Packaging is the ultimate vehicle for design: industrial, graphic, and typographic design are all put to the test to create an impression so meaningful that it converts currency into consumerism. This ...
Unit-dose, or single-dose, packaging is not that widespread in the U.S. market, but that won't be the case for long. FDA-mandated compliance is driving adoption, and unit dose packaging (UDP) also has a profound influence on patient compliance and reduction in medication errors. Although UDP costs more to manufacture than bottles, it's hard to argue with something that contributes to better patient health and safety.
"In medicine, there is a renewed focus on patient safety and compliance," notes Renard Jackson, executive vice president, business development for packaging services at Cardinal Health. "This is the main force behind the FDA mandate for unit-dose packaging in clinical trials. There is about 50% compliance now as far as people correctly taking their medications, so a one or two percent increase is huge for pharmaceuticals, and people in turn will get healthier."
"Single-dose packaging leads to better patient compliance for several reasons," says Keith Kiedinger, vice president of pharmaceutical and healthcare products for Shorewood Packaging. "It is far more transportable and convenient than a bottle of pills. It is also easier for a patient or caregiver to tell if pills have been taken and how many are left. This reduces confusion and lessens the chance that the prescription won't be refilled on time."
Insurance companies and HMOs also stand to gain. "If you get people to take their meds more consistently and reduce medical costs, everyone benefits," says Kiedinger. "The packaging is beneficial in managed health care because you visually see the medication, and it cuts down on misdoses."
Safe but easy
As the market moves to more blister packaging for medications, two opposing requirements must be met. Packages must be hard to open to meet child resistant (CR) standards, yet they must be easy to open to be considered senior-friendly (SF). As medications become more potent and potentially more toxic, packaging must provide different levels of security. This is a tough balancing act, yet one that manufacturers are diligently addressing.
"The goal of the unit-dose format is to protect that individual unit and also pass child-resistant testing. As drugs become more potent, you have to design packaging that passes CR testing, which is more rigorous. You have to protect to F1 specifications, the most stringent level, which basically means zero failure," Jackson explains.
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