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What is Reminder Packaging? The basic of future packaging
Many forms of smart packaging exist today, and more and more advancements in smart packaging continue to develop.
What if we told you that there is a form of packaging called reminder packaging that can remind you to take your medications during the day? If it sounds like something from the future, we can assure you it is not, and it is actually a real thing in development today!
In this post, we will explore what reminder packaging is, how it works, and what the benefits are for this new form of packaging technology.
What is it and How Does it Work?
In the most basic form, reminder packaging includes blister pill packaging and pill bottles that have the ability to remind patients to take their medications for the day and at certain times.
People who suffer from long-term and chronic illnesses are much more likely to take medications on a daily basis for many years and often they rest of their lives.
These smart pill bottles or foil blister packs are equipped with a special reminder device that sounds an alarm when you are supposed to take your medication for the day.
Doctors are able to program these alarm systems to exactly how the patient needs to take the medication, like at what time, how many pills, and if they need to take it every day or not. There are an endless amount of ways doctors can set us these reminder packs and pills to suite their patient’s needs
What are the Benefits?
There are many benefits that reminder packaging provides for both the patient and the medical providers alike.
For patients who need to take medications consistently, it helps them remember to take their pills and to take their medications as directed by their physician. A staggering 40%-60% of patients do not take their medications as directed. The most common reasons that people do not take their medications as prescribed is because they forget, they have a busy schedule, or they have a change in their medication schedule.
A study and review conducted by The Cochrane Library, who aims to evaluate all research related to the healthcare system, concentrated their efforts on how prescription adherence could be improved with the use of reminder packaging. They came to the following conclusion:
“The new analysis includes 12 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 2,200 participants taking
self-administered medications for at least one month. Four of the studies were completed since the previous review.
Four studies provide data on pill counts, revealing that reminder packaging increases the percentage of pills taken
by 11 percent to 13 percent. Combined analysis of data from two trials focusing on hypertension found that reminder
packaging significantly improved diastolic blood pressure – the “bottom” number in a blood pressure reading.”
Even though the percentage level does not seem to increase prescription adherence significantly 11% to 13% percent is a significant enough of a number that medical practitioners must consider how the benefits of reminder packaging for medications can improve their lives of their patients. Any increase in medical and prescription adherence is a large step in the right direction. better medication adherence does not improve their quality of life for patients on medications, but it also helps them save time and money as well because they are properly regulating their medical condition.
Furthermore, it helps medical practitioners save time and money as well and they have more time to further improve their patients’ medical conditions because they can gauge exactly where their patient’s medical conditions stands and if things should be changed or altered in any way to seek further health improvement.