Pet Health - Compounding Pharmacies

So the bloodbath is already starting! Here we are barely 72 hours out from getting a good clue on what killed the polo ponies in Florida last weekend and the media scavengers are already circling and trying to bring down an industry that provides needed medications and alternative means of delivering the medicines - the compounding pharmacy industry.

Compounding pharmacies are pharmacies where certain drugs can be altered in dosage, mixed together, or even flavored to help aid in the delivery of the medicine. In veterinary medicine, one very common use of compounding pharmacies is to develop a transdermal mixture of methimazole that can be applied to the inner surface of a cat's ear. This medication helps control hyperthyroidism in cats. Without these pharmacies, many cats would not be regulated well and many more owners would have a difficult time giving the needed medication to their feline friends. These wonderful pharmacies have helped many veterinarians and pet owners by such simple things as adding tuna flavor to a liquid medication.

Notice how some of the media jackals are already trying to inflame the situation by discussing "gray areas" and lack of regulation. The Palm Beach Post posted an article Thursday trying to paint all the players in this industry with the same brush...scofflaws and they "operate in a gray world with little oversight". Gosh...sounds like they are working in the same environments as the drug cartels...dingy workshops, automatic weapons, and piles of unrefined drug material lying around on top of scales and in flasks and beakers.

Luckily, another Florida paper in Ocala tells a more balanced story about compounding pharmacies. There is regulation...is it perfect? Probably not, but what industry in this world is perfectly regulated? I mean, we are in the midst of a terrible recession likely caused by the lack of oversight on Wall Street. And those financial geniuses have multiple layers of regulation...

Franck's should be probably be fined and potentially placed on some sort of probationary status, but let's not find new ways to kick them when they are already down.

This was a TERRIBLE mistake and one that I certainly hope never happens again. I imagine that the entire staff at Francks Pharmacy is in a state of despair and already looking to how they can improve their protocols so this kind of accident doesn't recur. But, I do take offense at "journalists" who sense a potential weakness and then go in for the kill without any consideration to how their actions might effect an entire industry. And, I would love to see these writers come up with some sort of action plan that doesn't involve extreme government involvement rather than just fanning the flames of persecution.

What are your thoughts? Let me know or you can join the conversation at www.PetDocsOnCall.com.