How tough is the competition for consumer products? The average grocery store carries more than 39,000 products and if you sell online, that number increases exponentially. Although e-commerce gives consumers more shopping options than ever before, the digital environment is often one where smaller brands can thrive. Exposing customers to a broader range of options increases the variety of an existing product, creates opportunities to attract a wider and more diversified audience and provides current customers with additional options. Plus, because an extension to a current product line rarely requires new equipment to produce, it can increase economies of scale and lower unit costs. On the other hand, line extensions don’t come without their challenges. For example, managing a line extension can increase packaging complexity, taxing marketing and packaging teams. But, implementing steps such as multi-version labeling can simplify these challenges. Here are 4 benefits of using multi-version labeling that simplify the process.

Although sterile compounding standards have been in place for two decades, a recent ISPM study found gaps in how organizations handled and processed those drugs. With errors ranging from an incorrect dose or concentration to incorrectly labeling the CSP, only 56% of those surveyed reported that they defined and always followed SOPs.

More than 50 million people in the U.S. experience allergies each year. Although seasonal varieties make up nearly half of that total, other sensitivities, including reactions to medication, latex, food and more, can cause low blood pressure, breathing trouble, asthma attacks, and even death if not treated promptly. Preventing the risks that allergies create is challenging, especially in healthcare settings. Medical allergy alert labels are one tool care providers use to mitigate this risk.

A Johns Hopkins study suggests medical errors are the third leading cause of deaths in the U.S. The Journal of General Internal Medicine believes the number of preventable deaths are just over 22,000. Regardless of which statistic you believe is more accurate, consistently executing effective patient safety remains an ongoing challenge. And although it’s embedded into the processes and procedures of all health systems, faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health characterized patient safety improvements in hospitals as “excruciatingly slow.” But, for patient safety improvements to occur, it's essential to identify the hot spots and define improvement steps. That's the purpose of the national patient safety goals. 

Despite significant national attention, medical errors continue to affect the U.S. healthcare system. Medication-related errors consistently rank at the top of all medical errors, which account for thousands of preventable deaths annually in the United States. But despite the ongoing challenges that make these issues difficult to solve, improvement only occurs through ongoing error identification and process improvements. One organization that tackles these challenges is The Institute of Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). Recently they published their 2022 - 2023 ISMP medication best practice list.

Over the last 200 years, there are a few medical breakthroughs that have had an enormous impact on the life expectancy of people worldwide. From Joseph Lister who introduced the importance of hand washing and using antiseptics during surgery to Alexander Fleming who created penicillin, these two doctors' discoveries saved millions of lives. But there’s another doctor that deserves a spot on the Mount Rushmore of medical breakthroughs. That is Edward Jenner the “Father of Immunology.” He created the first vaccine against smallpox and his contributions led to other inoculations that protect us against life-threatening illnesses. But for providers, the medicine itself is only part of the process. Administering vaccines safely demands steps that support patient safety initiatives. Use this ultimate guide to vaccine labeling to ensure you meet those standards.

What do Toys “R” Us, Sports Authority and Blockbuster have in common? They are three respected brands that failed because they didn’t generate the profits necessary to stay in business. In fact, companies of all shapes and sizes fail. There were over 20,000 bankruptcies last year and 60% of new businesses fail within five years. Although corporations may prioritize profits more than a veterinary practice, maintaining an appropriate bottom line provides one of the greatest benefits, the ability to build an organization that represents their ideals and objectives. Although many veterinarians may consider caring for animals their top priority, a reasonable level of profits should rank high on the list. Here’s how veterinary practices can increase profitability and drive growth.

Have you ever turned on your air conditioner on the first hot day of the season only to find that it isn’t working? Whether it’s a clogged filter or components that need cleaning, routine maintenance performed at the end of the previous season would have likely identified the issues, prevented an emergency call to your HVAC service provider and averted the abnormally warm temperatures in your home. For a consumer, skipping this step results in a minor inconvenience. But for organizations like hospitals, ambulatory centers, clinics and more, the disruptions are far more troublesome. That’s why employing preventive techniques is essential to help avoid unexpected downtime and disruptions that impact care. Preventive maintenance stickers complement preventive maintenance (PM) programs by communicating important safety, inspection and equipment status information to guide and inform users.

There are over 400,000 distributors in the U.S. purchasing products from manufacturers and reselling those items to millions of end customers. Although these companies provide viable alternatives to the producer of the product, sometimes working with the actual manufacturer is a better option. If you need product labels that grab consumers’ attention, warehousing and distribution labels to safely ship, store and transport items, compliance labels to meet OSHA, TJC and other safety standards and more, here are the benefits of working with a label manufacturing company.

38,356,164¹. That’s how many lab tests are performed on average in the U.S. each day. From a common everyday complete blood count test to evaluate a patient's overall health and detect a wide range of disorders, to the rare screening for the type of bacteria that causes anthrax, laboratory tests have an immeasurable impact on diagnostic and treatment decisions. In fact, 70% of today’s medical decisions depend on laboratory test results. But when a step in the testing process gets disrupted, it can cause problems that range from a delayed diagnosis and a need to redraw a specimen, to the serious consequences of patient misidentification. Labeling specimens properly can prevent disruptions in the workflow. Use these 10 essential lab labels to help ensure proper specimen collection, transport and processing, meet Joint Commission labeling requirements and protect patients and staff.