More than 3,000 California pharmacies earlier this month ended a service they long provided to help the medicine go down, and it’s unclear when they’ll restore it.
The pharmacies suspended their practice of flavoring medication because they’re awaiting rules from a state regulator charged with applying federal guidance that characterized the service as drug compounding, meaning the mixing of prescription medication.
Medicines that are commonly flavored include flu syrups, like Tamiflu, and various antibiotic prescriptions, including amoxicillin and Augmentin. Parents are worried about the change, especially as respiratory diseases and infections become more prevalent during the winter.
Brenda Alvarez of Anaheim said her four kids don’t like taking unflavored medication. “It’s harder for them to get the medication, especially when they’re sick, because the taste is just really bad,” she said.
The suspension of flavoring services by pharmacies follows new guidance from the United States Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit agency that advises the federal government.
It’s a shift from California’s past policy. In 2010, the California Board of Pharmacy explicitly stated in their lawbook that drug compounding does not include “the addition of flavoring agent(s) to enhance palatability.”
California’s Board of Pharmacy now is preparing rules that will adopt the federal guidance. While these rules will not ban flavoring, they would require pharmacists to comply with more stringent regulations when providing the service.
Chad Baker, senior vice president of marketing at flavoring manufacturer FLAVORx, said it is easier for California pharmacies to…
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