Cardinal Health Unveils New Unit-dose, Barcoded Packaging Solutions for Oral Liquid Medications

DUBLIN, Ohio, Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 46th Annual Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), taking place from Dec. 4-8 in New Orleans, Cardinal Health will unveil a unique unit-dose, barcoded packaging solution for oral liquid medications that are not currently commercially available in unit-dose form.

Cardinal Health developed this new line of packaging solutions in direct response to recommendations and input from hospital pharmacy directors from around the country.

"As more hospitals expand their use of barcode administration technology, we know that many consider repackaging liquid medications to be a time-consuming and challenging task. We're pleased to introduce new packaging solutions that remove some of that burden," said Jon Giacomin, president, U.S. Pharmaceutical Distribution, Cardinal Health. "As we expand our portfolio of unit-dose, barcoded liquid medications, our goal is to help hospitals increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their patient safety initiatives while also freeing up valuable staff time to focus on patient care." 

Oral liquid medications from Cardinal Health are now available in different unit-dose package sizes, allowing for dose sizes ranging from 5 to 45 milliliters.  Other key features of this innovative packaging design include:

• A flat-spoon shape to help ensure proper dosing, and to allow medication to be administered to the patient directly from the package.  
• More printable space for complete product labeling.
• Durable, flat shape that makes it easier for hospitals to store liquid medications in medication filling bays and automated dispensing machines.
• "Tall man" lettering to enhance patient safety by helping nurses and other clinicians differentiate sound-a-like, look-a-like products.
• Reduced space symbology (RSS) barcodes, which allow health care providers to track the NDC lot number and expiration date of each medication dose, within in a single scan. 
• It meets USP Class A packaging material standards and receives up to 12 months of expiration dating.

Unit-dose, barcoded liquid medications from Cardinal Health are packaged at Cardinal Health Pharmaceutical Repackaging, a facility that is registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and strictly follows current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) and FDA repackaging guidelines.  

For hospitals that have adopted CardinalASSIST® ADM logistics to facilitate accurate and efficient automated dispensing machine replenishment, these products are also available in CardinalASSIST® packaging.

Both oral liquid and ReadyScan® oral solid unit-dose packaged products are available for order via cardinalhealth.com with next day delivery.

Attendees of ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition in New Orleans can learn more about – and view samples of – these new unit-dose packaging solutions by visiting Cardinal Health booth #1431.

About Cardinal Health

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $103 billion health care services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care. As the business behind health care, Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices focus on patient care while  reducing costs, enhancing efficiency and improving quality. Cardinal Health is an essential link in the health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 60,000 locations each day. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company supports the growing diagnostic industry by supplying medical products to clinical laboratories and operating the nation's largest network of radiopharmacies that dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Ranked #19 on the Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. More information about the company may be found at cardinalhealth.com and @CardinalHealth on Twitter.

SOURCE Cardinal Health