Compounding Medications
It is our mission to provide the highest possible quality compounded medicine
Compounding assists many patients who require medicines that are not commercially manufactured or readily available. Atara Compounding Pharmacy works with both specialists and other health professionals in the following areas of practice, compounding vital medicines.
Dermatology
Creams, ointments, lotions and gels can be compounded taking into account allergies and using drugs and combinations of drugs that are not commercially available.
Custom formulas for anti-aging, fading creams, psoriasis and many skin conditions are possible, as are specialised bases for scar treatments, very dry or sensitive skin.
Paediatrics
Many drugs are not available in dose forms and sizes suitable for tiny patients. When required, compounding enables treatments for children that would not otherwise be possible.
Specialised flavours and dose forms such as topicals, popsicles and lollipops can assist with medicating children and parents facing medical challenges.
Gastroenterology
Hard to get antibiotics and customised combinations of drugs help gastroenterologists facing rising antibiotic resistance. Medications for PEG tubes can also be compounded.
Pain Management
Chronic pain can be difficult to treat and debilitating to live with. Compounding can provide a wide variety of options via topical treatments, which may lessen the amount of medication needed to be taken orally and thus allow a reduction in side effects.
Higher concentrations of medication such as anti-inflammatories can be compounded into topicals and target specific areas of pain and swelling while bypassing the stomach.
Bio Identical Hormone replacement
Compounding provides personalising hormone replacement therapy on prescription, in the form of sublingual troches, creams and gels.
Nutritional Supplements
Customising nutritional and vitamin supplement combinations is achieved via capsules or powders, based on tests carried out by qualified professionals in this area. This allows for only what is needed to be taken, rather than unnecessary and excessive supplementation.
Cardiology
Compounding provides pharmaceuticals for some rarer cardiac conditions where no commercial product exists in Australia.
Geriatrics
Swallowing difficulty is a common problem for many in this group. Compounding can provide solutions such as topical medications, suppositories, effervescent powders and thickened suspensions.
General Practice
From sleep disorders, hyperhidrosis, resistant thrush, wart treatments, dose reduction solutions for weaning, migraine, patients with intolerances to ingredients, short supply issues… there are so many ways compounding is essential to doctors in general practice.
Dentistry
Topical anesthetics, medicated mouthwashes, rinses, sprays and gels, dry socket paste and haemostatic solution are just some of the products compounded for dentists.
Hair Loss
The unique reasons for hair loss in men and women can be specifically and individually targeted via compounded capsules and topical lotions.
Podiatry
Compounding can provide compounded products for nail avulsion, anti-fungal and wart treatments, neuropathy, molluscum contagiosum and more.
FAQ – Compounding Medicine Questions
Your doctor will only write a prescription for a compounded medicine when no commercial alternative is suitable for your needs. Manufactured medicines cover most needs of the population, but they do not cover all. You might need a medicine in a different strength or it may be discontinued or currently unavailable in Australia as a commercial product. You may have allergies to substances that can be avoided in a custom-made medicine or perhaps you require the medicine in a different form than it is readily available in.
You can bring the prescription to us at the pharmacy, or you can fax, email or upload it on this website. Click on the Order Prescriptions link for details. We will quote the price to you and let you know how long it will take to be made and answer any questions you may have.
Yes, the original script it a legal requirement and must be in the hands of the pharmacy before the medicine can be provided. A fax or email does not constitute a legal prescription. It can be posted to us or brought in upon collection.
We can deliver to anywhere in Australia or alternatively you can collect it in person from our premises at 645-647 Burwood Highway, Vermont South, Vic.
A regular prescription is already manufactured, sitting on a shelf waiting to be dispensed and checked. A compounded prescription is physically made from the raw ingredients only once the prescription is received and according the exact needs of the individual patient. We aim to have product ready within 48 business hours, however this can vary due the complexity of the product or availability of ingredients. If the product is to be posted, please note that weekends, public holidays and extreme weather can delay the posting and delivery of medicines.
It is made in our state of the art laboratory at our Vermont South premises, using the latest equipment, by highly trained pharmacists and technicians.
Yes. Compounding was the traditional way medicines were produced before big pharmaceutical companies existed. It is an important and legal way for medical professionals to provide customized medicines for individual patients whose needs cannot be met any other way. The raw materials used are sourced from licensed suppliers and meet with stringent standards set by Australian guidelines on compounding, overseen by the Pharmacy Board of Australia and the TGA. Compounding pharmacists complete extensive training in addition to their pharmacy qualifications to become proficient in this area.
In the same way any one-off item that is made individually is going to cost more than a mass produced product. There is considerably more the time involved per product, highly qualified staff are needed, and the cost of raw ingredients purchased in smaller quantities is usually proportionately more than in large amounts.
Australian guidelines set standards for expiry dates based on the fact that it is impossible for products made singly be each be tested, unlike large commercial batches. If a particular formula stability is proven to be greater than those set standards, then the expiry date may change. Similarly new information may alter the storage temperatures or other factors as new data comes to light.
Yes. Any medical professional, veterinarian, dentist etc registered in Australia that can legally write a regular prescription can write a prescription for a compounded medicine.
Yes, if your health funds covers the cost of private prescription medicines, compounded medicines may also be covered. This can vary depending on the exact medicine prescribed and the individual health fund so it is best to check directly with them for a particular prescription. We can provide the necessary receipts for claiming.
Extensive additional training and a huge investment in a laboratory and specialized equipment are required as well as a special passion for the art and science of compounding are required. We have this in spades.
No. Most compounds contain actives that are prescription only drugs, but if the actives in a compound are available without a prescription, then we may be able to make a compound without a prescription, if we deem it safe and therapeutically appropriate to do so, after discussion with you, the patient. Note that we cannot compound for animal patients at all without the input of a qualified veterinarian.