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Assessing medication packaging and labelling appropriateness in Sri Lanka
N Athuraliya1, E J Walkom2, S Dharmaratne3
1Department of Medicine, The Maitland Hospital Clinical School, 550-560 High Street, Maitland, 2320 NSW Australia.
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
|December 10, 2016
Summary
Medicines in Sri Lanka often have poor packaging and labeling, posing risks to patients. Improvements in dispensing practices and resources, especially in public healthcare, are crucial for patient safety.
Area of Science:
- Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Suboptimal medicine dispensing, including inadequate packaging and labeling, is prevalent in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
- A survey in Sri Lanka assessed medicine packaging and labeling practices across six regions.
- The study utilized World Health Organization (WHO) methodology for household surveys.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the quality of medicine packaging and labeling in Sri Lankan households.
- To compare dispensing practices between public and private medicine sources.
- To assess patient understanding of medicine usage instructions.
Main Methods:
- Household surveys were conducted in six Sri Lankan regions between 2010 and 2013.
- Packaging was deemed adequate if it was a closable container holding a single medicine.
- Labels were adequate if legible and included medicine name, dose, and expiration date.
Main Results:
- Of 5756 western medicines, only 41.4% were both adequately packaged and labeled.
- Private sources showed significantly better packaging (87.7%) and labeling (52.2%) compared to public sources (73.5% and 27.4%, respectively).
- Despite labeling issues, 96% of participants understood how to take their medicines.
Conclusions:
- Inadequate medicine packaging and labeling persist as a significant issue in Sri Lanka.
- Enhanced commitment to Good Pharmacy Practices and staff training is vital, particularly in the public sector.
- Increasing chronic diseases and polypharmacy necessitate improved medicine dispensing standards for patient safety.
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