Skaha Pharmacy has been a Compounding Pharmacy for many years. Greg and JoAnne are compounding pharmacists who have specialized training from PCCA (The Professional Compounding Centres of America). This training allows us to formulate many medications from scratch that would otherwise not be commercially available. Examples include liquids, creams, ointments, gels, capsules, suppositories, lozenges, (preservative free) eye drops, nasal irrigations and injections.

Compounding helps tailor a medication to meet patients' specific needs. Many medications are dosed by weight and are not manufactured in the doses a specific patient (or animal) may require. Some patients would prefer a medication taken in a different dosage form than what is available. For example, many patients are unable to swallow due to advanced age or disease and therefore need a medication in an alternate form to get the medication into their body. Often times manufacturers stop making medications but patients still want or need that medication. Bio-identical Hormones used for hormone replacement therapy is another large part of our compounding specialties. Our veterinary preparations are often compounded with specialty flavours (beef, fish, liver or grilled chicken) to make medications more appealing to pets. Cats in particular can be difficult to administer oral medications to. To get around this problem, medications are often prescribed by veterinarians in the form of a gel that can be rubbed into the cat's highly vascularized ear. This enables the medication to be absorbed effectively without traumatizing the pet or the owner! These are just a few examples of problem-solving that Compounding Pharmacists do on a daily basis!

Skaha Pharmacy is one of the only pharmacies in our area that has a Sterile Laminar Flow Hood allowing us to compound sterile eye drops and injections. We also have a Powder Containment Hood. This piece of equipment allows us to compound medications involving powders ensuring a safe environment for our compounding staff by trapping powder molecules inside of the hood so that they aren't inadvertently inhaled.