Column: Don't blame compound pharmacies

David Brownstein and Erika Schwartz | USATODAY

Compounding pharmacies, an integral way Americans get their medications, are facing intense scrutiny following a deadly meningitis outbreak.

A pharmacy in Massachusetts, suspected of shipping tainted steroid medication that has led to at least 15 deaths nationwide, should be thoroughly investigated and held accountable.

However, before we indict an entire industry we should remember that compounding is a vital cog in the healthcare wheel.

There are about 7,500licensed compounding pharmacies across the country ranging from mom and pop stores to multimillion-dollar facilities. Compounded medications are ubiquitous in hospitals and homes -- including IVs with antibiotics, pain and chemotherapeutic medications for children and elderly.

Compounding pharmacies are essential because they support doctors to provide customized medications specific to individual patient needs. By contrast, big pharmaceutical companies excel at mass-producing one-size-fits-all drugs.

One example of an important role compounding plays is in the preparation of bioidentical hormones –- used by millions of American men and women. Compounding pharmacies purchase the active ingredients - estradiol, progesterone, testosterone - from the same FDA-approved suppliers as pharmaceutical companies.

Customization via compounding allows doctors to respond to the individualized needs of patients needing hormone preparations. Additionally, testosterone doesn't exist in FDA approved doses for women, nor is progesterone available in vaginal suppository form.

Compounding pharmacies are regulated by individual states. Major pharmaceutical firms are regulated at the national level by the Food and Drug Administration.Over 100,000 Americans died from FDA approved prescriptions.

Over 25,000 deaths and 100,000 patients suffered strokes or heart attacks have been attributed to the FDA-approved drug Vioxx. Heparin, another FDA- approved drug, killed 81 and harmed 785. Bextra and other FDA-approved drugs have been taken off the market after injuring hundreds of thousands.

As the government prepares to take a larger role in the delivery of our healthcare, compounding pharmacies remain beacons of individualized care in the free world.

They should be supported to provide safe and needed medication for the patients who desperately need more individualized and less standardized mass-produced care.

David Brownstein and Erika Schwartz are both MDs and are the directors of the Bioidentical Hormone Initiative.

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors.



