This Profile in Personalized Medicine highlights Randy Robin, RPh, co-owner with Teresa Robin of Better Living Medical Compounding Pharmacy and Wellness Center in Nederland, Texas. They have been PCCA members since 2006.

How long have you been compounding?

I have always tried to offer my patients the best possible dosage forms and have been compounding since I interned for Lawson Kloesel in the late 1970s. However, we have been compounding at Better Living Medical since we opened in 2003, and then we joined PCCA in late 2006.

Did you always want to work in the field of pharmacy?

When I was about 10-12 years old, my cousin lived down the street, and he received the coolest chemistry set for Christmas. I would have loved to have owned one like it. I promised myself that when I was older and could afford one, I would own one. I actually forgot that specific promise to myself until a few years ago, and as things happen sometimes in the middle of the night, a thought came to me: I realized that I did finally own my chemistry set. It is much larger than the one I originally wanted, and the people who live around here call it Better Living Pharmacy!

When did you learn about compounding? Why did you start compounding?

I was in pharmacy school at the University of Houston in the mid-to-late ‘70s, and a couple of friends of mine were working with one of the professors at the school developing “compounds” that could be made by local pharmacists when manufacturing companies no longer saw fit to produce them. One of the initial products that I heard about was a suppository. Dr. George Webber was my friends’ mentor, and he would eventually become one of my mentors as well. His love for the profession of pharmacy, his students and the patients we were caring for would rub off on us. I took a different path after pharmacy school, but for me, all roads lead back to compounding. It would be nearly 30 years before I started compounding in my own pharmacy as Dr. Webber and PCCA would have hoped, but life takes us down many roads. My career has never been more fulfilling than it is today.

What do you find most fulfilling about compounding?

The most fulfilling thing about compounding to me is the clinical practice involved. I receive lab work every single day for patients needing help with thyroid and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). The lab work comes from different practitioners who know about us and ask for assistance on dosing and available regimens for their patients. However, the greatest fulfillment is when a patient walks up to the prescription counter and says, “I have been a thyroid patient for 20 years and have never felt this good. Thank you for helping my doctor and me.”

Could you please share a recent compounding success story (or two) from your pharmacy?

A father brought his nine-year-old son in the other day to introduce him to us. This child has been a patient since he was born with Cobalamin C defect, which means that he can’t metabolize vitamin B12. We have been working with his doctor and providing sterile hydroxocobalamin injections for him. That young patient was grateful and really seemed to realize the significance of what we are doing for him.

We also treated a very expensive show horse that was going to be put down. He had an eye infection that could not be cured because the owner could not get medication where it needed to be. The veterinarian called us to discuss it and ultimately prescribed three different sterile eye drops in large volumes, which we compounded. The vet surgically placed a very small, pliable catheter through the eyelid and sewed it in place at the eyelid and behind the horse’s head and neck. The owner put the syringes in the luer port and pushed the eye treatments through the catheter into the eye. After a few weeks of treatment, the horse was as good as new.

What advice would you give to a new compounder?

We started in 2003 and are still here and successful due to five things. The first is without a doubt the support that we get from PCCA. The second is the success of my business partner and marketing professional, Chris McCollum. The third is colleagues in the business. These can come from the PCCA Concierge Compounding program, networking opportunities, and educational programs of various types. The fourth is my wonderful staff of pharmacy technicians and support personnel. The fifth is what I will call intellectual curiosity — never stop educating yourself.