What Makes Personalised Medications Different?
Conventionally, pharmacists dispense mass-produced medications designed to remain stable on pharmacy shelves. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these commercial products, in fact they usually work well for many people. But they aren’t always suitable for everyone and there’s some common reasons as to why.
Commercially manufactured drugs aim to serve the broadest possible audience, which makes sense for mass production. But if your needs happen to fall outside this general range, you might struggle to find suitable treatment options. Maybe you require a dosage strength that isn’t commercially available, or you have difficulty swallowing pills and need a more user-friendly medication form. Some individuals are even sensitive to the non-active ingredients, such as dyes or preservatives, commonly added to standard medicines for shelf life and consistency.
In contrast, personalised medications are tailored to align with each patient’s unique health needs. This often means adjusting the dosage, removing specific allergens, or changing how the medication is administered.
Personalisation in Action
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Exact Dosage Adjustments
Children and elderly patients might require smaller or more precise doses than what’s commercially available. Compounding allows a pharmacist to tailor a dose to the patient. -
Tailored Ingredients
As mentioned above, some patients are sensitive to the dyes, fillers, and preservatives that are added to products. These ingredients can be eliminated through customisation, without impacting the viability of the treatment itself. -
Alternative Forms
Compounded medications can be turned into liquid suspensions, topical creams, troches, or other dosage forms that are easier and more comfortable to use. Difficulty swallowing pills is one common reason to want an alternative form, but it is far from the only one. For example, a topical cream might be preferred for targeted treatment that also avoids gastrointestinal side-effects that some people experience when ingesting medication orally. -
Combination Therapies
Some patients have to juggle various prescriptions due to multiple conditions. Sometimes, we can merge several compatible ingredients into a single formulation, streamlining treatment plans.
Compounding Services
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Paediatric Care
There are several reasons why kids may require customised medicine. Sometimes, it’s trouble swallowing tablets or disliking certain tastes, in which a compounded liquid with a child-friendly flavour can be a perfect solution. Other times, parents need specific ingredients removed because their child has allergy concerns. -
Skin Pigmentation & Acne
When OTC products aren’t quite cutting it, our team can personalise a treatment to work best for your skin. A more tailored approach can lead to better results when treating pesky skin conditions like melasma, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), or severe acne. -
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
HRT is used to maintain and balance hormone levels, usually to manage hormonal processes such as menopause, perimenopause, and andropause. This treatment can provide symptom relief, but also helps tackle hormonal imbalance at its source. -
Veterinary Compounding
Animals benefit greatly from customisation. Differences in species, size, and metabolism drastically impactful the ideal medication dosage and form for a specific pet. As pharmacists, we can work with your vet to make precise adjustments that preserve the safety and efficacy of the treatment. We can also remove ingredients for safety reasons, as there are many excipients that are harmless for humans but toxic for certain animal species.
Studies have consistently shown that medication adherence improves significantly when therapies are tailored to patient-specific needs. A comprehensive and personalised approach to treatment often leads to better disease control, fewer complications, and enhanced patient quality of life.
Our Safety Guarantee
Patient safety remains the top priority of our team. In addition to our law-compliant compounding lab, we’ve also implemented a robust, triple-layered quality control system.
Triple-Layered Quality Control
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Ingredient Verification
We source only pharmaceutical-grade ingredients from reputable suppliers and each batch is checked for potency, purity, and expiry. We make the extra effort to ensure every component meets stringent quality standards. -
In-Process Checks
During the compounding process, our pharmacists will check each other’s work, closely monitor measurements and procedures at each step. Our belief is that this is the best way to maintain accuracy, consistency, and safety across the entire team. -
Final Review
Before a medication leaves our facility, it still undergoes a final inspection against both the prescription details and the patient’s specific needs. While our team is unlikely to miss something during the process, this final step ensures that the formulation accuracy, dosage precision, and overall suitability reflects our commitment to great service.
Zenith Pharmacy strictly follows guidelines set by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and other relevant pharmacy bodies. Our protocols are frequently updated to align with the latest requirements, guaranteeing compliance and patient safety. Plus, our team never stops training and upskilling, which keeps our approach fresh and up-to-date.
Take the Next Step
Personalised medications offer a solution if you have individual needs that require catering for. If you've struggled with standard prescriptions in the past, a compounding pharmacy can transform your adherence and response to treatment. From paediatric options to customised HRT, there are several ways in which we can tailor medications for safety and efficacy purposes.
Zenith Pharmacy has stayed committed to ongoing research, rigorous safety checks, and precise methodology. And above all, we truly care about you and what makes you unique. We believe this is what sets up apart and allows us to consistently maintain an elevated level of care. If you’re curious about the possibilities of personalised medical treatment, feel free to reach out to our team.
Take the next step toward a more tailored healthcare experience. Explore our recommended treatments or consult our pharmacists to learn how we can best help you. Remember: If your health is unique, why shouldn’t your medication be as well.
Written By
Zen Xiao