Compounding

Compounding Resource Directory from IJPC

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I received an email yesterday from the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding. The email contains a link to the IJPC’s Compounders’ Resource Directory. There’s a lot of good information on the list. It’s worth a look. Both the IJPC and CompoundingToday.com are great resources for anyone doing extemporaneous (non-sterile) or sterile compounding. Enjoy!

General Chapter 800 Commentary posted

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Just in case anyone was interested and wanted to get a jump on the upcoming USP Chapter <800>. The USP-NF Compendial Update for February included General Chapter <800> Commentary, which was posted on February 1, 2016. It’s a PDF document that includes all the comments that were submitted for consideration to the Expert Compounding Committee. The document can … Read more

Saturday morning coffee [October 13 2012]

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So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the tabs that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

The coffee mug to the right is from The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Tx. My family and I spent some time there during our summer vacation in Texas. One of the things I really wanted to do in Dallas was visit Dealey Plaza and the site where JFK was assassinated. Well, I finally got that chance as my family and I spent some time walking around the plaza area, visiting the location of the assassination and spending a little time at the book repository and museum. JFK is one of the few men in history that I would have liked to have met in person.

Taken 2 was #1 at the box office last weekend. My wife and I saw it last Saturday. Not bad. If you decide to go see it make sure you don’t want a good story line or incredible acting range. Just enjoy the senseless violence and be entertained. Hotel Transylvania was #2 at the box office. I saw that last night with my wife and youngest daughter. Good, clean humor. Worth seeing especially if you have little ones.

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Cool Pharmacy Tech – Fillmaster Plus

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I was talking with someone the other day about extemporaneous compounding and they mentioned FLAVORx. I like extemporaneous compounding and have been aware of FLAVORx for quite some time. In fact I featured it as a “Cool Technology for Pharmacy” back in February 2010. While I was at the FLAVORx website I came across a … Read more

Cool Pharmacy Tech – PowderSafe Type A Enclosure

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Every Friday I receive a weekly newsletter from CompoundingToday.com. And every Friday I spend a few minutes skimming over the newsletter looking for interesting things to read. Yesterday was no different.

I still find extemporaneous compounding interesting and like to keep up with what’s going on when I can. Like most newsletters this one contains a little advertising scattered throughout the document. I typically don’t pay much attention to the advertisements, but this week one of the advertisements caught my attention. It was for the PowderSafe Type A Enclosure by AirClean Systems. It’s basically a small tabletop laminar flow hood used for extemporaneous compounding.

Compounding pharmacies make a lot of custom medications from powdered ingredients. Depending on the physical properties of the powder being used they can be quite “fluffy” and generate a lot of particulate matter in the air. And the last thing you want to do is spend your days breathing in various powders that may ultimately lead to problems.

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Secundum artem. Yeah, not so much

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imageMerriam-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.

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Cool Technology for Pharmacy

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The Capsule Machine

profill_capmachineCapsule 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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