Importance Of Printed Labels In The Medical Industry

Printed labels allow acquisition and management of data, along with recording and tracking items to a very efficient level. These qualities make them highly adaptable, and the custom label manufacturers will tell you that their usage is across a variety of industries, such as the medical industry. Labels provide plethora of functions that add value to the product by enhancing user friendliness and product safety. Below are some of the most prominent roles labels play in the medical field.

• Avoid medication errors

A report published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in July 2006 suggested that labeling and packaging issues are the cause of about 33% of all medication errors and 30% of fatalities from medication errors. This is why standardized product labeling, naming and packaging is important to reduce such errors. 

• Increased efficiency 

In the health care industry, efficient and safe drug administration is extremely important. Multi functional and Intelligent label solutions can help optimize processes in health care environments, thus contributing to patient safety. 

• Label-integrated needle protection

The use of easy-to-use pre-filled syringes in the health care industry often poses the risk of contamination. The use of needle trap labels allows the blood-contaminated needle to be simply and safely secured after the injection. The label also allows for other safety aspects to be integrated into it, such as documentation of the administered injection.

• Product authentication

Using custom labels also helps maintain the integrity of the product. They ensure that medicines are not subjected to counterfeiting as well as tampering. In the supply chain, it sometimes becomes difficult to track and also serialize a product. In such cases, labels are the solution to authenticate them and secure them.

It’s apparent that using correct labeling is key for patient safety. In this increasingly complex regulatory environment, labels are one of the most important aspects of safe drug administration.