Level 1: built-in reports and exports
Start here. The Compounder can print and export reports, and for a monthly summary or a one-time list that is often enough. It costs nothing extra. The limit is that someone has to run the export, and the data is already old by the time you open the file.
Level 2: a read-only connection
The Compounder keeps its data in a database on your own server. With read-only access, another tool can look up a formula, a lot number or a log when it needs it, with no export step. Ask PK Software support what kind of access they support, and keep it read-only at first. Reading cannot damage anything.
Level 3: a bridge
A bridge is a small program that runs on a computer inside your pharmacy, next to PK. It reads what other systems need and passes it along over a secure connection. Your database is never opened to the internet. Once a bridge is in place, labels, lab portals and dashboards can all draw from the same live source.
What to connect first
- Batch labels, so lot number, beyond-use date and formula details are never typed by hand.
- Lab results, matched to the lot number so they land on the right batch record.
- A daily view of what was made, what is on hold and what has been released.
Safety rules
- Read-only first. Add writing back to PK later, one field at a time, if you need it.
- Never expose the database to the internet.
- Keep PK as your system of record until you have deliberately decided otherwise.
- Log every read and write the bridge makes.
- Take a backup before anything is allowed to write.
Reviewed 2026-11-12 by a practicing pharmacist. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current USP chapters, your state board of pharmacy rules and your software agreements before you act on it.