UPM-Biofore-Magazine-2-2017-ENG

Labels improve healthcare safety

In hospitals and health centres, adhesive labels are required for a host of purposes. For example, they are used for conveying information and product tracing. A variety of labels are also required for test tubes used in laboratories. “To ensure patient safety, high standards have been set for labels used in healthcare,” says Markku Pietarinen , Manager, UPMRaflatac Business Segments & Pharma. “Labels have to withstand storage, chemical treatment and demanding applications in healthcare,” Pietarinen continues. Identifiers for easy tracing This autumn, UPMRaflatac launched equipment and packaging. The variety of medical equipment in healthcare ranges fromhip prostheses to injection pens. “According to new regulations, a new range of RPMD products designed for labelling medical

medical equipment must have unique identifiers for tracing. UPMRaflatac’s labels meet these requirements,” Pietarinen states. "Labels can be applied directly onto the medical equipment and the protective sterilised package. They can also applied to blood bags used for blood donation.” Tool against falsified medicines Under the new EU directive on falsifiedmedicinal products, all prescriptionmedicine packages must have an anti-tampering mechanism to identify whether the package has been opened illegally in the distribution chain. The medicine package cannot be opened without breaking the security seal label, whichmakes it more difficult to deliver falsifiedmedicines to consumers through legal channels. “We were the first to launch products that help pharmaceutical companies meet the requirements of the new directive,” says Pietarinen.

Healthcare is a clear area of growth for UPM Raflatac labelling solutions. New packaging regulations aimed at preventing falsified medicines are among the drivers of this rising business.

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