The healthcare market is exploding. With healthcare facilities becoming single-source locations for people’s healthcare needs, the range of healthcare labels buyers are asked to manage is exploding, as well. Small-volume containers, labels for cold and cryogenic storage, labels for hospital and medical devices, and the list goes on. While each of these product types has similarities (the need for easy-to-read labeling, for example, permanent adhesion regardless of environmental conditions, and accurate labeling that meets regulatory guidelines), each has its own distinctives, as well. In many ways, these labels are as different from one another as siblings in the same family.

You’re busy. How do you find time to sort through all of the different adhesives and face stocks to meet the wide range of demanding environmental and performance conditions each type of healthcare label requires? You don’t. That’s why it’s important to find a label vendor that can handle all of your healthcare labeling needs, as different as they may be.

Consider just some of the labeling solutions you may be asked to manage and how different their requirements are:

Small-Volume Containers

These labels can range from those on syringes and ampoules to prescription bottles. They may need to adhere to glass or plastic and have security features to prove that they have remained sterile and not been tampered with. Some may use luminescent adhesive, for example, when it’s necessary to prove that the label has not been removed.

Prescription Bottles

These labels must have the name of the product, active and inactive ingredients, strength and dosage, warnings, method of administration, allergic reactions, and so on. They must also have sufficient adhesion that they will remain on the bottle for the life of the product. Most prescription bottles have a relatively short life span, however, and because they are not exposed to extreme environmental conditions, their adhesion requirements can be more straightforward.

Cold and Cryogenic Storage

Certain biological drugs and samples must be stored at extremely low temperatures. Because these labels move across extreme temperatures, they must be extremely tough to make sure they won’t lift or peel as a direct result of thawing, warming, and freezing.

Surgical and Hospital Instruments

These labels are adhered to surgical instruments for identification and traceability. Like cold and cryogenic storage labels, they must withstand punishing conditions, including steam autoclave sterilization. These labels must remain intact and legible throughout the entire product lifecycle, which means they must have excellent adhesion in steam, pressure, and extreme heat.

RFID for Accurate Asset Tracking

Because of the extremely sensitive nature of many of these products, you may want to consider labels with RFID features to provide better tracking and enhanced inventory accuracy.

When might RFID labeling prove to be particularly useful? One example is when equipment or other items have a high value or are highly specialized and need to be tracked to ensure that they are being used appropriately. For example, certain medical devices such as MRI scanners can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, so it is important to carefully track their location and use.

Another situation for RFID labeling is when tracking controlled substances like opioids and other drugs. These substances can pose a serious risk if they are misused or stolen, so it is important to monitor their use and location. RFID systems can provide an easy way to track the movement of these substances.

Multi-Page and Foldout Labeling

Some pharmaceutical products may also benefit from expanded labeling solutions such as multi-page and foldout labeling. These labels are adhered to the exterior of the packaging and can be used to supply expanded information such as lengthy compliance text, diagrams or illustrations, and translation into multiple languages.

This is a lot to take in and manage. You don’t have time to become an expert in substrates, adhesives, and cryogenics, so that’s where we come in.  You don’t need to be an expertise in all of these areas. You just need to work with someone who is… and that’s why we’re here.

Check out our portfolio of label solutions here.