Schreiner MediPharm joins medical labeling consortium and strengthens pharma pack safety with RFID technology
17 Dec 2020 --- Germany-based healthcare labeling specialist Schreiner MediPharm is joining DoseID, the US consortium for standardizing medical product labels.
Radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology has been gaining traction in the healthcare sector, but standardized tools for tracking medications, devices and consumables are lacking, says Schreiner.
To that end, DoseID’s goal is to ensure the interoperability of RFID-tagged drug products as they move through the pharmaceutical supply chain.
The drugs are tracked across all hardware and software systems. Starting with the manufacturer, through to the distributor, to hospitals and eventually to the patient.
Pharmaceuticals can be successfully tracked by serializing medications, containers and devices.
However, to achieve these goals, RFID tags must deliver reliable performance in all hospital and healthcare IT systems so products can be tracked at the unit level and throughout the entire lifecycle.
Schreiner’s RFID tags
Schreiner MediPharm developed its RFID labels to enhance this process.
The labels allow for integration and processing on unit-level pharmaceutical packaging lines, improving the automation of processes to increase efficiency and enhancing patient and drug safety, says the company.
Schreiner’s consortium involvement aims to promote safety in medical packaging using RFID labels.“As a long-term provider of customized RFID labels for the healthcare industry, we see the need for interoperability and quality standards as essential to leveraging the full potential of RFID,” says Stefan Wiedemann, senior director strategic marketing and business development at Schreiner MediPharm.
“We join the DoseID consortium aiming to mutually drive RFID-based smart solutions and enhance the pharmaceutical supply chain.”
DoseID’s unique label approach
The consortium says despite huge investments by health systems into automation solutions, many challenges remain – shortages, recalls, workflow inefficiencies and lack of interoperability.
With industry-wide support of a comprehensive set of RFID standards for healthcare, players along the pharmaceutical supply chain can work together to solve these issues proactively rather than reactively, it says.
The unit-level serialization enabled by DoseID surpasses the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requirements, a standard securing the US supply chain of prescription drugs, the consortium claims.
To ensure adherence to the standards established by the consortium and conformity with the requirements of pharmaceutical manufacturers, compounding pharmacies, pharmacy automation services providers and manufacturers of RFID inlays and tags, a special RFID tag certification is also awarded after third-party testing.
Schreiner’s previous innovations
In 2018, Schreiner collaborated with tube manufacturer Neopac and machine producer Harro Höfliger to develop a pharmaceutical tube providing ample space for information.
The unique marking label encloses the tube like a pocket and can be automatically dispensed on packaging lines.
Edited
By Louis Gore-Langton
