosage forms.  However, within the last two decades, compounding has experienced a resurgence via modern technology and innovative techniques and research.  Thus, its value has been re-established as healthcare professionals  realize the need to customize the care for patients who don't respond well to standardized strengths and dosage forms that are commercially available. What are some of the customized delivery systems and dosage forms and their benefits?

With a physician’s consent, a compounding pharmacist can change the original form of a medication to make it easier for the patient to ingest, or add flavor to make it more palatable. 

The compounding pharmacist can prepare medication using several unique delivery systems, such as sublingual troches, transdermals (creams, ointments, and gels), oral suspensions, injectables, rapid dissolve tablets, suppositories, powder insufflators (for nasal, throat, ears or other body cavities), gummy bears, and lollipops.

A compounding pharmacist can prepare medications that are free of ingredients that may not be tolerated by some individuals such as preservatives, dyes, sugar, lactose, or alcohol 

If  ingredients are compatible, a compounding pharmacist can take the active drug of several medicines and prepare them into a single dose form to allow for improved compliance due to increased convenience.

A compounding pharmacist can prepare discontinued or hard to find medications from the raw ingredients.