The retail pharmacy industry has always been primarily a story of very dedicated people serving by providing medications and related items to their fellow man and by lending a sympathetic ear to their concerns. Pharmacists have consistently been near the top of the list of "Most Trusted Professionals."

Before the advent of large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing, beginning in the 1950s, the neighborhood pharmacist mostly filled doctor’s orders by personally preparing (or compounding) each medication from bulk chemicals and other ingredients, customizing each order to the individual.

"In other words, the pharmacist of the early 20th century made everything from scratch!" said pharmacist Bruce Hinshaw, owner of Cardinal Pharmacy in New Castle. "Many advances were made with the onset of large scale drug manufacturing by pharmaceutical companies. More medication treatment options are available now than ever before. The role of the pharmacist has changed from that of a ‘chemist’ to that of a distributor of manufactured drug products and a provider of information concerning their use."

But all progress comes with a price. The pharmaceutical manufacturing process has standardized the drug product available, which allows for the application of drug treatment to a wide spectrum of individuals. However, persons with unique needs, needs not met by mass produced products, have until recently been denied full benefit of specialized or customized drug therapy. In the past 10 to 15 years in America, the art and science of pharmacy compounding has enjoyed a revival. Many pharmacists have undergone specialized training, purchased special equipment and built laboratories in which to prepare custom preparations for special human and animal populations.

Here are a few of the many examples of how customized medication compounding can help people:

® Placing an anti-inflammatory drug in a specially designed gel to allow for the delivery of medication directly to an arthritic knee thus avoiding causing stomach and intestinal damage to a patient already suffering from stomach or intestinal disease. It could also help avoid widespread distribution of the drug in an elderly person with compromised liver function.

® Providing a medication in a commercially unavailable dosage form to allow for better delivery to a particular patient. For instance, making a liquid suspension of a heart medicine to an infant or a person with swallowing difficulties, or placing hemorrhoid medications in a uniquely designed "rectal rocket" to provide faster relief.