In the recent years, there as been a growing interest in the subject of caring for individuals at the ends of their lives.

As the elderly population continues to grow, the need for compassionate hospice and palliative care has become more and more relevant. The core of hospice care is the belief that each person has the right to die pain-free and with dignity. In many cases, care is provided in the patient's home with a loved one serving as the primary caregiver.

Along with nurse and physician services to attend to a patient's medical needs, the skills and caring of a knowledgeable pharmacist are necessary to provide symptom control and pain relief in an end-of-life situation. Pharmacy compounding is becoming a practical and compassionate way to meet these needs.

For the hospice patient, compounded medications can be a very important factor during their end-of-life. Compounding is especially suited to the idea of providing personalized, individual care to a dying patient. Pharmacists play a major role in the hospice environment, as caring for the patient generally centers around providing comfort via pharmaceuticals to relieve and manage symptoms.

Although every individual is unique, the experiences during the end-of-life can vary from person to person, there are common symptoms experienced which include pain, nausea/vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, bedsores, and anxiety, all of which are often best dealt with through compounded medications. By working closely with a compounding pharmacist, a physician can prescribe a regimen of care tailored to the hospice patient’s individual needs.

Combined Formulations

Ordinarily, the first symptom requiring relief is pain, and managing it often requires medication around the clock. Compounding pharmacists can often provide customized medications those who suffer from acute and chronic pain. To keep the administration of medicine to a minimum, unique drug combinations are prepared to allow patients to continue to live normally within their pain threshold.

Alternate Dosage Forms

Many hospice patients have trouble taking medications in traditional dosage forms. In such cases, compounding can provide a more appropriate method of administration.

A patient who is unable to take oral medication may be given a transdermal gel, rather than having to swallow their medication. Those that can swallow may like their medications specially flavored to suite their palette. Medications may me prepared as suppositories, oral suspensions, or even lozenges.

Strength Variations

In hospice care, it remains vitally important, as much as possible, without causing sedations and adverse effects. Since patients vary in size and tolerance, commercially available medications often do not provide an appropriate strength. Through compounding, a nurse, physician, and pharmacist can design a medication to the exact dosage needed by the patient.

Caring for a patient during their end-of-life can be both challenging and rewarding. Through the relationship between a caring nurse, physician, and compounding pharmacist, the relief of pain and other symptoms can be tailored to patient’s specific needs.