According to research, pharmaceutical packaging isn't patient-centered. Therefore the packaging doesn't solve most of the problems that patients face, such as openability and adherence to medication. These challenges contribute to numerous effects, including severe harm and death. Thus it's crucial for pharmaceutical packaging to focus more on the end users, including doctors, caregivers, and, most importantly, patients. This means adopting new technologies to enhance the pharmaceutical packaging process. Here are the solutions that innovation injects into this industry.
Sterility During Handling and Shipment
Medical devices, including medication, undergo a long chain before it gets to the end user. Therefore, keeping sterile during this process is crucial to ensure its safety. Poor packaging can lead to contamination due to exposure to harmful pathogens leading to the spread of infections. Medication, for example, is temperature and moisture sensitive and should be tightly sealed. Its exposure to moisture or high temperatures leads to spoilage, making it dangerous for human consumption. Therefore, pharmaceutical industries should pay attention to sterile packing.
Inclusivity in Sharing Information
Pharmaceutical products are diverse when it comes to users. Therefore medical packaging should pay attention to different groups of users when sharing information on the components and user directions. For instance, some users don't care much about a drug's composition as long as it works on the illness. On the other hand, other consumers care about the medication they use, making it crucial to share the information in a language they understand. Innovative technology helps you avoid medical jargon while sharing the correct information. This promotes acceptance and wide usage of medical products by a larger population.
Ease of Use
Openability and prescription have been featured as one of the challenges that hamper medical products adherence. It affects how the end user responds to a product leading to an increase or decline in its use. For instance, most seniors lack the strength to open tight packages. Hence, this can affect how they use the product, especially without a caregiver. In most cases, the product may be discarded. Limited prescription information on packages can also lead to under and over-dosage or misuse of other medical products. This can lead to serious implications such as death and drug resistance, leading to declined use of such medical products.
Meeting Stakeholders Standards
Innovation can help you meet stakeholders' standards in pharmaceutical packaging. For instance, the world health organization requires proper prescription, dispensation, and sale of all medication to avoid misuse and wastage. This move ensures that life-saving pharmaceutical products are available for all, especially with the growing population. Also, stakeholders want to work with pharmaceutical companies with patents for effective medical products. Therefore, understanding the connection between packaging and effective treatment is the key to successful products. With innovation, it's possible to strike a balance between consumers' needs and stakeholders' requirements without hurting the profits.
While the pharmaceutical industry has achieved many successes, it still faces challenges, especially packaging design. Packaging affects how patients perceive and use medical products affecting their uptake. Therefore, to enhance growth, pharma companies should inject innovation in packaging to make it more effective and receptive, thus boosting uptake.