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The History of Pharmaceutical
Compounding
Although Jim and his staff
have been compounding for over 25 years,
The profession of pharmacy was
founded in the art and science of
compounding medications. The
beginning of compounding dates back
to medieval times with
priests, monks, and medicine men. Specialization
first occurred in the early
9th century in the civilized
world around Baghdad. Over
time it gradually spread to Europe
as alchemy evolved into
chemistry as doctors began to abandon
beliefs that was not
demonstrable in the physical world. During
this time, doctors began
prescribing medications to patients. Pharmacists
then began compounding these
prescriptions and producing them in
mass quantities for general
sale. It was not until the 19th century that
there was a distinct
difference between the pharmacists as a compounder
of medications and the
physician as the therapist.
In the 1930’s and 1940’s,
approximately 60 percent of all medications dispensed
were compounded.
Then in the 1950s and 1960s,
with the creation of commercial drug manufacturers,
compounding declined.
It was during this time that a
pharmacist, known as a compounder or
apothecary became known as a
dispenser of manufactured
drugs. In the 1980’s and now in the 1990’s, patients
and doctors are realizing
the need for specific doses
and customized medications. Today, almost
43,000 compounded dosage forms
are dispensed each day. In the
1990’s, even with the popularity of
compounding growing again only a few
pharmacists can be known as a
compounder or apothecary, because
this technique was forgotten by most.
It is certain that as we begin
our journey into the twenty-first
century that compounding is not only here to
stay but will continue it's
growth. Rest assured that
Jim's experience establishes him as an area leader in
the art of compounding.
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