Compounding practices and beliefs of Arizona pharmacists

Only a few studies have attempted to evaluate various aspects of pharmacy compounding such as the compounding practices and beliefs of pharmacists. Although these studies have reported valuable information, there remains a need to thoroughly assess this professional practice. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of pharmacy compounding within Arizona, the reasons for which Arizona pharmacists do not participate in compounding, and the beliefs of Arizona pharmacists regarding contemporary compounding issues. Pharmacists licensed and residing in Arizona were mailed a postcard containing a brief description of the project and the URL to a 20-item online survey. Reminder postcards were mailed four weeks after the initial mailing, and the online survey was open to participants for two months. The usable response rate was 8.1% (412/5112). Respondents reported approximately 8.1% of all prescriptions and/or medication orders are compounded by a pharmacist with the most frequent aspect of compounding performed being reconstitution and/or flavoring of commercially available, nonsterile products. The most prevalent reason for not compounding was "not recieivng requests" (40%). "Preparation of alternate dosage forms" was the most beneficial aspect of compounding reported (93). The most cited educational method for teaching compounding was as "part of a required course with hands on experience" (76%) and 94% of respondents were taught by this method. Ninety-five percent of respondents agreed that compounding is an important part of the pharmacy profession. Overall, pharmacy compounding is fairly prevalent within Arizona and most respondents are supportive of compounding practices.