FAQs for Veterinarians
How can I prescribe or order from Wedgewood Pharmacy?
-
Place office orders and manage your account 24/7.
- Place orders by fax 24/7 at 800-589-4250. If we have your e-mail
address, we'll confirm your fax order by e-mail within 15 minutes of
processing your order.
- Place orders by telephone. Call 877-357-6613 and speak with our Customer
Care Specialists.
When are your Customer Care Specialists and pharmacists available?
Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Saturday from
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time.
What methods do you use for shipping?
We ship for delivery within three business-days via UPS or USPS (U.S. Mail).
We also ship Next Day upon request. UPS cannot deliver to post-office boxes.
Do you ship throughout the United States?
Yes. We ship to 47 of the contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and
the Virgin Islands. (We're sorry that we cannot ship to North Carolina at this
time.)
Where is my package?
If we have your e-mail address on file, you will receive an e-mail that
contains your shipment information and shipment tracking number. You can also
call your customer care specialist at 877-357-6613 for assistance.
Can you ship directly to me for office use? Can I legally dispense
compounded medications to my patients from my office?
Yes. If your state's Board of Pharmacy regulations allows it, we will ship
compounded prescription medications to you for office use.
Can you ship directly to my patients?
Yes. We'll bill and ship to your client's home directly, dispensing the exact
medication you prescribe. We'll even send your patients a reminder by mail or
e-mail when their prescriptions are due to be refilled and they can refill their
prescriptions, 24/7, online. Learn more about home delivery.
How do you ship compounded preparations that require refrigeration?
Compounded preparations that require refrigeration are shipped in a
STYROFOAM™ chest with a freezer brick that has a two-day life. We ship all
medications requiring refrigeration to be delivered within two days. Next-day
shipping is available at an additional charge.
I am unable to find the preparation I am looking for on your site. Does that
mean you can't compound it?
Wedgewood Pharmacy has a registry of 20,000 formulations for more than 250
therapeutic agents. So while
our
site encompasses most of our preparations, it does not list everything we
offer. We always are developing new formulations for hard-to-locate medications.
When you can't find a medication you need, don't hesitate to contact us at
877-357-6613.
Where can I get price information?
Login to s earch our formulary and compare most cost-effective dosage forms,
order and manage your account 24/7.
How can I pay for office-use orders?
We accept MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. We also accept
checks in advance of shipment.
How can I get my account information?
Once you have created your account, you can
log-in securely, 24/7, to place orders, check your account balance, review
your order and invoice history, and search compounded preparations and prices.
Create
an account or login.
How do you ensure quality?
Wedgewood Pharmacy's comprehensive quality-assurance program consists of
systems that have been established in accordance with state board of pharmacy
regulations and the standards set forth in the United States Pharmacopoeia
Chapters. These systems, including facilities and equipment monitoring,
compounding-staff training and testing, compounding-process verification,
in-process quality-control checks, and testing of finished preparations, are in
place to ensure quality and patient safety. Read
our Quality Assurance Checklist.
Do you provide client counseling?
Yes, our pharmacists are available for confidential, professional
consultation in-person or via telephone to your patients. Our pharmacists and
Customer Care Specialists are dedicated solely to compounding and are available
to answer any questions that prescribers and their patients have. We also offer
printable medication-specific client counseling materials.
What is compounding?
Compounding is the long-established tradition in pharmacy practice that
enables practitioners to prescribe and patients to take medicines that are
specially prepared by pharmacists to meet patients' individual needs. A growing
number of patients have unique health needs that off-the-shelf prescription
medicines cannot meet. For them, customized, compounded medications prescribed
or ordered by licensed physicians or veterinarians and mixed safely by trained,
licensed compounding pharmacists are the only way to better health.
Is compounding legal? Who regulates compounding?
Yes! Compounding is an integral part of the practice of pharmacy. Compounding
pharmacies, like all pharmacies and pharmacists, are regulated by State Law and
State Boards of Pharmacy. State Boards of Pharmacy require that pharmacists have
knowledge of and proficiency in compounding to become licensed. Compounding is a
fundamental feature of virtually every pharmacy curriculum.
Is compounding always an appropriate treatment option?
No. Compounding, like any other form of therapy, is not always the right
choice for every patient. However, thousands of patients rely on compounded
medications to meet their needs when another treatment option will not.
Veterinarians may prescribe compounded medications when: the best therapy for a
patient is commercially unavailable, the active ingredient is not available in
the desired strength or dosage form, or a commercial product is on extended
backorder and using the compounded preparation may mean there is no interruption
in proven therapy for a patient.
Is a compounded medication the same as a generic drug?
No. Generic drugs are copies of brand-name prescription drugs that are
manufactured in large quantities by FDA-registered manufacturers. Compounded
medications are prepared in response to a prescription by a licensed prescriber
and specifically may not be merely copies of a brand-name medication.
Custom-compounded medications are often prescribed in these circumstances:
- When needed medications are discontinued by or generally
unavailable from pharmaceutical companies, often because the medications are
no longer profitable to manufacture;
- When the patient is allergic to certain preservatives, dyes or binders
in available off-the shelf medications;
- When treatment requires tailored dosage-strengths for patients with
unique needs (for example, an infant);
- When a pharmacist can combine several medications the patient is taking
to increase compliance;
- When the patient cannot ingest the medication in its commercially
available form and a pharmacist can prepare the medication in cream, liquid
or other form that the patient can easily takeWhen medications require
flavor additives to make them more palatable for some patients, most often
children.
Can you prepare a medication that is not available commercially?
Yes, that's one of the most important benefits to you of having compounding
pharmacies available. See "Is a compounded medication the same as a generic
drug?" above for more details.