Did you know that the Mansfield area has a compounding pharmacy? Wellspring Custom Pharmacy is located at 2291 West Fourth Street (at the corner of West Fourth and Stumbo Road) in Ontario.
Just exactly what does a compounding pharmacy do? Simply, compounding pharmacy was the way medications were made for patients before the rise of huge drug manufacturing companies. It was and is a slow process in which prescriptions are custom made for a patient’s specific needs from an order generated by a doctor.
Brad Roseborough, the compounding pharmacist and owner of Wellspring Custom Pharmacy, stated that there are three main parts to his business. “We make custom made prescriptions for patients, recommend vitamins and nutritional supplements based on science, and counsel patients on how to better attain their health care goals. On a typical day I may discuss how to resolve symptoms of hormone imbalance, counsel a patient on how to reduce pain that has not otherwise been relieved, make a prescription for a child that is not commercially available, or make a pet prescription that tastes better. I may also advise a patient on the proper non prescription supplement that best suits their specific needs. Many times custom made prescriptions will work for patients even when traditional prescriptions won’t. When I go to work each day I know that what I will do will be entirely different than any day that I’ve previously experienced. That’s the challenge and excitement. Once you’ve helped a patient you’ve got a friend for life.”
“Even though we don’t have contracts with insurance companies, we help patients get reimbursed for the prescriptions that we make. Insurance companies have the mentality that the retail price should be based on the cost of the drug plus a small amount for labor. Custom-made prescriptions are labor intensive and not conducive to this assembly line mentality. Even though this is the case, our patients find that our prices are reasonable and usually much less expensive than traditional pharmaceuticals.”
Brad said that his interest in compounding started prior to going to college. “My father had died at an early age and I needed to work in high school. I was fortunate enough to walk in to Towne Pharmacy to look for a job. Jud Clements, the pharmacist at that time, gave me a job and became my mentor. We are still close friends to this day and he continues to be a source of encouragement. I did deliveries for him, stocked shelves, wrecked his car, and eventually started working behind the counter. One of the things he taught me to do was compound prescriptions. It was a great experience and contributed to what I am currently doing.”
Brad has held a variety of positions throughout his career. After he graduated from Ohio Northern University he went to work for Eli Lilly. He then held the chief pharmacist position at Galion Hospital. With his passion to work with people, he bought Lexington Pharmacy, built Medicine Shoppe in Mansfield, and owned Option Care (a home IV business) with offices in Mansfield and Lorain. “I decided that I wanted to help patients in the best way possible. One on one, listening to patients’ needs, and solving problems seemed to fit best with compounding pharmacy. It’s working with the triad of physician, patient, and pharmacist to solve medical problems. It’s the old school method; using the knowledge of compounds, chemistry, and calculations,” he said.