Orrong Compounding Pharmacy

Amazing staffs and professional pharmacists, love this pharmacy.
Miss Zein helped me with dry, itchy skin on my face and around my eyes cause by hay fever
Thank you Orrong pharmacy. Best pharmacy in the town

Absolutely amazing customer service! Thanks Zein went absolutely above and beyond to take care of all my enquiries in skin care and allergies

I believe that the head pharmacist, Anne-Marie, could have used a more tactful approach when addressing the fact that I had not received my prescription sooner. Her comments, which she made aloud from behind the counter, were unprofessional, embarrassing, and insulting.

I understand that there are strict protocols that must be followed in this profession, and that social distancing measures require staff to speak out loud. However, this does not mean that customers should be privy to the personal thoughts of staff members.

The rest of the staff at this pharmacy have been absolutely fantastic, and I would give them nothing less than five stars for their commitment to the community. My family and I will continue to come here when we need our prescriptions filled.

Personally, I prefer a cup of ginger, honey, and lemon tea to heal my woes. However, if my problems are more serious, I will reach for the Windex.

This is the only pharmacy I go to in the area! Great service and quick refills via messaging. Family run business with family values too.

Love this pharmacy! I had red inflamed eczema in my elbow, I tried many different products that didn’t work and made it worst. Zein recommended moogoo oatmeal soap and cream. Glad that she recommended them for me. My skin is much better now. Thank you!

Amazing pharmacy, Thank you so much Zain, she’s friendly, kind and very knowledgeable. She recommended a good range of La roche Posay products and she was very patient with my daughter while she was choosing her toy

I have been visiting this pharmacy for many years and thought it was about time I shared some feedback. The team is always kind, friendly and professional. Stephanie always goes above and beyond, in particular, following the birth of our baby recently, when she went out of her way to source a hard-to-get product for us. We really couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Exceptionally wonderful and hardworking team at “Orrong Compounding Pharmacy”. Especially a delight when John answers the telephone! Ps Christina, thank you for your custom, l felt very well looked after this morning:)

Kind, professional and friendly service. Highly recommend this fantastic pharmacy. Love the option of compounded medication as well. SMS ordering of prescriptions is a bonus too!

I love this pharmacy and the team that runs it. No matter what silly questions I have about my compounded medications, they are always happy to oblige me. I’ve been meaning to review Orrong Pharmacy for a while now as they have been my local chemist since I moved into the area 3 years ago. In those 3 years I’ve had nothing but fantastic service, warm welcomes, expert advice and highly professional service.

Always amazing service and friendliness from the team at Orrong. Recently I have needed a few different medications to treat injury-related pain and one of the evening pharmacists, I think her name is Stephanie (so sorry I can’t recall), was really great at explaining all the differences and possible side effects and helped me to work out the best option for me. Really appreciated her time given it was a busy evening too. Thank you, great staff, great service

Stephanie Catsicas is an unprofesssional and unethical pharmasticist. Her conduct and manner towards me has put my health and wellbeing at risk. She refused to dispense medication as part of a prescription issued by a health practitioner. When I questioned why is she refusing to do this she indicated that pre-payment is required before making up the medication. I've been to this pharmacy on a number of occassions and no such request has been made. I was at the pharmacy for over 20 minutes and she did not discuss this requirement while I was there. When I asked to esclate the matter she became extremely unprofessional claimining that "I am the boss and you can't do anything". When I expressed that I would report this matter she then proceeded to say "If you are going to report me then I do not need yo hrlp you". Stephanie's conduct is unprofessional and puts individuals health at risk. This matter will be reported to the relevant health regulators including the Pharmacy Board. As Stephanie has breached her professional and legal obligations as a pharmacist. No pharmacisist can make these type of unilateral decisions that may impact the health and wellbeing of individuals. I make this notice to inform the public because this conduct has the potential to threaten someone's life. This conduct is unacceptable, unethical and unprofessional. Stephanie has failed to comply with professional and legal obligations that guide the conduct of pharmacists. Stephanie has put my health and wellbeing and risk and this conduct has the potential to harm individuals. Disgraceful

. RESPONSE TO JOHN CATSICAS, OWNER.
Date: 10 March 2023

Thank you for your condescending response dated 9 March 2023.
In relation to your comments, I wish to confirm that I am stating the facts not just "airing". Firstly, you do not have full insight around my medical history so you are not in a qualified position to state that my "health and wellbeing" was not at risk. Also, you were not on the other end of the line with Stephanie.

