Pharmaceutical Packaging Formats For An Aging Population
By Sean Riley, senior director, media and industry communications, PMMI
The average lifespan in America has increased significantly from 68 in 1950 to 79 in 2013.1 The senior population now accounts for 15 percent of the United States population and is projected to nearly double in size by 2060.2 As more patients reach their golden years, pharmaceutical companies must consider how they can optimize packaging for the senior demographic.
Interacting with healthcare packaging products can be a frustrating task for older patients as they face new challenges. Reduced physical strength, loss of fingertip friction for grip, visual impairment and memory loss can make traditional pharmaceutical packaging formats exasperating or nearly impossible for seniors to open or read. Child-safe and child-resistant features can make pharmaceutical packaging especially difficult to open for those with limited dexterity.
Packaging challenges such as these can reduce patient adherence, potentially leading to misuse and subsequent health repercussions for patients as well as liabilities for companies. In fact, 66 percent of general consumers have experienced some form of “wrap rage” with packaging, with 40 percent of people reporting actual injuries, according to the Senior-Friendly Healthcare Packaging White Paper by PMMI, The Association of Packaging and Processing Technologies.
The number and type of medications seniors take can compound the issues with compliance caused by packaging. In actuality, compliance rates drop from 80 percent for seniors prescribed once-daily medication to 50 percent for medicines that need to be taken four times a day, according to PMMI’s report. Thus, it is imperative that pharmaceutical manufacturers design packaging to accommodate the special needs of an aging population—working closely with suppliers as they respond to these challenges with new closures, labels and formats designed with the senior community in mind.
Enhancing Legibility
As a patients’ age approaches the 60s and beyond, the eyes naturally begin to exhibit age-related changes in performance. With the increasing amount of information that needs to be printed on small medication labels, tiny print combined with impaired vision can create the perfect storm for jeopardizing adherence. Companies can mitigate label-reading challenges by making subtle increases to font size and by opting for sharper and clearer font styles.
Brands can also implement images, icons or universally recognized symbols to convey instructions in a limited space. For example, the use of sun and moon graphics to differentiate daytime doses from evening doses can be an effective labeling strategy to improve adherence. Moreover, pharmaceutical brands can use contrasting color patterns to highlight important information or directions included on the label, calling attention to opening tabs or make symbols stand out from the background.
Currently, solutions to maximize readability have already begun to emerge in the market. For example, Colbert (Healthcare Packaging EXPO 2019 Booth N-137), supplies paperboard packaging that can incorporate cold foil technology to enhance packaging with graphics and text that are more eye-catching, visually appealing and in some cases, easier to see and read. Colbert’s cold foil and holographic printing techniques can also aid anti-counterfeiting efforts. For the visually impaired, Colbert’s Braille printing technology provides a safe and secure packaging solution. The company also utilizes 100 percent vision inspection systems across all its facilities to ensure accuracy and clean readability.
Packaging Suitable for All Ages
While labeling alterations are important to a senior-friendly packaging approach, there are several improvements to the physical package to consider. Whether medication comes in a box, a bottle or a blister pack, locking-mechanisms and tabs have become a significant hindrance for seniors.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers have prioritized features like hard-to-twist caps and other closures with nuanced fasteners designed to keep children from accessing the contents of a package. Though these child-resistant features prevent very young children from the potentially dangerous consumption of adult medications, such features present additional challenges for patients with weakened strength and dexterity.
Traditional locking mechanisms require a significant amount of strength and can be difficult to grip. However, low-strength opening features or the addition of a rubber-like substance for gripping can make opening more convenient. Companies can adjust packaging tabs by increasing overall size and improving the surface friction of the tab itself, making their presence and role in opening the package more apparent. For example, Colbert plans to address this issue with the development of an uncomplicated, child-resistant yet senior-friendly container that incorporates paperboard materials and is easier to open compared to the alternative plastic clamshell.
Supporting Compliance with Greater Flexibility
As consumers overall pursue a more active lifestyle than ever before,3 the call for greater on-the-go convenience grows louder. For seniors with reduced physical strength and dexterity, it can be difficult to peel the tiny tabs on the bottom of blister packs. Switching to punch-out blister pack models, in which the product is simply pushed out of the bottom of the blister through the foil, can make it easier for older patients to access medications while out and about.
For example, Push Packs from Romaco (Healthcare Packaging EXPO 2019 Booth N-214), designed to be both senior-friendly and child-resistant, are made with materials that do not tear but allow for tablets to be easily pressed out with a patient’s thumb. Available in single- or multi-dose child-resistant formats, the packaging features air-, light- and moisture-tight units to extend shelf life. The Push Packs also enable pharmaceutical manufacturers to select aluminum foil thicknesses between 9 µm to 25 µm and combine the push-through foil with a multilayer laminated or transparent barrier foil for even greater protection.
In some cases, pharmaceutical companies have begun to consider cut marks on their blister packs to aid the elderly in accessing medication by showing where to cut with scissors. Calendar packs have also emerged within the last decade as a popular variation of traditional blister packs. Conventional blister packs typically come in varieties of eight or ten blister counts per sleeve, which can be problematic when attempting to work around a daily or weekly regimen of medications. Calendar-based blister packs, which include sleeves in counts of five or seven, easily fitting into a weekly schedule, makes dose tracking simpler and increasing overall compliance.
Healthcare Packaging EXPO offers Innovative Solutions
Challenges presented by pharmaceutical packaging should not stop senior patients from adhering to their medication schedules. As suppliers of packaging materials, containers and equipment increasingly cater to the needs of senior patients, pharmaceutical packaging professionals can expect to see a wide range of solutions at Healthcare Packaging EXPO (September 23-25; Las Vegas Convention Center). The show is co-located with PACK EXPO Las Vegas and produced by PMMI.
Healthcare Packaging EXPO will bring together 250 exhibitors over 100,000 net square feet of show floor and will attract a predicted 5,000 attendees. Additionally, the co-located PACK EXPO Las Vegas will showcase innovations from more than 2,000 exhibitors spanning over 800,000 net square feet of exhibit space. The two shows will bring together more than 35,000 packaging professionals from around the world to explore state-of-the-art equipment and materials. Attendees seeking senior-friendly packaging solutions can visit The Containers & Materials Pavilion (Lower South Hall), and those looking for printing formats, inks and equipment can see the latest at The PACKage Printing Pavilion (Central Hall).
Free 30-minute sessions at the Innovation Stage will tackle a wide range of industry topics, including automation, smart flexible manufacturing and more. Additionally, The Forum, a growing staple at PACK EXPO shows, offers free, 45-minute learning sessions on the latest industry trends, including hands-on activities, small group discussions and Q&As each day of the show.
Registration, which includes access to both PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, is $100. For more information and to register online, visit www.hcpelasvegas.com.
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