Much like other industries, compound pharmacy has shown vigorous shifts in direction. This is true especially in these present times when the demand for customized medication has reached unprecedented heights.
Did the COVID-19 pandemic influence current trends? To a certain degree, yes. However, if there’s one all-encompassing factor that dictates these trends in medical compound pharmacy, it’s demand. There’s a clear interest in the unique advantages of a compound specialty pharmacy among the general public at large and practicing medical professionals. The following 5 most notable trends would prove as much.
There’s a markedly higher demand for specialty medicines in North America:
Pharmacy and compounding have found a sizable, continually growing market in the US and Canada. In fact, in 2019, close to 40% of revenues from the sales of specialized medications worldwide were from the said region. Patients are looking for solutions to cases that require custom dosages, a demand which the rising number of compounding pharmacies in the region are more than willing to meet.
This can also be attributed to the uptick of chronic disease occurrence and the increasing elderly population in the United States. These two almost always go together since there’s no other demographic that’s more prone to chronic disease than those over 65. Such a rise readily connotes more demand for budget-friendly options, which, again, can be supplied by compounding pharmacies.
An increase in specialty products that could curb if not cure life-threatening diseases:
In cancers with low survival rates like relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, therapies like Kymriah and Yescarta have since been developed and approved. These therapies basically involve the removal of patient’s T-cells then re-engineering them to target the cancer cells that have previously relapsed.
With that said, there’s a lot of gene therapy products to look out for in the future. These products, often developed with the help of compounding medicine, do well in providing remedies to severe cases of hemophilia, cancer, and other life-threatening diseases. This is one of the facts that prove that the said discipline can really move the needle, so to speak if applied in previously hopeless clinical settings.
Even those with seemingly life-long and even fatal allergic reactions to common food sources like peanuts have a lot to look forward to in the possible therapies that would be made available to them in the future. Most of the therapies, in this case, provide active protection to allergens by slowly building up immunity to them over time.
These are but some of the ways compounding pharmacy is revolutionizing the medical field. Do take note that these therapies may only be available to specialty pharmacy stores, especially if during the
COVID-19 will continue to impact the demand for compounded medications:
With no end still in sight for the pandemic, it’s no surprise that shortages in drugs are becoming a perennial problem in many countries worldwide. COVID-19 exacerbates many chronic diseases, after all, and has proven to have long-term complications as well (i.e. long COVID). What makes matters worse is that the pandemic has also resulted in severe disruptions in supply chains and the delivery of specific raw materials required for optimal production of medicines.
Even so, we can still expect compounding medication services to play an integral role in helping to mitigate the damage done by the drug shortages. We can expect most compounding pharmacies not only actively take part in filling the gap that these shortages make but also be proactive in discovering better, safer therapies that can be used by those suffering from long-term COVID-19 effects or those who are looking for active prevention of it, beyond the use of vaccines.
Expect technology to further meld itself with the field:
This rings true especially in premier technologies like artificial intelligence. More or less, AI now plays a direct, active role in the research and development of newer, more effective therapies. It has also been used to great effect in regulating and monitoring medications being developed over time and have even been used as a prime factor for their subsequent approval.
Of course, its application also extends to data management and analytics. Besides revealing invaluable insights about the patient’s health, AI is also able to plow through millions of information about diseases and their respective present treatment. In turn, it’s able to help give pharmacies insights about the right course to take when developing new medications.
We also don’t need to look further than mobile apps to see how patients are able to track their health and medications with their help. At best, all these trends point to tremendous cost savings and better outcomes for many people suffering from various ailments.
Hospitals and assisted living services will continue establishing specialty pharmacies or partnering with them:
In plenty of cases, it’s either the compounding pharmacies choose to integrate with senior living facilities or it’s the other way around. The same can be said for many hospitals. Many of these healthcare settings see it as their way to growth. And, true enough, these facilities often enjoy reductions in operating costs, uninterrupted care, and overall improved quality of care and patient satisfaction.
Another big advantage of this is that it also paves the way for increased revenues for many hospitals. The orders are processed and kept within the respective facilities, after all, and this often leads to immense cost cuttings compared to relying on the traditional ways outpatient drug services are rendered. In the end, this is also a good direction for such healthcare facilities since it boosts their accountability, which in turn, leads to trust-building.
Bay Life Compounding Pharmacy:
It wouldn’t be farfetched to assume that one or more of these trends would be responsible for taking compound specialty pharmacy services to the next level. The rapidly growing market size of the industry, despite and perhaps even because of the pandemic, shows plenty of promise. We can only look forward with heightened anticipation to what other innovative wonders would come out of the field as a direct result of the current direction it is taking.
Also read about the IoT and telemedicine the future of the healthcare system.
