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Our Profiles in Personalized Medicine highlights Peoples Compounding Center in Austin, Texas. Nicola Trevis, BS, RPhT, Pharmacy Director, shares what “Compounding: It’s Personal” means to the team, their enduring relationship with PCCA and much more. Peoples Compounding Center has been a proud PCCA member since 1985.
No two patients are alike, and thus, there is no “one size fits all” to medicine. One size fits most, sure. But for so many patients, the traditional off-the-shelf med won’t work for them as is or isn’t available as they need it. Beyond that, we take it personally and are honored every time a provider or patient trusts us to compound their prescription.
For example, many years ago, we had a patient who contracted a severe post-surgical C. difficile infection. She had a colostomy bag and needed vancomycin suspension, which was unavailable at the time. We were able to compound it for the patient, who is my grandmother, and she recently celebrated her 91st birthday!
Peoples founder Bill Swail felt great loyalty to PCCA for all the organization taught us — and continues to teach us. Any time another chemical supplier would ask for our business, Bill would say, “You gotta dance with the one that brung ya.” When Bill passed away in 2022, PCCA sent a beautiful bouquet to the pharmacy with a note that said, “We’ll miss our great dance partner. When they strike up the band, we’ll be thinking of you.” PCCA knows us personally and they take a personal interest in our ability to take care of patients. They provide the highest quality chemicals, compounding expertise and education — bar none. In addition to all that, they advocate tirelessly for patient access to compounded medications. They really live by the mantra that hangs in their headquarters in Houston: “Lives depend on a job well done.”
We’re problem solvers! I always have this visual of an old-school doctor making house calls with his black leather bag and we turn that little black bag into Mary Poppins’ magic carpet bag. We can formulate just what the patient needs and even make it taste great — no “spoonful of sugar” needed! Magical nannies aside — we are expert formulators. We love the challenge of receiving a call requesting a prescription for this for a patient who can’t take that medication.
Our mission at Peoples is to empower people to make educated health choices, so we invite our patients to join our seminars alongside our health care providers. Austin is full of healthy folks who actively advocate for their own health, so it works for us. We also share testimonials on our website and social media, participate in community health fairs, fun runs and festivals — the largest of which is Austin City Limits Music festival! We are right here in the capital of Texas, so we have an open invitation to legislators to tour our compounding center and learn more about compounding. And whenever possible, we send a staff member to national compounding advocacy events like APC’s Compounders on Capitol Hill and PCCA’s ACT Legislative Conference.
Tap into the collective wisdom of the compounding community. Of course, PCCA provides incredible education and training resources, but one of the most valuable parts of PCCA membership is the community of compounders they have brought together. This group generously shares knowledge and experience for the greater good of taking care of patients. And make sure you understand the requirements of your state board of pharmacy and national regulators!
The base that was announced at PCCA’s 2023 International Seminar. I’m excited to offer EctoSeal P2G™ to our wound care patients!