Pharmaceutical Packaging Design For Elderly Consumers
In the pharmaceutical industry, the packaging of medicines is one of the most important concerns. The medicine boxes play an important role in preventing them from contamination, heat, and moisture. They also retain the quality of medicines and increase their shelf life. According to research, the number of elderly patients is increasing worldwide every year. This has created a tough challenge for the manufacturers to supply the target audience with the right packaging formats. First of all the medicine boxes should be designed from a high-quality material which protects them from getting into the hands of children. Besides, to be sealed or tamper-proof it should be easy to open.
Designing Packaging for Elderly Patients
A significant proportion of medicines are taken by elderly consumers. The people of this age group are addressed to more health issues. They can face significant barriers in accessing the medicines and complying with treatment regimens. Most of the older patients face difficulty in pushing the tablets through blister packs. Another commonly reported problem is tamper-evident closure made on pill boxes. Sometimes the sachets and stick packs do not tear notches to simply the opening. The designers work on these issues and came up with several innovative solutions. Below are some of the best pharmaceutical packaging designs for elderly consumers:
•Medicine Boxes with Tuck Flaps or Auto-Lock Closures
When it comes to medicine, the main thing is the outer pill cardboard packaging. It plays a significant role in protecting these life-saving drugs. For elderly consumers it should be designed in a protective and easy to open way. The pharmaceutical companies have worked on the design of these custom packaging boxes. Designing them with tuck flaps or auto-locking closures prevent them from getting into the wrong hands. Moreover, elderly consumers can easily open them when needed. Most of these custom printed boxes are designed from tear-resistant paper. A plastic lamination layer is applied at the top for further protection.
•Pharmaceutical Packaging with Peel-able Seals
According to a recent study, two out of three consumers suffer wrap rage while opening a medicine box. 40% claimed that they even hurt themselves in the process. The statistics are growing in elderly consumers as they are exposed to more diseases over time. One of the effective packaging designs is to use tamper-proof peel-able seals on the pill boxes. The containers designed in this way provide maximum protection to the medicines inside. To make them easy to open for elderly consumers the seal should have a clear mark to indicate where it should be exactly lifted. To address this issue the manufacturers started to design seals with an easy-to-grip tab to make it more user-friendly.
•Screw Cap secured with a Closure Tape
The pharmaceutical industry is full of innovations. Another useful packaging design for a pill box container is screw cape with a closure tape inside it. It is one of the most effective ways of packaging medicines industry-wide. It is not only child-resistant but also easy to open by elderly consumers. Such type of vape packaging is also used to design medical cannabis boxes. It keeps the tablets away from humidity, sunlight, and changes in temperature. Rotating the screw and removing the closure tape adds to the practicality of packaging.
•Pharmaceutical Packaging which Requires Activating
Another challenge faced by the pharmaceutical industry is to establish optimal conditions i.e. pressure, heat and time. Sealing the cannabis medicine boxes and other pharmaceutical packaging may result in increased pressure or heat. Even sometimes the seal gets difficult to remove with time. On the other hand, too little of any element may cause leak or contamination.
Some of the pharmaceutical packaging companies have introduced a new mechanism for their custom printed wholesale medicine boxes. Several trials have been made by designers to maintain a perfect balance between all the factors. As a result, such packaging was developed which requires activation. The mechanism is integrated into the pill box ensuring that only one tablet is pressed out each time after activation. Moreover, the patient has to use both hands to activate the system. One for sliding the button and hold it at its place, while another hand to fetch the tablet. The system has to be released to get another one. It automatically comes to its original position upon release. Such type of packaging serves best for high-potency medicines and medical cannabis packaging.
