Compounding has been part of healthcare since the origins of pharmacy. The Food and Drug Administration has stated that compounded prescriptions are both ethical and legal as long as they are prescribed by a licensed practitioner for a specific patient and compounded by a licensed pharmacy. In addition, compounding is regulated by state boards of pharmacy. Compounding is widely used today in all areas of the industry, from hospitals to nuclear medicine. Over the last decade, compounding's resurgence has largely benefited from advances in technology, quality control and research methodology.