Compounding Record

A compounding record has two readers: the person repeating the preparation next month, and an inspector asking how you arrived at a beyond-use date. Both need the same thing — the arithmetic visible, the components traceable to lot, and the reasoning written down rather than remembered. This produces a record that answers both without a phone call.

What This Skill Produces

• The master formulation record — the reproducible formula, separate from any single batch
• The batch record — this preparation, with every calculation shown rather than just its result
• A component table — each ingredient with source, lot number, expiry, and quantity used
• In-process checks — what was verified during preparation, by whom, and at what point
• Beyond-use date with its basis — the date and the reference or data it derives from, which is what inspection asks about
• The label and its required elements — assembled against your jurisdiction's requirements

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:

• The preparation — final product, strength, dosage form, and total quantity
• The formula — ingredients and amounts, and the source of the formula
• The components — actual products used, with lot numbers and expiry dates
• Equipment and environment — what was used and where, including any controlled environment
• The standards you work to — your jurisdiction's compounding standard and the reference used for beyond-use dating

Framework: Show the Arithmetic, Trace the Lot, Justify the Date

1. Separate the master formula from the batch. The master is the recipe and does not change; the batch is what happened today. Conflating them is the most common documentation failure.
2. Write every calculation out. Including the aliquot arithmetic and any potency or salt-form adjustment. A result without its working cannot be checked, and checking is the point.
3. Have the calculation verified independently where your standard requires it, and record who verified.
4. Trace every component to a lot. An ingredient without a lot number makes a recall impossible.
5. Derive the beyond-use date, do not choose it. State the reference or stability data it comes from. 'Thirty days' with no basis is the finding inspectors write up.
6. Record the in-process checks as they happen. Weight verification, appearance, pH, mixing time — at the point of the check, not reconstructed afterwards.

Output Format

Compounding record: [preparation] · [batch/Rx no.] · [date]

MASTER FORMULATION RECORD Preparation: [name, strength, dosage form] · Source of formula: [reference]

Ingredient	Amount per unit	Role
[ingredient]	[amount]	[active / vehicle / preservative]
Equipment: [list] · Environment: [bench / controlled area, classification]

BATCH RECORD Quantity prepared: [amount] · Prepared by: [name] · Date/time: [when]

Calculations — shown in full

[the working, step by step, including aliquots and any potency or salt-form adjustment]

Verified by: [second person, where required] · [date/time]

Components used

Ingredient	Manufacturer/source	Lot	Expiry	Quantity used

In-process checks: [weight verification · appearance · pH · mixing time — each with the result, who checked, and when]

Final product: appearance [description] · yield [actual vs theoretical] · discrepancy investigated: [if any]

Beyond-use date: [date] · Basis: [the reference, stability data, or standard relied on — cited]

Label: [product, strength, quantity, BUD, storage, prepared-by, batch number, and every element your jurisdiction requires]

A documentation framework only. Compounding standards, permitted preparations, environmental requirements, verification rules and beyond-use dating are governed by your jurisdiction's official standards and must be taken from current official references — never from this template and never from recall. Sterile compounding carries requirements this structure does not attempt to cover.

Quality Checks

• Master formula and batch record are separate documents
• Every calculation is written out, not just its result
• Independent verification is recorded where the standard requires it
• Every component has a lot number and expiry
• In-process checks were recorded at the time, with the checker named
• Actual yield is compared against theoretical, and any discrepancy is investigated
• The beyond-use date cites the specific basis it derives from

Anti-Patterns

• A result with no working. Uncheckable, and the first thing an inspector asks to see.
• Components without lot numbers. Makes a recall impossible and is a serious finding.
• A beyond-use date by habit. '30 days' with no cited basis is written up every time.
• Reconstructing in-process checks afterwards. A check recorded later is not a check.
• One document for formula and batch. The recipe becomes unreproducible once it is entangled with a single day's numbers.
• Ignoring a yield discrepancy. An uninvestigated shortfall is the sign of an error nobody chased.

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Write a compounding record for this suspension"
• "Create a master formulation record"
• "How do I document beyond-use dating for an inspection?"
• "We are being inspected — what should our compounding records show?"
• "Write a batch record with the calculations shown"