In relation to make repayment, I did seek clarification around the reason for the repayment to which Stephanie provided a vague response explaining that there was the error. She provided no specific dates or information about the error.

Regardless, because I need this medication urgently I did agree to come in on Wednesday 8 March 2023 and make payment for the medication, however, Stephanie responded that she will not dispense the medication, instead she would be "willing" to either "send the script to an alternate pharmacy or my home".

As you should know, there are limited circumstances under which a pharmacist is permitted to refuse to dispense medication. In this current situation, there was no lawful or legitimate reason for Stephanie to refuse to dispense the medication. This is a real concern that she acted in this manner. Stephanie has failed to comply with the lawful, professional and ethical obligations.

I do not expect an objective response as you are related to Stephanie.

Stephanie's conduct is DISGRACEFUL and the response from Orrong Compounding Pharmacy is equally DISGRACEFUL.

The pharmacist, John, and his team went absolutely above and beyond to organise my son a particular kind of antibiotic when there was a shortage across Melbourne. They took it upon themselves to problem solve several issues and showed great effort and care for my son. Can’t recommend this pharmacy or the team enough.

The knowledge and care shown by the staff at Orrong Compounding Pharmacy is wonderful. The pharmacy is local to my father and they cleaned and bandaged a deep finger cut. Its great to know there is a service within walking distance he can rely on. I recently received excellent advice on medication prescribed for my son that I simply would not have received at Chemist Warehouse or similar. I now know why Dad always insists on filling his scripts here; it was a good reminder on how important local pharmacies are and I'll definitely be going back for my family's needs. They are also great for gifts (especially last minute!).

John and his team are very knowledgeable in pharmacy and chemisty and are always willing to share their information. Their background in naturopathy amplifies their knowledge in alternative and holistic care aswell as pharmacy. Personally I wouldn't go anywhere else, we're very lucky to have them.

Highly recommend +

A fantastic family-owned local pharmacy. The pharmacy is always stocked with items and the staff show great kindness and exceptional customer service. A special thank you to the pharmacist Ivana for helping me with my scripts. She took the time to discuss my new medications with me which I appreciate very much.

As a loyal customer of this pharmacy for 10 years and even more so now that my wife and I now have 10 month old twins. I’m very saddened at the blatant disrespect shown by management to now charge an obscene amount of $53 for Novolac Allergy formula. At almost $20 more than chemist warehouse and other pharmacies in the area, this increase is a slap in the face to parents who rely on local pharmacies to supply essential allergy related products for their infants. No one is saying it should be the same price as large retailers (chemist warehouse) but $20, almost 40% more is disgusting. Thank you for praying on the needs of desperate parents trying to feed their children but today will the be last time my family spend a further cent in the place. Merry Christmas!

Great personalised and friendly service. I like how the pharmacist takes the time to explain the medication. I’ve been going there for over a year and very happy with the service!

Great service at Orrong Compounding Pharmacy.
Dr John is a great guy and very professional.

Yesterday we visited the pharmacy and I have to say John who is not only a pharmacist but a naturalpath is the most knowledgeable, caring and attentive man. My child has had many medical issues over many years and the doctors we see only seem interested in quick fixes not holistic fixes and moving towards a cure / healthier version of my child. John straight away looked at our blood tests and noticed a number of inconsistencies. The Dr the day before noted two. John gave us lots of great advice but also gave us a plan, and suggested strategies as well as vitamins that may help. No Dr so far has gone any further than their speciality. John emailed us lots of reports after our visit and we are so grateful that we will be working with him to help get our child healthier.
Being a compounding pharmacist, John can make you up homeopathic preparations and is well known for his success in treating a whole range of ailments.
The whole team is so lovely, the shop is well spaced out with medication, vitamins, gift items, it’s a one stop shop. I cannot recommend John and the team highly enough.
I had a sinus operation and needed a sinus spray and my ENT said go to Orrong compounding pharmacy see a man named John he makes up a spray that many people say is the only thing that helps. Even the Doctors send people there.