Healthcare - Pharmaceutical Labels
At Consolidated Label, each label that comes off the presses is carefully inspected to ensure customer satisfaction. Quality assurance is integral to the success that Consolidated Label has come to enjoy. Certain labels are subject to an even more stringent inspection before they can be approved for use in their respective field. These are labels printed for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. Labels printed for this industry can range from vitamin labels to over-the-counter medicine labels to prescription medicine labels. It is of utmost importance that the labels meet not only Consolidated Label’s list of requirements, but also the regulatory requirements set forth by the Food and Drug Administration. This article takes a deeper look at what more is required when printing pharmaceutical labels beyond other types of labels.
According to the FDA, all labels printed for use in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry must be designed and applied so that the labels remain in place and can easily be read throughout any conditions that may occur during distribution, storage, and use. It is the label manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that the print on the label is legible, and will remain that way throughout the product’s life span. This label integrity is important for all printed labels, but takes on a whole new importance when dealing with medicine and other healthcare products.
Before the labels are run on the presses the samples must be thoroughly inspected, proofread, and approved according to conformance to the specifications of the customer. After the samples have been approved, they can be placed into production. Documentation of the proofreading and acceptance activities must be kept in a history record to prove that inspection was actually performed.
If multiple pharmaceutical labels are being printed for the same customer, the products should be separated according to the degree necessary to prevent any mix-ups or switches. While this could be problematic in all label printing situations, the consequences that could stem from this type of mistake could be much more drastic when dealing with medicine labels. The separation can be either physical or spatial or can be completed by performing press runs at different times to avoid confusion. The likelihood of a labeling mix-up determines how tight the production controls should be. If the only labels being run are dissimilar products the production controls can be slightly less stringent. It is vital that before a new medical label is printed that the surrounding areas are completely clear from any previous print jobs. This provides less room for any printing errors. Proper control of storage is also necessary in preventing any mix-ups or switches when dealing with labels printed for use in the pharmaceutical industry.
Once the labels have been run and before they are issued for use, they must be carefully examined to ensure the labels comply with the original specifications of the customer. This examination must include any control numbers and expiration dates used on the labels. A written record of this issuance check must be created, including the name and date of the person performing the examination.
While every label printed at Consolidated Label is inspected thoroughly, labels printed for the medical and pharmaceutical industry are handled with extreme care. There are industry standards that must be met for obvious safety reasons, and we take great pride in allowing as few errors as possible. This is accomplished through very strict multiple inspections, and extreme care in processing, printing, storing and shipping these labels to the customer. Consolidated Label has 20 years of experience in the label printing business, and has become a leader in the medical and pharmaceutical label industry – please contact us with your custom medical label needs.
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