{"id":4064,"date":"2026-02-25T08:25:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T07:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iph-multisite.berta-bewegt.ch\/?page_id=4064"},"modified":"2026-02-25T08:25:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T07:25:45","slug":"medikamentenpackungen","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicine packaging"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The quantity of\nmedicinal products that are thrown away is a recurring topic of discussion, as\nare calls for the pharmaceutical industry to produce smaller packs. However,\nthere is a fundamental misunderstanding underlying this issue. The main reason\nwhy medicines are thrown away is lack of adherence to therapy and not the size\nof packs that medicines are sold in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Authorities require packs appropriate for therapy<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The regulatory\nauthority Swissmedic and the Federal Office of Public Health already require\npharmaceutical manufacturers to supply medicines in small packs appropriate for\ntherapy. Manufacturers need to register both large and small packs when\nrequesting inclusion in the List of pharmaceutical specialities. The\ntherapeutic success of long-term treatment can be monitored by using small\npacks of medicine. Other than that, it is primarily the responsibility of\ndoctors and pharmacists to prescribe and dispense the size of pack appropriate\nfor the patient. Larger packs are often more economical and generate lower\ncosts in terms of medical care and invoicing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Poor therapy adherence leads to high costs later on<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The fact that\nmedicines are not taken and are then thrown away is indeed a major problem. It\nis known that lack of adherence to therapy (non-compliance) causes major costs\nin the health system and to the economy. According to the World Health\nOrganization (WHO), only around 50 percent of patients with chronic disorders\nwho live in developed countries follow their doctor\u2019s therapy recommendations.\nSince this often results in failure of the therapy, the subsequent costs are\nhigh, especially for avoidable hospitalisation and nursing care, additional\nconsultations with doctors or emergency admissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reducing the risk of mix-ups<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Medicine packs\nare a major topic in the safety of medicines too. The risk that one medicinal\nproduct could be mistaken for another represents a safety problem. The cause of\nthis confusion could be the product name, the labelling or design of the outer\n(secondary) packaging, or also the inner (primary) packaging. This can have\nserious consequences for dispensing and use. The pharmaceutical industry and\nthe responsible partners in hospitals and in the outpatient setting are making\nan ongoing effort to find ways of eliminating the risk of mix-ups as far as\npossible in everyday clinical practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The quantity of medicinal products that are thrown away is a recurring topic of discussion, as are calls for the pharmaceutical industry to produce smaller packs. However, there is a fundamental misunderstanding underlying this issue. The main reason why medicines are thrown away is lack of adherence to therapy and not the size of packs [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4130,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/unterthema.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4064","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Medicine packaging - Interpharma<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Medicine packaging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The quantity of medicinal products that are thrown away is a recurring topic of discussion, as are calls for the pharmaceutical industry to produce smaller packs. However, there is a fundamental misunderstanding underlying this issue. The main reason why medicines are thrown away is lack of adherence to therapy and not the size of packs [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Interpharma\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-25T07:25:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@interpharma_ch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/\",\"name\":\"Medicine packaging - Interpharma\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-25T07:25:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-25T07:25:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Our topics\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Putting the focus on patients\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Medicinal product safety\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Medicine packaging\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/\",\"name\":\"Interpharma\",\"description\":\"Verband der forschenden Pharmazeutischen Firmen\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Interpharma\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/interpharma.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20251014_iph_logo_wort_bildmarke_rgb_final_cu01.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/interpharma.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20251014_iph_logo_wort_bildmarke_rgb_final_cu01.svg\",\"width\":\"1200\",\"height\":\"1200\",\"caption\":\"Interpharma\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/interpharma_ch\",\"https:\/\/ch.linkedin.com\/company\/interpharma\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/interpharma_ch\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Medicine packaging - Interpharma","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Medicine packaging","og_description":"The quantity of medicinal products that are thrown away is a recurring topic of discussion, as are calls for the pharmaceutical industry to produce smaller packs. However, there is a fundamental misunderstanding underlying this issue. The main reason why medicines are thrown away is lack of adherence to therapy and not the size of packs [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/","og_site_name":"Interpharma","article_modified_time":"2026-02-25T07:25:45+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@interpharma_ch","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/","url":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/","name":"Medicine packaging - Interpharma","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-02-25T07:25:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-25T07:25:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/medikamentenpackungen\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Our topics","item":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Putting the focus on patients","item":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Medicinal product safety","item":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/themen\/der-patient-im-mittelpunkt\/arzneimittelsicherheit\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Medicine packaging"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/","name":"Interpharma","description":"Verband der forschenden Pharmazeutischen Firmen","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#organization","name":"Interpharma","url":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/interpharma.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20251014_iph_logo_wort_bildmarke_rgb_final_cu01.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/interpharma.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20251014_iph_logo_wort_bildmarke_rgb_final_cu01.svg","width":"1200","height":"1200","caption":"Interpharma"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/interpharma_ch","https:\/\/ch.linkedin.com\/company\/interpharma","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/interpharma_ch\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4065,"href":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4064\/revisions\/4065"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.interpharma.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}