Which of the following activities is included in compounding?

• A. Manufacturing a drug for distribution to multiple pharmacies
• B. Combining, admixing, diluting, pooling, repackaging, or otherwise altering of a drug or bulk substance
• C. Preserving drugs for storage
• D. Quality assurance testing of a finished product

Answer: (B)

Compounding is the process of preparing a medication tailored for an individual patient by combining, admixing, diluting, pooling, repackaging, or otherwise altering a drug or bulk substance. The option that lists those exact actions matches this definition, since it describes creating a customized product rather than mass-producing a drug for broad distribution. This set of activities distinguishes compounding from manufacturing, which aims to produce drugs in large quantities for distribution to many pharmacies. Preserving drugs relates to storage, and quality assurance testing is part of verifying a finished product, not the act of compounding itself.