Central Pharmacy & Compounding Lab is a full-service pharmacy with a specialty in compounding medications. The pharmacy has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Doctors as an example of a compounding pharmacy, where medications can be customized for each patient. Dosages can be adjusted and carefully controlled, unwanted ingredients that may cause side effects can be eliminated, and many medications can be converted into topical creams rather than pills. The pharmacy also fills standard prescriptions and sells a selection of over-the-counter medications.
Delivery service is available in the Santa Monica area, and physicians can order prescriptions online. Supplements, organic products, greeting cards, books, sunglasses, essential oils, candles and other gifts are also available. Cosmetics by Beauty Without Cruelty and Artiba are sold here, along with Alvita and Traditional Medicinals teas. Owner and pharmacist Sharon Steen moved to Los Angeles in 1987 and took over Central Pharmacy in 1992, modernizing its services and adding gifts and supplements to the store.