Sometimes clinicians will prescribe a product containing one or more active ingredients with different functions. This may be in order to simplify the number of treatments being applied at any one time or because the active agents are more effective when combined. There are a large number of possible combinations. In some instances these may be referred to as ‘specials’, referring to the formulation of any medicine judged to be essential to meet the patient’s ‘special clinical need’. These must be made by a specialist pharmacist, are quality assured with a short life span and can be costly.
Combination therapies