Tamper Resistant Labels: Increasing Patient and Consumer Safety
Tamper resistant labels are a standard way for manufacturers, pharmacies, medical facilities, and suppliers to prevent the altering of products or brand counterfeiting. They specifically help in preventing individual harm from interference with over-the-counter drugs, purchasing fake or modified products, and interfering with a drug in transit to another facility. Tamper resistant labels make it easier for companies in a number of industries to guarantee customers receive a safe, reliable product.
In the medical industry, tamper resistant labels make it easy to determine if the packaging or bottle has been opened. For consumers, it prevents the risk of someone placing another item in the container. After a dangerous incident with Tylenol in the early 1980’s, regulations were passed to take measures toward preventing the interference of medicines and personal harm. While these instances still occur occasionally, the risk has been drastically decreased with this addition. Product tampering may be the result of a:
- Criminal Act – Placing a contaminated item on the consumer shelf.
- Staging – Contaminating products to blame the manufacturer.
- Extortion – Threatening to interfere with a product for monetary compensation.
Additional forms of tampering specific to medical and pharmaceutical industries include exchanging one medicine for another drug or altering lab samples. Tamper resistant labels help in preventing these instances to ensure consumers or patients remain safe.
Six Good Reasons to Use Tamper Resistant Labels
Medical facilities, pharmacies, and suppliers now use this option to make it easier to tell if something has been done to the packaging, container, or bottle. Pharmaceutical products are one of the most common uses for tamper resistant labels in the medical industry. This is due to the number of incidents where someone has interfered with over-the-counter medicines such as pain relievers and allergy medications. Another common use for them in the industry is to prevent tampering of specimens and samples taken from patients for laboratory testing.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires each product have a tamper evident package with one or multiple entry barriers for detecting a problem. The benefits offered by tamper resistant labels include:
- Easier to tell if the product has been altered.
- Customers know their medications are safe.
- Prevents tampering during medical or sample transfer.
- Valuable method for protecting items designated as evidence.
- Ensures samples are not tainted before lab testing.
- Prevents interference with custom compound medications.
These labels are available in several designs including red evidence or “do not tamper” designs. Tamper resistant labels help consumers to alert manufacturers of potential drug interference when the seal is broken on the package. Whatever the need, every medical facility and pharmacy benefits from these types of safety labels.
While tamper resistant labels are required for certain pharmacy items or when submitting samples to a lab, they have many other purposes in the medical industry. You may use these labels to monitor equipment, patient medications, or during the transfer of any sensitive item. Shamrock Labels offers several choices for ensuring your containers, vials, syringes, and other items are tamper resistant. Visit our website or call our team to see how we can help you keep items safe in any situation.