What does compounding in pharmacy refer to?

Compounding in pharmacy specifically refers to the preparation of customized medications tailored to meet the unique needs of individual patients. This can involve altering the dosage form, strength, or ingredients of a medication to achieve the desired therapeutic outcome or to accommodate specific patient requirements, such as allergies to certain excipients or the need for a liquid formulation instead of tablets.

This practice is essential when commercially available medications do not meet the specific needs of a patient, enabling pharmacists to provide a personalized approach to therapy. For instance, a pharmacist might compound a formulation by adjusting the strength of an active ingredient or mixing different medications into a single dosage form to simplify a patient's regimen.

The other options, while related to pharmaceutical practice, do not capture the essence of compounding. For example, mass production refers to creating large quantities of standardized medications, which is fundamentally different from the personalized nature of compounding. Testing medications for quality control is an essential process in ensuring drug safety and efficacy but does not relate to the act of compounding itself. Lastly, distributing over-the-counter drugs involves providing medications that are already manufactured and commercially available rather than creating individualized formulations for patients.