Experts skeptical of compounding pharmacy practices

Some physicians are now questioning or skeptical of compounding pharmacy practices.  Read more here

Experts skeptical of compounding pharmacy practices

• Endocrine Today, June 2013

Pharmaceutical compounding, defined as the combining or mixing of pharmaceutical ingredients to create a customized medication for a patient, has recently come under fire due to sterility issues. Now, controversial regulatory issues and recent legislative action have caused experts to speak out about the clinical implications of compounded thyroid agents and the controversies surrounding this typically unchartered territory for clinicians.

“The bottom line with compoundingpharmacies is that they are state regulated and the regulation is not very rigid. In theory, it’s a custom prescription for each patient,”James V. Hennessey, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and clinical director of the division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, toldEndocrine Today. “I’m primarily convinced that levothyroxine is the mainstay of therapy, and I’m underwhelmed with the literature that tells me [triiodothyronine] compounds are of predictable benefit to patients. I’m willing to read about it and I’m willing to look at the evidence; however, at this time, I’m not anticipating that I will be using compounding pharmacies.”

http://www.healio.com/endocrinology/practice-management/news/print/endocrine-today/%7B0DDA820F-D873-4259-989F-245C54BFAC57%7D/Experts-skeptical-of-compounding-pharmacy-practices