Answers from
The Pharmacists
America Trusts^SM

§ A medication is no longer being manufactured.

§ A medication needs to be made without certain inactive ingredients such as preservatives, dyes, or binders for a patient who is allergic to these components.

§ A specific dosage strength is unavailable commercially for the patient (for example, for a child or infant).

§ Certain medications need to be combined, by the order of the physician.

§ The medication formulation needs to be changed for a patient’s needs, for example, from oral to topical (a cream, ointment, or patch) if a patient has trouble swallowing medication in pill or capsule form.

§ The taste of the medication needs to be improved; this is an option for certain antibiotics often prescribed for young children.

§ The purpose is for veterinary use. This is extremely important in the veterinary community because this group of patients may require a wide variety of flavors, dosage forms, and potency levels that often are commercially unavailable. Many drugs used for humans are also prescribed for animals.