To ensure safety during medication preparation and distribution procedures, hospital pharmacy equipment must maintain compliance with regulatory controls and conformity assessments. Purchasing safe equipment and packaging systems, and making timely replacements for outdated systems, is paramount to businesses in health care. Here are four types of medication packaging equipment available by Medical Packaging Inc., LLC (MPI) to choose from when installing or upgrading your pharmacy equipment. These include oral solid and oral liquid packaging systems along with overwrapping and labeling systems.
Oral Solid Packaging Systems
Auto-Print®
To provide fast and accurate packaging with barcoding and label printing in-house, Auto-Print® Packaging System offers a comprehensive solution. This is a barcode and package system that meets technical specifications to print clear and scannable medication information. A safe, tamper-proof unit dose package containing detailed medication and barcode information will be delivered to the bedside thanks to this efficiency in labeling and packaging.
The system is designed to package at a speed of 60-unit dose packages per minute. This is useful for packaging both tablets and capsules for oral solid packaging in wholesale and retail pharmacy locations. Along with a Model #9300E printer with 300 DPI resolution, this packaging system comes with Pak-EDGE™ UD Barcode Labeling Software that is optimized for use with Windows® software. This barcode technology works for 2D, linear, and GS1 barcode creation. Customers also receive access to the First DataBank™ for comprehensive prescription drug source library and imaging information.
As you will learn in a moment, there are several attachments and additional pieces of equipment that operate as part of the Auto-Print® Unit Dose Packaging System. This is a total barcoding and packaging automation system that has been in production for more than 30 years.
Hospital pharmacies depend on this packaging machinery for handling the bulk of oral solid packaging needs in the health care industry. The use of the Auto-Print® system allows for stricter adherence to stringent quality control procedures by hospitals and the federal government. This system also serves to decrease costs, increase efficiency, and reduce and hopefully eliminate errors for pharmacies.
Express 90
The comparable Auto-Print® Express 90 Packaging System maxes out at 90 unit doses of oral solid medications per minute. Acute care, hospital and retail pharmacies appreciate the higher rate of production afforded by this piece of machinery. The Express 90 system is clocked at 50 percent faster than the standard Auto-Print®.
When speed counts the most, the Express 90 is the optimal choice in packaging systems for oral solid medications. If you are a business owner who previously owned an Auto-Print® but now wants to increase output, the Express 90 is the way to go. This packaging system increases efficiency and cost savings while maximizing output in a safe and economical manner.
Oral Solid Feeder Attachment
The Auto-Print® Oral Solid Feeder (OSF) Attachment allows bulk medication to be loaded into the feeder. This optimizes the fully automated packaging system for speed and efficiency. While optional, the feeder attachment is value-packed to offer increased accuracy and timing when filling prescriptions.
The system operates with oral solids, including tablets and capsules, being filled and sealed in sterile unit dose packages. Using the method of bulk loading medication, individual units are measured, counted, and sorted using an automated system. This eliminates the back-numbing task of hand sorting medications.
The Oral Solid Feeder will handle tablets and capsules measuring up to a half-inch in diameter. High volume runs for pharmacies and wholesale distributors are improved and optimized with the OSF attachment for the Auto-Print® oral solid packaging solution.
The oral solid feeder attachment is an accessory item for the Auto-Print® Packaging System. MPI offers additional customization for the medication packaging system that works with this OSF. This includes the Canister Feeder Attachment, which we will cover next.
Canister Feeder Attachment
The Auto-Print® Canister Feeder (CF) Attachment provides additional automation support for filling prescription unit dose packages. The canister feeder facilitates the specialized packaging using canisters. This oral solid unit dose packaging system is also modifiable with the latest in drug canister technology.
With the Auto-Print® CF Attachment, the goal is to modify an existing canister technology to work with automated packaging assemblies. This provides much more efficiency in packaging fulfillment. The attachment handles up to 60 packages in 60 seconds and supports a minimal cost per dose (CPD) for the most in economic savings.
Only those canisters with a 7cm-by-7cm canister base size will fit, but the system only needs one canister. Also, the canister feeder option is only available for the standard Auto-Print® and can be operated in canister mode or manual mode.
