Note
Delivery of Medicines That Require Cold Storage to Patient Homes and Appropriate Temperature Control
2024 Volume 26 Issue 3 Pages 158-165
Details
2024 Volume 26 Issue 3 Pages 158-165
Objective: Pharmacists deliver medicines that require refrigeration directly to patients’ homes for home medical care or due to supply shortages. However, there are no investigations into the delivery of medicines under appropriate temperature control. Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire survey regarding the delivery of cold-stored pharmaceuticals and considered packaging methods for medicines that would enable appropriate temperature control based on the results.
Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted at 86 pharmacies between January 25 and March 31, 2019. Subsequently, we measured the surface temperature of the medicine (InnoLet® 30R Injection) using a cold bag and ice pack.
Results: We received responses from 79 pharmacies. The questionnaire survey revealed that 44% (35 pharmacies) delivered medicines needing refrigeration directly to patients’ homes, and of those, 43% (15 pharmacies) expressing concerns about temperature control during delivery. Additionally, based on a reproduction experiment using the packaging method confirmed in the questionnaire survey (using a cold bag, 0 to 4 ice packs, and an outside temperature of 28℃), the lowest storage temperature (mean±SD) of InnoLet® was 18.8±0.3℃ for zero ice packs, 18.0±0.3℃ for one ice pack, 12.7±0.1℃ for two ice packs, and −0.2±0.3℃ for four ice packs. Thus, the storage temperature of InnoLet® was outside the range of 2-8℃. Therefore, we improved the packaging method to maintain the proper storage temperature by using bubble wrap and paper wiper (Kim Towels®) in 10-45℃ weather conditions.
Conclusion: In this study, we discovered the packaging method of medicines to maintain the proper storage temperature (2-8℃) in 10-45℃ weather conditions. Applying the temperature-based packaging method studied in this paper to actual pharmacy operations will ensure the quality of pharmaceuticals that require refrigeration, contribute to ensuring their efficacy and safety, and help ensure delivery. This is expected to alleviate pharmacists’ concerns regarding temperature control of medicines.
