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USV notes small changes in packaging of medicines can make a big difference. The company sad that packaging plays a very important role in the pharmaceutical world. While its primary function is to safeguard medication from external damage, a more crucial role, which has garnered significant research and discussion, is its ability to improve adherence to medication.
A recent study conducted by USV Private Limited on 844 individuals assessed the impact of packaging innovation on patient medication adherence and found that adherence was significantly influenced by colour and packaging of the medicine strip, pack, or capsule/tablet. This survey conducted across Metros, Tier I and II cities revealed that 82.9% of elderly patients (aged above 60 years) remember their prescribed medicines by strip/pack colon and 25.6 per cent remember through tablet/capsule colon. The study also revealed a significant number of people in metro cities (35.1 percentage) forget to take their daily doses and this too can be solved by using bright coloured blister packs with distinct shapes and clear labelling to make medications easily recognizable, helping patients remember to take them on time and making it easier for patients to track their medication schedule.
Consistent visual cues can thus help foster a routine in patients of all ages. Dispensing errors are crucial, especially for chronic illnesses. Designed strips can significantly reduce these errors, ensuring more accurate dispensing by pharmacists and safer medication use by patients. Crucial for chronic illnesses, the design of medication strips can significantly reduce dispensing errors, ensuring safer medication use by patients and more accurate dispensing by pharmacists, noted the study.
World Health Organization (WHO) defines medication adherence is important for achieving successful treatment outcomes. Additionally, non-adherence has significant financial consequences as the patient can end up in the hospital putting a strain on their finances and on healthcare services.
While cost of medication remains an important reason for non-adherence, in our country, due to several factors, unattractive/routine packaging also contributes to non adherence. Dr. Rajiv Karnik consultant cardiologist, Mumbai said, “Chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes are highly prevalent in India, hence enhancing medication adherence can promote long-term compliance, ultimately leading to better health outcomes and lower healthcare costs and reduced complications. The economic benefits of medication adherence for individuals and communities are unparalleled as it reduces the burden on healthcare providers, and this will allow them to focus on emergency cases and patients with urgent needs.”
Medication adherence is a growing public health concern globally. Individuals with the financial means to establish a strict regimen for their medication can invest in technology like smart wireless pill bottles that send hourly reminders to phones and smartwatches, but this is not feasible for everyone as such gadgets are expensive. Thus, packaging colour and design acts as a great equalizer in increasing adherence to medication. The Patient-Centric Pharmaceutical Drug Product Design (PCPDPD) strategy focuses on creating medications that prioritize the needs and preferences of patients and aims to enhance medication adherence by considering factors such as packaging, dosing convenience, and user-friendly features. Pharmaceutical companies should abide by PCPDPD principles to foster innovation in packaging and design and strengthen their commitment to patient centricity, said USV.
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