Key Takeaways:
- Confirming patient compliance with a medication regimen requires the patient to have the correct information about the medication, highlighting the benefits of interactive packaging.
- Smart pill bottles can integrate with online systems, allowing patients and doctors to track the timing and frequency of pill consumption.
- Custom packaging poses interesting opportunities for improving patient experience as well as increasing sustainability.
Many of the latest technological advances focus on medicine, with medication packaging taking great strides. Patients need packaging that is easy to open but hard to tamper with. They may also require systems that help them to remember to take their medications at the right time, possibly in their own packaging for the ease of consumption. Improvements to smart bottles, interactive packaging, and other systems can help patients and hospitals achieve these goals. By exploring these advances, along with innovations to sustainable packaging, industry professionals can improve patient experience and adherence to medical guidelines. Here are some of the innovations in medication packaging that do just that:
RFID
Radio frequency identification (RFID) can track the movement of people and assets throughout a hospital, confirming that each patient receives the correct medication. RFID has the capability to communicate with relevant systems, depending on the activity of the tag. Active tags send their own signal, while passive tags require a reader to transmit information. These tags provide a variety of information about the asset with the tag, including location, movement, temperature, and more. RFID is growing in popularity in healthcare for its ability to provide real-time information about the security of patients and assets in a care setting.
Interactive Packaging
Confirming patient compliance with a medication regimen requires the patient to have the correct information about the medication, highlighting the benefits of interactive packaging. Traditional pill bottle labels can be difficult to read, especially for those with low vision or visual disturbances. Interactive packaging can involve QR codes or other tools that allow the patient to scan to learn more about the proper use of the medication. Interactive systems allow for further customization, such as screen readers or larger fonts.
Integrated Systems
Intelligent packaging calls for an integrated system that can work seamlessly with a hospital’s management software or a patient’s medical portal. Many patients fail to follow their medical regimen because they forget or lack the ability to understand the language on the pill bottle. Integrated systems can provide additional value to the consumer, in the form of electronic reminders, schedules, and other forms of assistance. The integration into other smart systems helps to complete the picture of the patient’s ability to comply with medical guidance.
Biometrics
Medication security is a vital part of healthcare, whether the patient is receiving care in the hospital or attending to their own regimen at home. Biometrics provide a way for patients to ensure that only they get access to their medications. The integration of systems that can scan a fingerprint or iris decreases failure points. If the patient is the only one who can unlock the packaging device, they are less dependent on remembering to lock up their medicines. As an extra advantage, packaging with biometric identification makes the product becomes a less-viable target for would-be thieves.
Nanotechnology
In many ways, nanotechnology represents the future of various industries. Nanotechnology describes the use of tiny particles to change the function of the whole, with applications ranging from analytical development and cancer treatment to food packaging. For the medical packaging industry, the use of nanotechnology can help to minimize tampering or damage to the package. Nanomaterials in packaging can also provide additional information about the safety of medications, such as contamination detection.
Smart Pill Bottles
Patients may need a variety of ways to track their adherence to a medication plan and ensure that they remember, which emphasizes the various technology in smart pill bottles today. Smart pill bottles can integrate with online systems, allowing patients and doctors to track the timing and frequency of pill consumption. With this data, patients can also determine if someone else is accessing the medication, an important factor for reducing theft. Smart pill bottles often offer other features, such as lids that change color when the patient needs to take their medication.
3D Printing
The use of additive manufacturing can help companies to customize ideal products for medical consumers, at a minimum of expense and material consumption. Additive manufacturing, commonly referred to as 3D printing, involves the use of a machine to put thin layers of material into a specific design. 3D printing has changed many industries, by reducing the consumption of materials and the time spent assembling components by more than 20 percent, according to research. Custom packaging can be much simpler to achieve with 3D printing, since it allows manufacturers to devise packaging with minimal engagement from other suppliers.
Sustainable Packaging Materials
Creating sustainable packaging solutions is key to minimizing the production of waste in healthcare. Although plastics can be recycled, they usually are not due to the difficulty of finding appropriate recycling facilities. In 2022, consumers purchased nearly 200 billion single-use plastic medical bottles but recycled only about 3% of them, according to Forbes. The use of technology can decrease the size of packaging and the way that it is disposed. Incorporating packaging made of eco-friendly or compostable materials gives patients and hospitals more options to recycle or otherwise keep the waste out of the landfill.
Custom Packaging Options
Custom packaging poses interesting opportunities for improving patient experience as well as increasing sustainability. For many patients on multiple medications, putting pills in blister packs is an ideal way to personalize the product. Blister packs feature tamper-evident seals and can provide better protection for the pills. As an added benefit, blister packs often use less plastic and can usually be recycled similarly to pill bottles.
In the 2020s, patients expect their medications to help them stick to a medical regimen. Packaging plays a significant role in meeting these expectations, with options that allow patients and doctors to customize the experience. By focusing on addressing concerns with compliance and security, healthcare packaging professionals can provide significant improvements to the patient experience.
