Here at Hill Avenue Drugs, we have been serving the Lakeview Community since 1953. Since then, the city of Regina has seen a great deal of expansion. The role of the pharmacist behind the counter has also changed a great deal in the last sixty years. In the early days, pharmacists would prepare many medications “in house” using raw chemicals. Mass production of medications quickly changed that aspect of pharmacy. Large drugs companies would manufacture drugs on a large scale, increasing the access to medications for many people. In this way, the role of the pharmacist moved from a preparer of medications to a role more focused on dispensing medications.
In the last couple decades, pharmacists have increased our roles to become a valuable source of information, both for the patient and for the prescriber. Our training allows us to provide information regarding the drug itself, the condition for which the drug is being used, interactions with other medications, and what to expect as far as good and bad side effects. Due to the ease of access of the patient to the pharmacist, we are able to form a quick relationship with patients, and hope that many people find these relationships as reliable and rewarding as those relationships with their family physician.
In addition to the regular duties of a pharmacy, Hill Avenue Drugs also has a very important niche in the world of pharmaceutical compounding. “Pharmaceutical compounding” refers to the process of medication preparation in the dispensary using raw chemicals and other materials. Hill Avenue Drugs is a member of the Professional Compounding Centres of America (PCCA), so we have access to chemicals, equipment and devices, flavouring agents, training and education, and years of experience and research that other pharmacies don't have.
Compounding allows us to help out many patients that can't get the medication they need at a conventional pharmacy. We can help individualize medications rather than the “one size fits all” approach of large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturers. There are many different types of patients who can benefit from compounding.
Drug Shortages
When a drug becomes unavailable from manufacturers, the effects can be quite widespread. These shortages can be anything ranging from one manufacturer being unable to produce a product, all the way to a complete discontinuation of a commercial medication. In the simpler instances, patients are able to switch from one brand to another – this happens on a regular basis, and patients are able to continue their therapy much as it was the day before. In other cases, there is only one company manufacturing the medication, or a company has completely stopped making the medication. But what about all the patients who still need that medication filled? Oftentimes, Hill Avenue Drugs is able to help. In many of these cases, we are able to get chemicals from our suppliers and compound up a medication in the same strengths as what the patient was previously on. This allows the patient to continue on their same medication, without having to worry about changing to a completely different drug. If the shortage is temporary, patients can return to the commercial product once it is available. If the drug has been completely discontinued, we are usually able to continue helping those patients affected as long as needed.
Pediatric Patients
Pediatric patients are also affected by large drug manufacturers, but in a different way. In many cases, the medications used to treat children are the same medications we would use to treat adults. Unfortunately, there are many medications that are only available in “adult sized” does, despite the need for “children sized” doses. For older children, therapy could be as simple as taking half of an adult tablet – pretty easy, right? But what if you have a smaller child, and they need a medication that is a fraction of an adult dose? How can you accurately measure 1/8th of a tablet – and more importantly, how can you get a little baby to swallow it?
This is something we see on a regular basis. It can be solved by compounding the medication into a liquid to be given. This way, the medication will be accurate – it is much easier to measure 1ml instead of 1/8th tablet! This can also help make the medication easier to tolerate, as some of the chemicals we have are used to flavour and sweeten the medication to make administration times much easier for both parents and children.
All of our compounds, whether they are due to drug shortages, for pediatric patients, or even something we have touched on in our other newsletters such as veterinary compounding, require a prescription. If you have an existing prescription at another pharmacy, we can often transfer that prescription to us. If your doctor or veterinarian needs any assistance writing a compounded prescription, we are more than happy to help them out. If you have any questions, we'd love to hear from you, too! Call 306-586-6262 or visit
www.hillavedrugs.com.
Come by to discuss your options with our pharmacists Andrew, Janice, Gavin or Michaeline, or even just to say hi. We are here seven days a week – Monday to Friday 9AM to 9PM, Saturday 9AM to 6PM, Sunday 1PM to 5PM, and closed statutory holidays. We look forward to helping you out
No comments:
Post a Comment