
Medication labels: why customization matters
Medication errors are a leading cause of preventable harm in healthcare — and they often stem from unclear or inadequate medication labels. In fact, the FDA attributes 20% of medication errors to confusing medication labels and packaging. For pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations looking to mitigate these risks, custom medical labels are a low-effort, high-benefit solution.
The high cost of medication errors
Medication errors — many of which result from ineffectively designed or poor-quality labeling — can have severe consequences for patient safety and healthcare outcomes.
Patient harm
Inaccurate or misleading medication labels can cause patients to receive incorrect dosages or wrong medications, resulting in harm or even death. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that medication errors, including those due to labeling issues, contribute to approximately 7,000 deaths annually in the United States alone.
Increased healthcare costs
Medication errors impose a substantial financial burden on healthcare organizations — approximately $42 billion USD annually or 1% of total global health expenditure, according to World Health Organization estimates.
Loss of patient trust
When patients experience harm due to medication errors caused by ineffective medication labels, it reduces trust in healthcare providers and the medical system, negatively impacting health outcomes and the success of healthcare providers.
Legal and professional repercussions
Healthcare professionals and organizations involved in medication errors may face legal actions, professional disciplinary measures, and damage to their reputations, which can be costly both in the short and long term.
Creating perfect medication labels is challenging
Medical labels have to be exceptionally multi-functional. They must convey complex information clearly to protect customer safety, endure cold and moisture during storage and shipping, withstand sterilization, and contain tracking and other information mandated by government regulations like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
While standard labels might accomplish one of these goals, they rarely can deliver on all of them. Poor legibility, inadequate adhesives, or materials that fail during cold storage or high humidity can compromise patient safety and lead to costly errors.
Medical label durability and legibility
Medical facilities are filled with environments that can deteriorate poorly designed labels. Heat, moisture and chemical exposure during sterilization can cause adhesives to fail and label surfaces to wear, reducing or eliminating legibility. Cold storage and its associated moisture can have similarly damaging effects.
Medication mix-ups
Confusion between medications with similar names — known as look-alike, sound-alike (LASA) errors — is a leading cause of dangerous errors in medical settings and can be exacerbated by poor font choice, confusing label design, and surface degradation that reduces legibility.
Regulatory demands
In addition to patient and safety information, a number of important medication regulations require labels to include tracking elements like bar codes or batch numbers that require variable or on-site printing and must maintain print sharpness in order to be reliably scanned.
Custom medical labels satisfy all pharmaceutical labeling requirements and then some
Unlike standard labels, custom labels are tailored to meet the unique requirements of medication labels, providing several key advantages:
Enhanced durability and adhesion
Healthcare environments often involve exposure to extreme temperatures, moisture, and chemicals. Custom labels are engineered with specialized materials and adhesives to withstand these harsh conditions, ensuring that they remain intact and legible throughout the product’s lifecycle.
- Cold and moisture durable adhesives
- Chemical resistant coatings or lamination
- Synthetic liners and facestocks
- Autoclave durable materials
Compliance with regulatory standards
Custom labels can be designed to include all necessary information, such as dosage instructions, expiration dates, and batch numbers, in formats that comply with agencies like the FDA and EMA.
- Variable batch printing
- Barcodes
- QR codes
Prevention of medication errors
Clear and accurate labeling is vital to prevent medication errors. Custom labels can incorporate features like color coding, highly-legible fonts, barcodes, and QR codes to facilitate quick and accurate identification of medications, thereby reducing the risk of administering the wrong drug or dosage.
- Inkjet, laser, and thermal printing options
- Partial or full printing
- 4-color or black and white
- On-site printing
Sterilization indicators
Custom labels can integrate sterilization indicators providing clear visual confirmation that the sterilization process has been completed.
- Autoclave
- EtO sterilization
- Gamma irradiation
Improved efficiency
Custom labels can be designed for compatibility with common printing technologies and application processes, streamlining production workflows.
- Increased traceability
- Variable printing
- Optimized for automatic application
Pro tip >> Learn which printing technology is right for your setting.
Choosing the right medication label company
Choosing the right label company is essential when it comes to ensuring the safety, compliance, and efficiency of your medication labels.
CleanMark brings unparalleled expertise and experience in designing and producing medication labels that meet the stringent requirements of the pharmaceutical industry. Our team understands the complexities of regulatory compliance, environmental durability, and operational efficiency, allowing us to deliver solutions that perform flawlessly in your unique environment.
Whether you need labels that can withstand extreme temperatures, integrated sterilization indicators, or enhanced traceability with barcodes and QR codes, CleanMark has the technical know-how and state-of-the-art materials to deliver results.
Our team of label experts is waiting. Schedule your consultation here.
References
- “A systematic literature review on strategies to avoid look-alike errors of labels”
- Medication safety for look-alike, sound-alike medicines
- Guideline on the packaging information of medicinal products for human use authorized by the union
- To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System
- Medication Without Harm
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