Package Design Boosts Patient Compliance - Pharmaceutical Technology

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Package Design Boosts Patient Compliance
Compliance features help patients follow medication regimens correctly.
Jun 2, 2009
By: Hallie Forcinio
Pharmaceutical Technology
 Volume 33, Issue 6
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Hallie Forcinio
The Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council (HCPC) honored three companies' package designs during its annual Compliance Package of the Year competition in May 2009. The awards were presented at HCPC's annual National Symposium on Patient Compliance.


Wyeth Prempro Starter Kit won Compliance Package of the Year honors from the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council.
This year's Compliance Package of the Year, the Prempro Starter Kit from Wyeth (Madison, NJ), combines four pouched blister physician samples of the hormone-replacement therapy with various informational materials. The kit provides 20 days of doses to help acclimate the patient to the regimen. In addition to the pouched blister, the pack includes an informational brochure, a patient-education enrollment card, a prepaid business-reply card, and a patient insert. After reviewing this package, one of the judges commented, "This is an outstanding starter kit with some very innovative features. I like the fact that the most important cautions are clearly and repeatedly spelled out. The M-Powered enrollment form is a novel way of improving compliance."


An electronic microchip in a Compliance Monitoring Package for Suboxone records when each dose is dispensed and offers the potential for remote monitoring of patient compliance.
The Compliance Monitoring Package for Suboxone, a drug for treating opioid dependence, was named first runner-up in the HCPC competition because it used electronics and included ample space for product information, branding, and labeling. Designed for a Suboxone treatment study at Kuopio University Hospital of Finland, this smart wallet pack incorporates an electronic microchip to record when tablets are removed from the blister cards within the lockable paperboard carton. The microchip also stores information about the patient's symptoms each day. As a result, the frequency of clinic visits can be reduced from daily to weekly. At each visit, data are collected from the cards for recordkeeping and potential use by the nurse during interaction with the patient.


The winner of HCPC Innovative Design prize inserts a senior-friendly blister card inside a child-resistant secondary package.
The study among patients at different stages of treatment showed that the package helped lower treatment costs by nearly 40%. In the pilot study, the package was considered easier and safer than the traditional pouch because blisters could be left intact. In addition, data showed that the majority of patients (67%) took their medication regularly as prescribed.

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About the Author

Hallie Forcinio

Packaging Forum editor

Hallie Forcinio is Pharmaceutical Technology's Packaging Forum editor, 4708 Morningside Dr., Cleveland, OH 44109, tel. 216.351.5824, fax 216.351.5684. Articles by Hallie Forcinio

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