New study finds 95 per cent of patients have positive experience with compounded medication

A new study from the U.S. has found that 95 per cent of patients were satisfied with all aspects of their experience using compounded medication and considered it equally good or better than previous medications they had used.

The study, published in the Journal of American Pharmacists Association in September of this year (2019), recorded the high satisfaction rating across all categories, except for out-of-pocket cost. (Important to remember the survey was conducted in the U.S. where the cost of medication is extremely high).

The study was conducted by researchers from Southern Illinois University and St. Louis College of Pharmacy in response to what they saw as a gap in data on patient experience with compounded medication.

Pharmacies participating in the study asked their compounded medication customers to complete a mailed survey and just under 500 useable responses were returned.

The largest group of survey responders were females with an average age of 60.5 years. Among the responders compounded medication was primarily used (68.1 per cent) to replace other medications because of treatment failure or intolerable adverse effects.

The study found that in 78.9 per cent of cases the medical prescriber was the first person to suggest compounded medication as a treatment option and 89.6 per cent of responders said the prescriber’s recommendation was important when choosing which compounding pharmacy to fill their script.