Pediatric compounding in Mount Juliet, TN, is available at Faith & Healing Pharmacy, 151 Adams Lane, Suite 18. Our pharmacist prepares custom medication for children, made to the exact prescription your child’s doctor writes. That includes oral suspensions, flavored liquids and strengths no manufacturer makes. Each medicine is made for one child, and you speak with the same pharmacist every time. This page explains what pediatric compounding is, the forms we prepare, when a child needs a compounded medicine and how to get started.
Pediatric compounding is the preparation of a medicine for one child, by a licensed pharmacist, from that child’s prescription. Instead of an off-the-shelf product in a fixed strength and form, the pharmacist makes the medicine to fit the child it was written for.
Most children’s medicines come from a manufacturer in set strengths, forms, and flavors. Those products work well for most children. Compounding is one of the oldest parts of pharmacy practice, and it is still routine today. When a commercial product doesn’t fit, your child’s doctor can prescribe a compounded version, and the pharmacist prepares it from individual ingredients.
A pharmacist can change three things: the strength, the form, and the inactive ingredients. A tablet can become a liquid. A strength no manufacturer makes can be prepared exactly. A dye or filler a child reacts to can be left out.
Compounding does not replace a commercial medicine that already works. When an FDA-approved product fits your child, that is the one to use. Compounding is for the cases where it doesn’t.
Every compounded medicine we prepare starts with a prescription for one named child. Federal law requires that, and we never make compounded medicines in advance or for general stock.
We prepare three forms for children. Each one is made to order, for one child, from a written prescription. Liquids suit young children because a liquid can be measured in small, precise amounts and doesn’t need to be swallowed whole.
An oral suspension is a liquid in which the medicine is spread evenly through a base rather than dissolved, so the bottle is shaken before each use. We prepare suspensions when a medicine is only made as a tablet or capsule and a child can’t swallow either one. The label tells you how to store the bottle and the last date to use it.
A flavored liquid is a medicine prepared in a liquid base with flavoring added to cover a bitter or unpleasant taste. Flavoring changes how a medicine tastes, not how it works or how strong it is. Ask us which flavors suit your child’s prescription, because not every flavor works with every medicine.
Many children’s medicines are prescribed according to the child’s weight, and the strength the doctor writes may not match any product on the shelf. Your child’s doctor works out that strength, and we prepare it exactly. That means you measure the amount on the label instead of splitting tablets or estimating part of an adult-strength dose. As your child grows, the doctor may write a new strength, and we prepare each new prescription to match.
Every bottle is labeled with your child’s name, the strength, the directions your doctor wrote and a beyond-use date. When you collect it, the pharmacist can show you how to measure it and answer any questions before you leave. If anything on the label is unclear, call us at 615-583-7575 before giving the first dose.
A child needs a compounded medicine when the commercial version doesn’t fit. Our compounding pharmacy page lists the situations we see most, and three of them come up again and again with children.
Manufacturers make medicines in a limited range of strengths, and many are sized for adults. When your child’s doctor prescribes a strength no product offers, we prepare that exact strength.
Inactive ingredients such as dyes, fillers, preservatives, gluten and lactose sit alongside the active medicine. If one of them causes a reaction, we can often prepare the medicine without it. Tell us which ingredient caused the problem, and we will review the formula with the prescriber.
Many young children can’t swallow a tablet or capsule. When a medicine is only made as a solid, we can usually prepare it as a liquid instead. A liquid can also be easier to give a child who is unwell or upset, because nothing needs to be swallowed whole.
If none of these apply and the commercial medicine works, your child doesn’t need a compounded version. If you’re unsure, ask your child’s doctor or call us. The pharmacist can tell you whether compounding is an option for that prescription.
Your child’s doctor writes the prescription, and our pharmacist prepares it. The doctor decides the medicine, the strength, and the directions, then sends the prescription to us by phone, fax or e-prescription.
Maryam Fikry, PharmD, is our pharmacist of record and the pharmacist who prepares and checks the compounded prescriptions that come through Faith & Healing Pharmacy. She is licensed by the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy. Before she prepares anything, she confirms the details and calls you with the cost. If a child can’t take what was written, she contacts the prescriber to suggest a different form. We coordinate with the doctor’s office directly, so you aren’t left passing messages between the two.
Knowing who to call saves time:
Call us at 615-583-7575 about the medicine itself, such as how to measure it, how to store it, or what it tastes like.
Call your child’s doctor about your child’s health, symptoms, or whether the prescription should change.
The pharmacist who prepares your child’s prescription is the pharmacist who answers when you call about it.
Taste is one of the most common reasons a child refuses a dose. Many medicines are bitter, and a child who spits it out or fights every spoonful can end up missing doses or not finishing the course. A flavor your child already enjoys makes each dose less of a battle. A prescription only works if it is actually taken.
Flavoring is one of the most common requests we get. We add it to pediatric liquids so the medicine is easier to give and easier to finish. Flavoring masks the taste. It doesn’t change the strength or how the medicine works.
Tell us what your child likes when you drop off the prescription. Some flavors suit some medicines better than others, so the pharmacist will tell you which options work for that formula.
If your child still won’t take it, call us before you stop giving it. The pharmacist can look at another flavor or talk to your child’s doctor about a different form.
Yes, always. Federal law requires a prescription for one named patient for every compounded medicine. Your child’s doctor can send it to us by phone, fax, or e-prescription.
Most are ready within a few business days. The time depends on the formula and whether we have the ingredients in stock. We give you a ready-by time when we call to confirm the prescription.
Sometimes, but often not. Coverage varies by plan and by ingredient, and many compounded prescriptions are paid out of pocket. We tell you the cost before we prepare anything, so there are no surprises at pickup.
No. The FDA does not review compounded medicines before they are dispensed, because each one is made for a single patient. We prepare them under Tennessee pharmacy law and USP standards, and the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy licenses and inspects us.
Yes. You can collect it in store, use our free curbside pickup, or choose local prescription delivery across Mount Juliet and nearby areas. Our own team makes the deliveries, not a third-party courier.
Follow the storage directions on the label. Some compounded liquids need to be refrigerated, and others don’t, depending on the formula. Every bottle also shows a beyond-use date, the last day it should be used.
To get started, bring your child’s prescription to 151 Adams Lane, Suite 18, call us at 615-583-7575, or ask your child’s doctor to send it to Faith & Healing Pharmacy. We’re open Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM, and Saturday, 9 AM to 1 PM. Our pharmacist will call to confirm the details and cost first.