Oral Liquid Packaging Systems
Fluidose®
The Fluidose® Series 6 Unit Dose Packaging systems are designed as a leading solution for oral liquid packaging. This system provides unit dose cup packaging for oral liquid medication. The rate of dispensing medication is 22 doses in 60 seconds. Fluidose® supports the entire packaging and barcoding process from start to finish for oral liquids. This has newly added features and simplified operating procedures compared to its predecessor, Fluidose® Series 5H. The Fluidose® packaging system is also compliant with the FDA regulations for food contact.
Auto-Draw®
Auto-Draw® is an expert Oral Syringe Filling System that provides another method for oral liquid packaging. This is a filling system that operates using an oral syringe for accuracy in dose packaging. The semi-automatic functionality allows for filling oral slip syringes in a wide variety of sizes and viscosities. The unit dose packaging system fills to a volume of 1 mL to 50 mL. Auto-Draw® is also a compact system that comes equipped with a touchscreen interface for speed of information. The Auto-Draw® system works in conjunction with the Auto-Wrap® Syringe Labeling System for a complete packaging and labeling setup.
FD-Pharma™
The next oral liquid packaging system that is most commonly used in small pharmaceutical manufacturing and CDMO settings is the FD-Pharma™. This system is FDA compliant to solve unit dose demands for oral liquid cup packaging. Medication repacking companies and boutique pharmaceutical firms that are running on a low scale are best served with the FD-Pharma™. This is ideally designed for managing low volume production along with validation runs.
Overwrapping Systems
Pharmacy Accessory Bagging System
The Pharmacy Accessory Bagging System (PABS) assists in the final stages of the packaging process. This system provides barcoding for medication packaging. Additionally, the packaging system fills and seals up to 35 bags in 60 seconds. PABS works for ampoules, syringes, and vials for a more comprehensive overwrapping system to serve a wider range of customer demands.
Auto-Print® Max Bagger
The Auto-Print® Max Bagger is an equally as impressive overwrapping system while not quite as fast. This system works to fill 30 bags per minute using automation technology. The Max Bagger offers a substantial process of bagging and labeling medications. This overwrap packaging system includes everything needed for packaging medications, and for printing barcodes and labels on unit packages. This works with robotic drug distribution systems for a comprehensive solution to manage two standard-sized fill bags, 3 ½ by 4 inches and 5 inches square.
Labeling Systems
Auto-Wrap®
In the final stages of processing and packaging medical supplies and medication, the use of an automated labeling system is in order. Here the Auto-Wrap® is a highly responsive machine that wraps up to 20 syringes through a labeling system in 60 seconds. The time savings is estimated to be up to 2 ⅔ minutes per 25 syringes compared to manual wrapping, which shaves down total production costs.
Each syringe is expertly labeled in a single motion, reducing labeling errors and increasing productivity. The labeling solution provides an ergonomic way of labeling a large quantity of medical syringes. This reduces repetitive stress injuries and improves efficiency. The Auto-Wrap® technology reduces workplace injuries for employees involved in packaging these products.
Pharmacy Accessory Label Printer
Lastly, we have the Pharmacy Accessory Label Printer (PALP), which is an excellent addition to any acute care, hospital, and retail pharmacies or medical supply distributors. The PALP includes a commercial desktop printer and Pak-EDGE™ UD Barcode Labeling Software for the complete system. This premium equipment supports state-of-the-art barcoding and labeling technology. The compact size of PALP allows this system to be installed on a desktop.
The system is designed to print labels and barcodes for ampoules, syringes, and vials, as well as for other pharmacy accessories. Labeling parenteral medications has never been easier or more efficient. The printer has two different models that can be purchased, including Direct Thermal Label Printer and Thermal Transfer Label Printer. This system is ideal for a medical device manufacturer or health care provider interested in optimizing their processes with automation.
Choose Medical Packaging Equipment by MPI
Optimize the types of medical equipment available with the vast selection offered at MPI. Along with oral solid and oral liquid packaging systems that include overwrapping, barcoding, and labeling, these systems are backed by medical literature.
Each solution we support in our catalog of products comes with superior client and technical support. Let us help you choose the right medication packaging and labeling equipment for your needs today. Contact MPI for a quote on services and product solutions.