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 More than
two decades ago, a physician encountered a patient who required an anti-nausea medication
that was no longer commercially available. The physician challenged a Houston-area
pharmacist to compound the medication, so the pharmacist consulted with his peers
and procured the chemicals necessary to prepare it.
The prescription was a success, and the pharmacist realized that others in his field
faced similar demands to meet the needs of patients requiring compounded medications.
This network of pharmacists, united by a commitment to meet patient needs, was the
foundation of PCCA (Professional Compounding Centers of America), which was soon
incorporated in 1981.
 Today, PCCA has
become the nation's complete resource for fine chemicals, equipment, devices, flavors,
ACPE-accredited training and education, pharmacy software, marketing, business and
pharmacy consulting assistance. Our membership includes more than 3,500 independent
community pharmacists in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and New Zealand.
QUALITY
PCCA's Quality Control department is exhaustively devoted
to assuring the quality of the chemicals received, repackaged, and sold to our members.
Steps include obtaining a Certificate of Analysis for all chemicals received, verifying
the identity of every bulk chemical received both before repackaging and completing
a second identity test after repackaging, conducting regular tests of all chemicals
in inventory, and verifying all unique identifier numbers prior to shipping.
As a repackager of unformulated chemicals for pharmacy compounding, PCCA is
registered and inspected by the FDA and DEA. The company also is licensed in the
state of Texas and other states where licensure is required.
 EDUCATION
PCCA provides Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education
(ACPE)-accredited Primary and Aseptic Compounding courses in our in-house training
laboratories. These hands-on courses provide pharmacists and their pharmacy technicians
with a forum for learning the latest innovations in compounding unique dosage forms.
In addition, the curriculum includes discussion of quality and safety procedures,
legal issues, and marketing technique.
PCCA also conducts ACPE-accredited Continuing Education Programs in the form of
seminars and symposiums to provide pharmacists and physicians with ongoing opportunities
to earn CE or CME credit and learn compounding technique according to USP <795>
and <797> standards as well as effective methods of building patient and practitioner
relationships. These programs also provide invaluable networking sessions where
colleagues from across the United States and Canada share what has worked well for
their compounding practices and emphasize the critical importance of the triad relationship
- the patient, physician and pharmacist.
 PHARMACY CONSULTING
When pharmacists join PCCA, they gain access to a staff
of more than 20 consultant pharmacists, pharmaceutical chemists, and training personnel
ready to serve their technical support needs. On average, PCCA's Pharmacy Consulting
Department answers more than 600 consulting calls a day from member pharmacists
who have technical questions about preparing medications for patients. Our members
and consultants have access to a formulary database of more than 8,000 proprietary
formulas that have been pre-tested with PCCA's chemicals.
In addition to their consulting roles, PCCA's staff pharmacists also participate
in ongoing ACPE-accredited training and educational courses as well as physician
conferences throughout the United States and Canada, helping to educate prescribers
and patients regarding the benefits of compounding. PCCA also maintains close, working
relationships with several universities. In fact, PCCA is a dedicated rotation site
for the University of Houston's College of Pharmacy.
 OUR MISSION
PCCA's mission is to strengthen the role, position
and skills of member compounding pharmacists so they can meet the unique healthcare
needs of patients through our exceptional service, highest-quality products, shared
innovations and education.
One patient. One physician. One pharmacist. A triad relationship with a common goal:
achieving a positive therapeutic outcome for the patient. And in the midst of this
relationship and this common goal is PCCA, the leader in pharmacy compounding since
1981.
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