Merriam-Webster defines secundum artem as "according to the accepted practice of a profession or trade". In pharmacy it typically goes hand in hand with the preparation of extemporaneous compounds, i.e. when you have to make something from scratch. Pharmacists have been doing this since the profession began. Unfortunately it’s a dying art not only because of lack of interest from younger pharmacists, but secondary to increased regulation and bureaucratic red tape as well. It’s a real shame. To put it in perspective it would be like surgeons no longer performing surgery by hand because of the invention of the da Vinci Robot.
Secundum artem. Yeah, not so much
“What’d I miss?” – Week of January 9, 2011
As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.
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Cool Technology for Pharmacy
The Capsule Machine
Capsule machines don’t exactly automate the process of filling capsules from scratch, but they sure do speed up the process. Anyone that has spent time punching capsules by hand will appreciate what a capsule machine can do for you. They are a real time saver.
Devices like these are used almost exclusively by compounding pharmacies and typically make up to 100 capsules at a time. Sure there are bigger capsule machines out there, but they typically aren’t used in community based pharmacies. I spent many hours in just such a pharmacy using capsule machines to make all sorts of things for both human and animal consumption. I don’t know how many thousand capsules I made, but rest assured it was a lot.
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