Family-run pharmacy in Park City masters the art of custom medicine

PARK CITY, Utah— Alpine Apothecary has become known for its personalized approach to medicine since establishing itself in the community in 2010. Unlike one-size-fits-all solutions, this specialty pharmacy dedicates itself to the art and science of compounding — carefully crafting medications tailored to each individual’s needs.

Pharmacists and owners Trip and Jennifer Hoffman have been married for 26 years. They have three children: Smith, 21; Hudson, 18; and Wilbur, 14. The couple met in Atlanta at pharmacy school. Trip hails from South Carolina, Jennifer from St. Louis. They moved to Utah in 1999 to explore the mountains, skiing and backpacking. Their passion for adventure and commitment to personalized care led them to purchase Alpine Apothecary in 2018.

Smith, their eldest son, has joined the family business, working at the pharmacy while training to become a certified pharmacy technician. His dedication exemplifies the family’s commitment to providing exceptional care.

“While in pharmacy school, I connected with an entrepreneur in Atlanta who had six compounding pharmacies in the area and worked for him throughout school, so I learned from some of the best,” Trip said. “When we moved here, Jennifer landed a job with the VA, and I worked for a compounding pharmacy in Salt Lake for almost 20 years. I had the opportunity to work with Alpine Apothecary’s former owner on a compounding task force, and she was ready to sell the business to the right person.”

Types of Pharmacies

Pharmacies generally fall into three categories: community, hospital and compounding. Each serves a unique role in health care.

Community pharmacies, the most common type, appear in retail settings such as grocery stores, drugstores or standalone buildings. These pharmacists dispense medications, provide advice on over-the-counter drugs and offer health screenings and vaccinations.

Hospital pharmacies, located within medical centers, focus on providing medications and therapeutic support to inpatients. These pharmacists work with health care teams to manage drug therapies and prevent medication errors.

Compounding pharmacies specialize in creating customized medications. They prepare unique formulations not commercially available, such as flavored liquid medications for children, hypoallergenic versions of common drugs or rare dosages for specific treatments.

The Art of Compounding

Compounding addresses specific medical needs unmet by mass-produced pharmaceuticals. For a child who can’t swallow pills, a patient with a gluten allergy or when an essential medication becomes scarce, standard medications won’t suffice.

Trip and Jennifer create various medications — from suspensions and topical creams to transdermal gels. Each preparation ensures accurate dosage, effective delivery and patient acceptability. They can formulate compounds free from dyes, preservatives and common allergens.

“We focus on personalized medications,” Trip said. “For people with allergies, we may make something specialized that they wouldn’t be able to take otherwise. Our products must come from an FDA-registered facility and be FDA-approved medications. We follow rigorous USP (United States Pharmacopeia) guidelines and state compounding guidelines. We go above and beyond these guidelines. Our final products must fall between 90% to 110% per USP, but we ensure ours are between 95% and 105%.”

The pharmacy remains committed to providing practitioners and patients with high-quality formulations and outstanding service. Their pharmacists collaborate with health care providers and patients to improve health outcomes.

“You have to have passion to do this, and it’s fun to keep learning,” Trip said. “We work with several entities that focus on compounding and functional medicine, so we attend conferences and seminars throughout the year.”

The pharmacy offers one-on-one wellness consultations where patients discuss health concerns with Trip or Jennifer. These sessions help develop tailored wellness plans for managing chronic conditions, addressing nutritional deficiencies or exploring holistic treatment options.

“Our perfect patient is someone involved in their own care, asks questions and shows curiosity,” Jennifer said. “We excel in helping women with hormone therapy. Everyone calls Trip about menopause — he’s so helpful to providers and patients.”

Alpine Apothecary recently received Recycle Utah’s Green Business Resilience Award for its environmental efforts. The pharmacy minimizes waste, uses eco-friendly materials and educates staff and patients about recycling.

“We’ve combed through our business to see what we can reuse, and we recycle with nearby businesses. As a pharmacy, we get orders daily in various packaging,” Trip said.

Jennifer added, “We also let people bring in items to recycle, like used toothpaste tubes.”

Their success extends beyond compounding to the lives they touch and the community they support. For those seeking alternatives to traditional pharmaceuticals or personalized medication approaches, Alpine Apothecary stands ready to help.