With many drugs facing an increased shortage risk as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the drug manufacturing industry, there is an increasing need for automation within hospital pharmacies.

Unit dose packaging has become an essential part of drug distribution and control within many health care facilities.  This form of pharmacy automation has proven to be safer for the patient, more efficient for the hospital and improves overall medication control and drug use monitoring.

Developing and implementing an in-house unit dose medication packaging operation within your hospital pharmacy can provide substantial advantages:

• Convenience– easily package bulk medicines into a unit dose form
• Increase Level of Patient Care and Safety – deliver medication to patient immediately, no delay
• Time Efficiency – eliminate the wait for outsourced repackaging vendors to package and deliver medications
• Economical – no extra cost of securing a third-party vendor to package medications or shipping charges
• Avoid Worries – no concern of manufacturers that do not produce treatment medications in a barcoded unit dose form or a manufacturer discontinuing the unit dose form of certain products
• Enables Securing Medication Stock Options – avoid drug shortages and cover expected demand

U.S. News & World Report released their 2020-21 Best Hospitals rankings. The annual rankings acknowledge hospitals for outstanding performance in delivering complex and common care.

Over 5,000 hospitals nationwide were evaluated based on analysis gathered on performance in adult and pediatric clinical specialties, procedures and conditions. About 55% of the Top 20 hospitals are Medical Packaging Inc. (MPI) customers and more than ¾ of them are repeat customers with more than one MPI packaging solution being utilized in their facility.

The rankings for the Honor Roll consider 16 areas of complex specialty care and 10 specific procedure and conditions, such as heart bypass and lung cancer surgery.

Hospitals receive points if they were nationally ranked in the 16 specialties and if they were rated high performing in any of the procedures and conditions to make the Honor Roll. The more specialties and the higher their rank, the more points they acquired.

Please click here to view the complete list of recognized hospitals and the methodology used in the rankings.

Oeiyin Yuen, manager of hospital pharmacy support staff at Cape Cod Healthcare in Hyannis, MA discusses how the 280 bed community hospital developed a unit dose repackaging strategy, which includes the Auto-Print® oral solid unit dose packaging system.  Important functionalities they need in an automated repackaging machine include accuracy of barcode scanning, capability to produce custom labels, a medication information database and easy identification of recalled products.  Read the article here.

Medical Packaging Inc. (MPI) is making an amendment to our current business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic as we remain focused on the health and safety of our customers, employees and the community.

MPI is lifting our ban on travel starting May 4, 2020 to resume some onsite visits to customer locations for essential needs only.  Each request for a member of our team to travel will undergo an extensive review and must be approved by MPI management prior to confirmation of a scheduled trip.  We will only consider travel after all necessary requirements and criteria are met to secure the safety of our employees and our clients.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those working in hospitals around the world.  We are thankful for you and greatly appreciate all you do.   Please note that as of 6/1/2020, the Customer Assurance team resumed our normal technical support hours to offer phone, email, and remote support between 9 AM and 5 PM ET, Monday through Friday. If you need us, just call (800) 257-5282 (option 3) or email techsupport@medpak.com.

For all material and part orders, please continue to send your requests to materialorders@medpak.com from 9 AM to 4 PM ET, Monday through Friday.

All other inquiries may be sent to info@medpak.com.

Please share this email with all members of your team. We will communicate any additional modifications to our operational procedures that may occur with the ongoing coronavirus situation as we keep monitoring federal, state and local public health agencies.

We are always here to support you and remain committed to helping you enhance the well-being and safety of patients.

Please continue to take care, keep healthy and stay safe.

MPI’s Fluidose® Series 5H provides the capability to barcode and package oral liquid medication into a unit dose cup at the rate of up to 22 doses per minute.

Join us on March 11, 2020 at 2:00 PM EDT to learn more about our liquid unit dose packaging solution. Our product implementation specialist will provide a live demonstration of the system to explain how it operates and interacts with our Pak-EDGE™ UD Barcode Labeling Software.

Register for the free webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/299234693550486540.

Medical Packaging Inc. (MPI) and Medi-Dose/EPS have noticed a current rise in questions pertaining to beyond-use dating of unit dose medication. Both companies have joined together to release a joint statement relating to the issue. Please click here to read our shared position on the subject of beyond-use dating.

A specialty pharmaceutical company needed a liquid unit dose packaging system capable of filling smaller dosages down to 5mL.  Key factors to determine if it was possible to continue packaging in-house and avoid paying an outsourced contract packager included:

• Compact size – accommodated limited floorspace
• Accuracy – able to produce a liquid unit dose package that meets regulatory requirements
• Easy to use
• Provided serialization and die-cut lidding options

Click here to read Healthcare Packaging’s machine case study.  Learn how Medical Packaging Inc.’s FD-Pharma™ Series II liquid cup unit dose packaging solution allowed the company to bring a new product to market benefiting patients and healthcare providers.

