Bringing dignity and personalization to end-of-life care.
Hospice compounding – custom prepared compassion
Every individual is unique, and experiences during the end of life can vary from person to person. However, common symptoms experienced include:
- Pain
- Nausea/vomiting
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Bedsores
- Anxiety
Personalized, compounded medications may be the best way to deal with these symptoms. By working closely with a compounding pharmacist, a healthcare provider can prescribe a regimen of care which is tailored to the hospice patient’s individual needs.
Ordinarily, the first symptom requiring relief is pain, and managing it often requires medication around the clock. Compounding pharmacists can provide specialized medications for patients who suffer from acute and chronic pain. To keep the administration of medicine to a minimum, unique drug combinations can be prepared to allow patients to live more comfortably within their pain threshold while potentially minimizing sedation or other adverse side effects.
Due to differences in patients’ body size, drug tolerance, or various organ failures, commercially available medications often do not provide the exact strength a patient requires. Through compounding, a prescriber and pharmacist can adjust medications to the exact dosage needed by the patient.
Many hospice patients have trouble taking medications in traditional dosage forms.
In such cases, compounding can provide a more suitable method of administering medicine. For instance:
A patient who is unable to swallow may be given topical medication through the skin to help provide relief, which also may help avoid stomach upset.
Other patients may prefer medications prepared in as flavored lozenges or rapid-dissolve tablets that melt in the mouth.
Medications also may be prepared as suppositories, oral liquids, or even as lollipops.
Caring for a loved one in a hospice environment can be both challenging and rewarding.
Through the relationship between a caring prescriber and a compounding pharmacist, the relief of pain and other symptoms can be tailored to a patient’s specific needs.
Ask your prescriber, hospice provider or our pharmacist today about the benefits of personalized compounding.
