Keystone Folding Box Co

Compliance Packaging

Compliance Packaging

While the U.S. consumer is familiar seeing medication in both bottles and blisters, bottles have become a dominate package format in the U.S.  Alternatively, since the end of World War II the European standard for packaging medication has shifted towards the use of blister packs. In fact, 80% of medications dispensed in Europe are now in blisters. In evaluating blister vs. bottles, blisters offer multiple benefits to the manufacturer, pharmacy staff, and patients. Areas of benefit include: Child Safety, Product Quality, Medication Adherence & Patient Outcomes, and Environmental Responsibility.

Both child safety and medication compliance (or adherence) are among the most important factors to consider for packages containing over-the-counter or prescription pharmaceutical products.

Compliance/Adherence

Published studies have shown a direct connection between calendarized blister packaging and improved patient compliance/adherence to dosing regimens. While medication adherence is a complex issue, calendarized blister packs directly counteract patient forgetfulness by providing a visual dose history for each day of the week.

• Improved Adherence: Unit-of-use blistered medications are easier to use, particularly for patients taking multiple pills per dose and those who have difficulty remembering proper dosage protocols.  By adding printed dosing instructions on the pack near each dose, the packaging becomes a dose prompting “reminder package,” directly impacting insight into dosing history. Beyond the interaction with physicians and pharmacy staff, the package is something the patient interacts with on a daily basis, making it a repetitive communication device with the patient on proper dosing.  The oral contraceptive market is an example of how “compliance packaging” works. Not a single birth control pill is sold any other packaging format. Conversely, a bottle offers no benefit in the area of improving adherence.
• More accurate dispensing: Pre-packaged medication in blister packs reduces the chance for dispensing errors within pharmacy operations.  Blister packaged medications allow prescriptions to be filled faster as no pill counting and repackaging by the pharmacy staff is required, eliminating pill count errors.  If a mistake has been made by a pharmacy staff member when pulling a drug from the shelf, both the name of the drug and the strength of the medication remain visible to the patient, allowing the patient an opportunity to verify they have received the correct product.  On the other hand, when prescriptions are dispensed in amber , the patient has nothing on which to rely other than the pharmacy label and the hope that they have received the correct medication.
• Improved refill rates: Blister packages make it easier for patients to manage their own supply of products. With bottles, many patients don’t realize they need to refill their prescription until they are down to the last one or two pills which can lead to missed doses until such a time the patients can get the prescription refilled.  Calendarized blister cards can be printed with “time to refill” near the last five doses in the package, which prompts the patient to call in for a prescription refill.