Design guide recommends simple changes to injectable medicines
Graphic designers from the Royal College of Art have helped develop new National Patient Safety Agency guidelines for the labelling and packaging of injectable medicines.
 
Dense text can be hard to read so the guide recommends creating
an area that highlights key information and using appropriate fonts
and formatting |
The guidelines recommend simple changes in
design, such as using paper labels and different coloured print, to
help distinguish similar medicines
from each other and prevent mistakes in administering the drugs.
The guidelines — “Design
for patient safety: a guide to labelling and packaging of injectables” — apply to all injectable medicines,
including ampoules, vials, prefilled syringes and infusion bags.
The NPSA recommends creating an area on a vial — no wider than
the container’s width — that incorporates key information
and ensures that the generic drug name can be read at a glance.
Where possible, labels on ampoules should be made of paper because text
on transparent labels can show through on the reverse, making reading
confusing, the guidelines suggest. Where ampoules do have clear plastic
labels it may be better to highlight key information by inverting the
text colour, the NPSA recommends.
The agency also proposes that a two-dimensional barcode that includes
key information, such as batch number and expiry date, should appear
on vial and infusion products. The barcode could also include a unique
product identifier, to be used in the dispensing and medicine preparation
process, as well as for administrative purposes.
The guidelines are the latest in a series around design and patient safety
and are aimed at pharmaceutical companies as well as those involved in
the procurement of NHS medicines.
They are also expected to help NHS
trusts carry out a risk
assessment of their injectable medicines and products following
recommendations made by the NPSA last year (PJ, 7
April 2007, p392). |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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