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Specialised Compounding—Practices and Opinions of Australian Community Pharmacists
Author(s) -
Giam Jennifer A,
McLachlan Andrew J,
Krass Ines
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy practice and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2055-2335
pISSN - 1445-937X
DOI - 10.1002/j.2055-2335.2007.tb00761.x
Subject(s) - compounding , medicine , pharmacy , medical prescription , specialty , respondent , accreditation , family medicine , community pharmacy , pharmacist , medical education , nursing , political science , law
Background Anecdotal reports of the increase in dispensing of compounded products have resulted in a review of pharmacy compounding by regulatory authorities. However, little is known about the compounding practices of community pharmacists. Aim To investigate the extent and nature of compounding in community pharmacies, to assess the differences between specialised and non‐specialised compounding practices and to evaluate pharmacists' attitudes to compounding as a specialty. Method A 42‐item self‐completion questionnaire was sent to 500 randomly selected Australian community pharmacies. This was followed by 3 additional mailings to non‐responders. A final non‐respondent telephone survey was also conducted. Results Inclusion criteria were met by 465 pharmacies. Surveys were completed by 271 pharmacists (58% response rate). Although the extent of compounding is unchanged (less than 1% of prescriptions) some pharmacists have adopted compounding as a specialty practice. Specialised compounding was provided by 9.6% of pharmacies dispensing an average of 25 compounded products weekly compared to 3 products by non‐specialised pharmacies. Specialised pharmacies have different equipment and training, and dispensed a variety of dosage forms for a wide range of therapeutic areas. Conclusion Specialised compounding service is being increasingly offered by community pharmacies. Pharmacists felt strongly that compounding should be provided by all pharmacies but accepted that there should be accreditation of specialised practices. More research is needed to enable the development of appropriate standards and guidelines.