One of the biggest, but least talked about, problems of the medical industry is the issue of non-adherence to medicine, which, put simply, is the likeliness of patients to fail to use prescribed medicines in an appropriate way. This happens in many different ways – such as patients being unable to afford or buy prescribed medications, accidentally administering the wrong dosage, forgetting to take medicine altogether, and more. Regardless of the reasoning, medical non-adherence has a big effect on pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and patients alike.
There are many factors that make up the entire picture of non-adherence – affordability, accessibility, the ability to self-administer accurate dosages at the right time, and even the ability to simply remember whether medicine was taken or not. While the majority of these issues are not considered a part of the manufacturer’s responsibility, designing packaging with the intention of minimizing the risk of misuse could go a long way in providing solutions for them. A good example of packaging improvements that have seen widespread use are the child safe bottle caps that make it nearly impossible for kids to open medicine bottles and accidentally ingest harmful, or even potentially fatal, drugs.
These days, the world is seeing more and more manufacturers developing new kinds of packaging that go beyond just the usual medicine bottle – smart blister packaging now includes microchips that read usage data and help remind patients when it’s time for a dose of meds, reconstituted medicines with specially-designed bottles help facilitate correct preparation and formulation, and more. Moreover, 3D printing technology now provides the ability to design prototypes and produce successful builds without needing massive amounts of capital, making medicines more affordable for the end user. As the race for a lower rate of medical non-adherence rages on, it can be expected that intelligent medical packaging will continue to develop news ways to improve the way patients self-administer medicines.
Life as a doctor can be overwhelming – but that doesn’t mean you are all on your own. Get help now, reach out to TukkoMed today and learn more about what we can do for you