Discontinued and Out of Stock Medicines
Manufacturers withdraw products when they stop being commercially worthwhile. That has nothing to do with whether the medicine still works for you. Often it can be compounded instead.
Discontinued Is a Business Decision, Not a Clinical One
Patients are regularly told a medicine they have relied on for years is no longer available. Sometimes the manufacturer has withdrawn it, sometimes there is a supply shortage, and sometimes the Australian listing has simply lapsed. None of those reflect on whether it suited you.
If your prescriber confirms the same active ingredient is still appropriate and writes it, we can often compound it. Bring us the old packaging or the exact product name and we will tell you honestly whether it is possible.
This is one of the most common reasons patients travel to our compounding pharmacy in Surfers Paradise from across the Gold Coast.
What to bring us
- The old packaging, or a photo of it
- The exact product name and strength
- What it was being used for, if you know
- Your prescriber’s details
- A current prescription, once they have written one
How We Approach It
We check what it was
Identifying the active ingredient and strength in the discontinued product is the first step, and the packaging makes that much easier.
We talk to your prescriber
They decide whether the same active is still appropriate. We tell them what we can realistically prepare and in what form.
We compound it
If it can be made, we prepare it on site to their formula and you get a realistic price and timeframe first.
How to Get One Prepared
1. Talk to your prescriber
Compounded medicines cannot be supplied without a prescription. Tell your doctor, specialist, dentist or vet what is not working and ask whether it can be compounded.
2. Send us the prescription
Bring it in, post it, or send it through online. Call us first if you would like a price and a timeframe before you commit.
3. Collect or have it delivered
Pick it up at Piazza 16, 3221 Surfers Paradise Boulevarde, or we courier it Australia wide through Aramex.
Discontinued Medicine Questions
Bring Us the Empty Box
We will tell you whether it can be compounded, then you can take that back to your prescriber. Open seven days on Surfers Paradise Boulevarde.