U.S. News & World Report released their 2019-20 Best Hospitals rankings. The annual rankings acknowledge hospitals for outstanding performance in delivering complex and common care.

Nearly 4,700 hospitals nationwide were evaluated based on analysis gathered on performance in adult and pediatric clinical specialties, procedures and conditions. Due to a tie for 20^th, there were 21 hospitals that performed the best to make the Honor Roll. About 62% of the Top 21 hospitals are Medical Packaging Inc. (MPI) customers and many are repeat customers with more than one MPI packaging solution being utilized in their facility.

The rankings for the Honor Roll consider 16 areas of complex specialty care and 9 specific procedure and conditions, such as heart bypass and lung cancer surgery. Only 165 U.S. hospitals performed well enough to be nationally ranked in one or more specialties.

Hospitals receive points for both the specialty rankings and procedure and condition ratings to make the Honor Roll.   The higher their rank in specialties and if they earn a “high performing” in the ratings, the more points they acquired.

Please click here to view the complete list of recognized hospitals and the methodology used in the rankings.

Medical Packaging Inc. (MPI) has added a new die cut optional feature to the FD-Pharma™ liquid unit dose packaging and labeling solution.

The external device trims the lidding to the perimeter of the cup leaving one tabbed section.   The feature is available for 7mL, 15mL, 25mL and 35mL cups and produces a high quality, uniform product quickly and efficiently.  The customization is achieved with no effect to the print quality of information on the labels and meets the requirements set forth by USP for moisture permeation and light transmission.  Benefits include an integrated design, an optimal seal and an ideal tool to add a professional die cut labeling capability to liquid unit dose cup packaging.

Please contact us to learn more about our die cut feature now available and MPI’s liquid unit dose packaging solutions.

U.S. News & World Report released their 2018-19 Best Hospitals rankings.  Nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide were evaluated based on analysis gathered on performance in adult and pediatric clinical specialties, procedures and conditions.  Only 20 hospitals performed the best to make the Honor Roll.  About 60% of the Top 20 hospitals are Medical Packaging Inc. (MPI) customers and many are repeat customers with more than one MPI packaging solution being utilized in their facility.

The rankings for the Honor Roll consider 16 areas of complex specialty care and 9 specific procedure and conditions such as heart bypass and lung cancer surgery.  Hospitals receive points for both the specialty rankings and procedure and condition ratings to make the Honor Roll, which has a maximum total of 480 points.   The higher their rank in specialties and if they earn a “high performing” in the ratings, the more points they acquired.

The annual U.S. News Best Hospitals rankings acknowledges hospitals for outstanding performance in delivering complex and common care.

Please click here to view the complete list of recognized hospitals and the methodology used in the rankings.

(Flemington, NJ) – Medical Packaging Inc. (MPI), a leading manufacturer of unit-dose medication and pharmaceutical packaging and labeling solutions, is one of the 2018 Best Places to Work in New Jersey, according to NJBIZ, New Jersey’s leading business journal.

MPI ranked No. 13 out of 31 finalists in the small employer category, consisting of 15-49 employees.  The Best Places to Work in New Jersey awards program recognizes and honors the state’s top employers who show a dedication to their employees’ professional growth and quality of life.

“We are honored to have earned a place on The Best Places to Work in New Jersey list this year,” said Andrew Bartels, President & CEO of MPI.  “Our employees are our most valuable resource and they are essential to the outstanding service we provide to customers as well as the overall success of the company.  We take great pride in creating an inclusive, high-performance environment based on our corporate core values to provide a culture for employees to thrive.”

Winners were determined through a two-part company assessment process conducted by the Best Companies Group.  The first part consisted of an employer questionnaire on company policies, practices and demographics.  The second part was an employee survey to measure engagement and satisfaction.  The information collected from the process produced a detailed set of data used to rank participating companies.

In the article entitled “Develop an Effective Unit Dose Packaging Strategy” published in Pharmacy Purchasing & Products, Mark T. Edgerly, RPh, director of pharmacy at Elmira Psychiatric Center in New York, discusses their unit dose repackaging strategy, which utilizes MPI’s Auto-Print^® and Fluidose^® unit dose packaging systems.  The importance of bar coding, a vendor’s customer service department and staff training were factors in determining their approach.  Learn more about their method and benefits realized with the facility’s repackaging strategy.

Click here to read the article.