Compounding is the preparation of personalized medication for patients. The medication is created based on a prescriber’s order. The individual components of the order are mixed in the exact strength and dosage for the patient. This customization allows the compounding pharmacist to collaborate with the patient and the prescriber to tailor make the medication to the patient’s specific needs.

Sometimes the needs of an individual cannot be met by commercially available medication. For example, if a patient has an allergy and needs a medication to be made without a specific ingredient, or if a patient cannot swallow a pill and needs a medicine in liquid form, they would need to go to a compounding pharmacy for a personalized medication.