Packaging Can Help Improve Chronic Illness Treatments

European speakers shared insight on the potential roles packaging could play in patient care at the U.S. Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council's annual symposium in May.

The U.S. health reform acts calls for evaluation of telehealth models for coordinating care among the home-bound chronically ill. Intelligent pharmaceutical packages will support a shift from costly acute care to residential and home care environments, Danevert Asbrink, VP sales, Cypak AB, Stockholm, Sweden said at the HCPC event.

Asbrink described the work of the Continua Alliance, which is promoting standards for interoperability of devices. Chip-based drug packaging and home monitoring devices designed to standards support real-time intervention by caregivers in connected models. With patients and caregivers communicating with a common protocol, the patient ideally can use one scanning device to convey data from drug packages, blood pressure cuffs, glucose monitors, weigh scales, and other devices.

"You have to build a system based on standards, because patients are on multiple medications," Asbrink said.

The Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council of Europe acquired insights on patients' views of conventional and interactive packaging in a 2009 online Voice of the Patient survey described at the HCPC event by HCPC-Europe executive director Tassilo Korab.

Most respondents were in the 40 to 65 years' age group. Close to 80% took tablet medications, and more than 80% reported removing the tablets themselves.

Close to 60% reported finding a package with calendar and weekday printing useful for keeping track of their therapy.

Although most were happy with their current packaging—60% said they would not prefer alternative packaging—respondents were quite open to interactive packaging. Sixty percent said that automatic recording of tablet egress would be helpful, and the same number favored a built-in device for reminders. Forty percent said it would be helpful if packaging could automatically transmit vital data such as blood pressure or blood sugar levels along with a record of medication intake to their doctor or pharmacist.

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