by Tina Ding
Gateway Pharmacy’s dedicated, state-of-the-art compounding lab works directly with the physician and patient to prepare a medication ideally suited for the patient. Since each of the lab personnel’s technique in compounding medications within a lab can vary, Gateway Pharmacy sends representative samples of compounded medications to an outside laboratory for analytical testing for various preparations, verifying the technique of each personnel, checking the potency of formulations and determining a beyond use date (expiration date).

“Compounding medication is the art and science of preparing customized medications,” Gateway Pharmacy pharmacist Mike Riepl, R.Ph. said. “Physicians and pharmacists bring chemistry, pharmacology and pharmacy practice together to prepare patient specific medications.”

If physicians have patients allergic to dyes or fillers in commercially produced products, they may prescribe compounded medications that avoid the chemicals that give the patient an allergic reaction. Or in some cases, their patient benefits from having the medication delivered through the skin directly to the tissue instead of into the bloodstream – so that pain and inflammation are targeted at the site.
“We work with physicians in dentistry, pediatrics, geriatrics and veterinary as well as dermatology, infertility and more,” Riepl said. “And offer many, many compounded medication options.”

Riepl said they compound solutions, suspensions, medicated lollipops, sublingual tabs, capsules and suppositories as well as topical sprays and nasal sprays. Further, they prepare extended release capsules which are gluten-free and lactose-free. They also prepare sugar- and/or dye-free oral preparations. A bulk of their preparations are gels or creams which deliver all types of drugs through the skin. All for the sole purpose of providing a personalized medication solution for a particular patient.

“Compounding medication is about providing a personalized medication solution to each patient,” Riepl said. “When a patient has specialized medication needs or other requirements to administer or deliver the drug, a pharmacist can utilize compounding to come up with an acceptable solution for both the physician and the patient to provide an optimal therapeutic outcome.”