Many health care organizations have adopted versions of a “Patient Bill of Rights”. These declare, in part, that patients have control over their own health care including the right to choose their own physician, hospital, and other aspects of care including where they have their prescriptions filled.
We at Key Compounding Pharmacy (KCP) enthusiastically support these “Rights”. As this relates to pharmacy, we believe that physicians cannot require their patients to have prescriptions filled at a particular pharmacy. Physicians may recommend a certain pharmacy for a variety of reasons but patients have the right to know why that pharmacy is being recommended and then make their own choice. Patients have the right to change their pharmacy at any time, for any reason.
For patients to make an informed decision about a compounding pharmacy it must be realized that all compounding pharmacies are not created equal. Patients should ask their physicians if the pharmacy being recommended is accredited by a national accreditation board. If not, why not? Accreditation signifies that the pharmacy is adhering to national standards for compounding promulgated by the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP). USP standards are all about quality of materials, quality of personnel, and quality of finished preparations. Patients should not settle for less!
Physicians will often mistakenly recommend one compounding pharmacy over another based on price. While this may be acceptable for regular, manufactured products, which are of the same quality at all pharmacies, it misses the point that quality, and the assurance of that compounding quality, is not the same for all compounders. Maintaining the high USP standards is expensive. Patients should look at low-cost compounders with a jaundiced eye!
We at KCP do things right. We are accredited nationally. We care about our patients. We care about the quality of our preparations.
KCP exists “Just For You”.