Making medicines from raw ingredients may seem like an image of the past, but Evergreen Compounding Pharmacy is keeping the practice alive by supplying their patients with specialty-tailored prescriptions.  

“Compounding is really the traditional form of pharmacy that we think of when we see a Norman Rockwell poster where someone is measuring powders on a scale, creating something therapeutic for a patient,” owner Harley Brotherton said.  

New technology has replaced traditional tools, but the same goal still remains. With every ingredient barcoded and every procedure dialed in, patients receive highly accurate and quality treatments. 

Harley and Erin Brotherton have owned Evergreen Compounding Pharmacy since 2018, but it’s been serving the community for decades.  

They fill prescriptions for capsules, topicals, suppositories and creams, as well as preparing some treatments for pets. The Brothertons said they work closely with around a dozen healthcare providers around the Flathead Valley. Though they only fill prescriptions written by a physician, they can suggest a plan to patients and recommend a doctor for them to see. 

This kind of individualized care is important for people dealing with food or drug allergies, experiencing thyroid sensitivities, anyone seeking hormone therapy for menopause and andropause and those needing a scaled-down dose. 

Erin Brotherton said people often go into their careers with an idealism that doesn’t last, but working as a compounding pharmacist has proven rewarding.  

“We can look our patients in the eyes. We can have conversations with them. We have expectations, they have expectations and we have the relationship to be able to help them navigate that. And the same with the providers we work with, they all feel the same way,” she said.  

The couple, who met working in Washington after attending pharmacy school, said they didn’t initially start out looking to be compound pharmacists. In the early aughts, Erin Brotherton graduated from the University of Montana, and Harley Brotherton graduated from Washington State University.  

During her schooling, Erin Brotherton said she always felt on the “fringe of healthcare ideas.” She wanted to find ways to get people off prescription drugs whenever possible.  

“We want to see them well and healthy, not needing to take medicine after medicine. And so, I kind of went the natural route, the functional medicine idea,” she said. 

This penchant for finding sustainable, natural treatments was eventually coupled with Harley Brotherton’s love of chemistry.  

After years of working in hospitals, insurance companies and clinical settings, they kept getting pulled back toward this type of model for a pharmacy, Harley Brotherton said. They wanted to provide their patients with education on how to best manage their own care, like incorporating lifestyle changes or other types of treatments rather than developing a dependence on medications.  

“We've been pharmacists almost 25 years each, so we've seen a lot in our careers and felt that the pharmacist and provider relationship had the most impact here,” Harley Brotherton said.  

Working with a team of eight other people, including pharmacy technicians and pharmacy assistants, the Brothertons continue to try to fulfill this promise. They ask for payment upfront from patients, which Harley Brotherton said keeps prices lower and allows them to provide better customer service to people.  

“It’s the best value for the patient,” he said, adding that they provide universal claim forms for people to submit to their insurance provider after they’ve received their prescription.  

The facility is kept incredibly clean, with a blue UV light sanitizing device and negative pressure air ducts — which keep both employees and patients safer. Their two labs exceed the state’s required guidelines, he added.  

The team is constantly looking at ways to improve the space and services.  

“Trying to get better all the time, I think is a really big piece of this. We can do that because we're local people that run your local pharmacy. As pharmacists, we are accountable to you as our client. We're not accountable to some mothership back in the Midwest that pays our salaries. We're not a corporate organization,” Harley Brotherton said.  

Working in a compound pharmacy means they can make adjustments for patients quickly and take in new information to make the pharmacy better. It’s one reason why Harley Brotherton said they continue to love their jobs.  

“We can make direct impacts, improve our processes for our patients and how we work with providers. We call it practicing medicine, because we're learning things now that have changed compared to 20 years ago. And this is a really good environment to apply those ideas very quickly,” he said.  

To learn more about Evergreen Compounding Pharmacy, which is located at 2640 U.S. 2 E. in Kalispell, visit myevergreenrx.com.  

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4440 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support