Profile in Personalized Medicine – Stephanie Yang
This Profile in Personalized Medicine highlights Stephanie Yang, owner and co-founder of Accent Wellness Compounding Pharmacy in Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. She has been a proud PCCA member since 2011. Our new 2023 profiles ask pharmacy compounders how they incorporate PCCA’s Principles into their pharmacies.
What’s your favorite PCCA Principle?
To be honest, this is a little tough as all the Principles seem to resonate with who I am as a person and the values that I have instilled in the team. I am on the fence between “Do the Right Thing, Always” and “Be a Lifelong Learner.”
I am a firm believer of always doing what’s right, not just for ourselves but for the people around us and the community we serve. In addition, as part of our commitment to excellence, the only way we can grow and move forward is to do it right from the start, improve and innovate, and always keep an open mind to learn. After all, life is a continuous learning experience.
How do you live these 3 PCCA Principles in your compounding practice?
Treat Everyone with Dignity and Respect — Everyone, from customers to staff, are treated the same: with utmost respect and courtesy, regardless of level, background, race or gender. Our customer service team is taught to “treat people the same way as you would like to be treated in their position.” This is also reflected in our culture, where we do not tolerate discrimination.
Listen Actively — Our approach involves not just listening, but also observing what verbal and non-verbal messages are being sent. This allows us to provide the best and most appropriate response, resulting in a mutual understanding between both parties.
Be Tenacious About Response Time — In our pharmacy, turnaround time is taken seriously. We measure as well as track it for further improvement. Our target is for patients to receive their compounded products in 3 working days from when the prescription is received. Apart from this, our response time to patient queries is within 1 day. These timelines are strictly upheld within our practice to ensure customer satisfaction.
How did you start compounding? What led you to PCCA?
As a non-pharmacist, I was introduced to compounding when I was working with autistic children in Australia. Fast forward a couple of years; I moved back to Malaysia due to family commitments and was re-introduced to the idea of compounding by a family friend based in the U.S. My friend was from the same circle of friends who educated us about the gold standard for quality raw materials that PCCA supplies. What we learned from Dr. Neal Rouzier, who stressed heavily preparing only quality compounds with quality ingredients for patients, has proveneffective. We have since upheld our passion for excellence and promise to only deliver the best possible compounded preparations for the best patient results.
When was the last time a patient thanked you and why?
In my line of work, I find it personally fulfilling when I receive text messages from patients or doctors thanking me for the help or a suggested idea, which in turn improved the quality of a patient’s life. Just a few days ago, I received a message from a postmenopausal patient who had suffered from chronic insomnia for the past 15 years. The patient also had joint problems, which made climbing stairs difficult. Through the non-profit that I co-founded for women with PCOS, she came to know about the benefits of compounded hormones and had her daughter contact us for more information. From this very emotional conversation with both mother and daughter, I was able to educate them about what is happening with the mother’shealth and was able to point them in the right direction for a clearer diagnosis. She thanked me for giving her life back.
As a “Lifelong Learner” what’s your favorite PCCA education program or event and why?
I would have to say hands down that it’s International Seminar because, while I admit it can be a little overwhelming, I get so excited sitting in aroom filled with so many brilliant individuals who are equally passionate about compounding. PCCA compoundersare many steps ahead of current mindsets, with extraordinary brilliance and know-how. I appreciate the opportunity to learn about new compounding trends and, more importantly, how we can ensure continuity in this industry. I also appreciate how International Seminar helps to foster the bond we as compounders have, which enables us to grow and learn together.
How do you “Keep Things Fun” at your pharmacy?
At Accent Wellness, we are constantly looking for ways to keep things exciting and fresh for our customers and our team. For our customers, we involve them— we host live talks, and create games and quizzes for them to win prizes. For our team, we offer many activities, including trips (both locally and overseas) and meals outside of work. We do one activity at least once a month to strengthen our company culture, remind us of our core values and, most importantly, strengthen our team bond and spirit.
As you strive to “Deliver Results,” what’s been your most satisfying patient experience and how did you solve it?
Our most satisfying patient experience would be a patient (one of many) who had a remarkable positive change in her life after starting compoundedtherapy. After reaching menopause, she lost her energy, had migraines, sleep problems and a poor immune system. After beginning theBHRT course prescribed to her, her energy levels were so good that she returned to the gym! She was able to sleep for a full 7 hours, her migraines disappeared and her health improved. Her amazing results and happiness at living her life to the fullest fueled our drive to do the same for other patients. We are delighted to attest to continuing that positive experience for other patients, within a supportive environment. We also have helped many pediatric patients whose parents come to us with a medication problem. We are able to help compound dosage forms that their children will take. We even compound pain medications for veterinary patients with cancer.
What’s a “WOW” moment you’ve had as a member of PCCA?
In terms of WOW-ness from the PCCA team, that would be the amount of support they provide — going the extra mile to support our business by coming all the way to Malaysia to coach our team and help us improve our compounding, even co-hosting talks to patients.
Whenever possible, we try to do things differently. We recently celebrated 8 years of excellence and sent a little cake to our loyal customers who have been with us throughout this journey as a token of appreciation for their unwavering support.
What’s your favorite PCCA base and why?
If I was asked this question in the early days, I would have said Lipoderm® because it seems to be the undefeated champion in delivering superb results. Currently, I might say XemaTop™, though it’s not something we use as much as we do Lipoderm or VersaBase®. The uniqueness of XemaTop™ used on its own or combined with say, naltrexone, makes it a one-of-a-kind product that can really help improve serious skin conditions for many people. It isan excellent option for patients of any age, including babies. That is why, together with the PCCA seal of excellence, we are confident to market our compounding services to our prescribers
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