Pharmacists should have input into design of new drug packaging
Design principles were used to present the report in a medical context |
Pharmacists’ and patients’ opinions should be central to the design of new drug packaging and labelling, according to Peter Buckle, director of the Robens Centre for Health Ergonomics, University of Surrey, and one of the authors of a new safety report published by the Department of Health and the Design Council.
The report, “Design for patient safety”, launched at the
National Patient Safety Agency conference in Birmingham on 25 February,
suggests that safety and ease of use of pharmaceutical products should
be considered, alongside cost, when purchasing decisions are made for
the NHS.
Speaking at a press briefing to launch the report, Professor Buckle said
that the NHS should use its buying power to make more demands on suppliers.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Defence issues specifications to
which manufacturers must adhere if the Ministry is to purchase their
products. Similarly, he suggested that NHS procurement staff should tell
manufacturers what safety design features should be included in packaging
and labelling.
The report states: “The NHS is seriously out of step with modern
thinking and practice with regard to design. A consequence of this has
been a significant incidence of avoidable risk.”
The NHS should follow other high-risk industries, such as aviation and
nuclear power, and understand how different parts of the organisation
work and interact, the report recommends. It also proposes that NHS staff
should be trained to assess risk in their working practices.
A project to tackle the issue of non-compliance in the community, in
collaboration with a pharmacy chain, is suggested. The development of
a standard design for a “
personalised medication dispenser”, an automated system that would
dispense doses to patients at the prescribed time, is also proposed.
The Department of Health Chief Medical Officer will now lead a multi-agency
team to consider how to implement the report. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal