In general, compounding is a practice in which a licensed pharmacist, upon a physicians' prescription order, combines, mixes, or alters ingredients of a drug to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient. A health care provider will prescribe a compounded drug when commercially available products do not meet your needs. Preparing a paste or suspension from crushed tablets is one example of compounding. Likewise, adding flavoring to a medication is also compounding.