Compounding solutions for exotic and nondomesticated fauna in australia: an investigative study

Veterinarians face many challenges during routine administration of medication to animals. This study investigated the nature of the problems that veterinarians encounter in practice and assessed the potential benefit of pharmaceutical compounding interventions for exotic and nondomesticated fauna. The research was conducted at three large wildlife theme parks on the Gold Coast, Australia, using a multi-method design of qualitative techniques including semi-structured interviews accompanied by field note observations. Themes identified through the data analysis related to: the enthusiasm of veterinarians towards pharmaceutical compounding; medicated foods commonly being employed in practice; a lack of suitable commercially available medications; time constraint problems and incompatibilities between feeding and dosing intervals. A decisive factor identified in the uptake of compounding in veterinary care was the net cost of the compounding procedure when compared to the figurative "value" of the animal. In conlusion, the study found that pharmaceutical compounding would be able to deliver more effective solutions than current techniques employed for a majority of veterinary medication problems in the area of exotic and nondomesticated veterinary practice. Pharmacists therefore have opportunity to diversify their business model while providing an important service to the community.