Northern Ohio University HealthWise Pharmacy, a key on-campus learning center for pharmacy students, now offers community preparedness services, for people as well as pets and other pets. It is a service that provides personalized medication for a variety of health-related conditions and can serve as a convenient solution to typical medication barriers.
“Preparation is the formulation of drugs that are not commercially available,” says Ryan Waldschmidt, CPESN Ohio resident at UN HealthWise Pharmacy and Jackson Pharmacy and Wellness Center. Medications may need to be compounded to meet individual patient or veterinarian needs, such as single medications, single doses, or dosage forms including liquids, creams, or suppositories. Compound medications may be needed for purposes such as pain management, skin conditions, or bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Preparation is often necessary when a commercially available drug is not suitable for the patient or animal. Here are some examples of compound drugs:
Eliminate ingredients of a drug to which a patient is allergic;
Changing the dosage form (for example, preparing a liquid for a patient who cannot swallow a tablet);
Combining drugs together (turning several pills into one combined pill);
Provide a unique strength of the drug;
Manufacture drugs when they are not available or in insufficient quantity;
To manufacture medicines for pets or other animals, in the right dose and in the right dosage form.
“Rather than switching or going without medication, patients can often benefit instead of dialing in,” says Waldschmidt, “at the request of physicians, veterinarians, and other prescribers.”
“To raise awareness of this service, I plan to build relationships with doctors and veterinarians in surrounding communities to share the benefits of compounding with them,” says Waldschmidt. “The more prescribers become aware of the options compounding offers them and their patients, the more our patients will benefit.”
Although pharmacology was born out of compounding, only about 7,500 of the approximately 56,000 community pharmacies in the United States today specialize in compounding services, according to the American Pharmaceutical Association. All of them, including the UN HealthWise pharmacy program, are regulated by the state.
At this time, the composition provided by ONU HeatlhWise Pharmacy does not include injectables or other sterile compounds. “There are very tightly regulated restrictions on sterile compounds,” says Waldschmidt. The UN HealthWise “non-sterile” compounding program does not indicate uncleanliness, but compliance with less stringent regulations than those required for sterile products, such as intravenous medications. “Non-sterile preparation does not require a sterile environment and involves dosage forms such as capsules, tablets, creams, ointments, liquids, suspensions, suppositories, dog/cat chews and more “, notes Waldschmidt.
In addition to improving locals’ access to advanced pharmaceutical services, the UN’s Raabe College of Pharmacy provides training for preparatory pharmacist students, and the service is a valuable hands-on learning opportunity. “Providing compounded compounds in the departments available in our pharmacy will give students the opportunity to make drugs for real patients, beyond what we teach them in our compounding lab classes,” says Waldschmidt, who also developed a training program for interested students and other HealthWise. Pharmacy staff.
For more information on UN HealthWise compounding services, call the pharmacy at 419-772-3784 Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; or Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The pharmacy can also be reached by email hwpharmacy@onu.edu.
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