The growing drug shortage problem is impacting a range of patient conditions and issues from oral antibiotics that allow pediatric and elderly patients unable to swallow pills to take their medicine, to treatments for leukemia and chemotherapy, to name just a few. Recently, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) named over 200 medicines on its drug shortage list. During a recent FDA-sponsored forum on drug shortages, a representative from the Drug Information Resource Center (DIRC) reported tracking 210 “new” shortages over the first nine months of 2011, with more than 260 cumulative shortages, new and ongoing.

Compounding pharmacists play an important role in providing access to discontinued medications and drugs in short supply by compounding the specific drug—based on a physician’s prescription, using pharmaceutical base ingredients to help ensure that patients get the critical care they require.

PCCA member pharmacists have access to the highest quality pharmaceutical ingredients from PCCA, and can fulfill a prescription using the latest research, quality control processes, and testing technologies to create compounded medications that meet the individual needs of patients.

PCCA's Chris Simmons, RPh, talks about how the art of compounding can help fill the need during drug shortages.