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Get to know the pharmaceutical cold chain, its value in public health and safety, and how the key players can uphold best practices to benefit their organization and, more importantly, their consumers.
Published 13 Sep 2023
Pharmaceutical cold chain management is a complex process that involves various tasks aimed at controlling the temperature and related environmental conditions of medications and other pharmacological products through the entire supply chain, from manufacturing and storage to transportation and distribution. Aside from strategizing processes, manufacturers, distributors, and healthcare providers would benefit from technological innovations to preserve the quality and integrity of these products and, consequently, ensure the safety of the consumers in need.
Most pharmaceuticals are temperature-sensitive. Insulin and vaccines lose effectiveness in extreme cold, while antibiotics like Benzylpenicillin and Flucloxacillin degrade when warmed for too long. Worse than the lowered potency, certain medications, chemicals, and biological products (e.g., blood and tissue) may be harmful when exposed to unsuitable environments.
Because of the grave consequences resulting from refrigeration errors, delivery delays, or any other disruptions, government and industry leaders set strict regulations for companies to follow. Constant monitoring, prompt issue resolution, and complete documentation are all required of companies involved in the cold supply chain. Any form of oversight will be dealt with harshly.
Consistency and reliability are sure-fire ways to gain consumer trust. Adopting the best practices in every aspect of the cold chain operation and following the trends in the industry ensure this. Ultimately, these actions enhance the company’s reputation and give them a competitive edge over other businesses.
Knowing the internal and external stakeholders in the pharmaceutical supply chain helps companies understand their role and what they need to do to protect a particular product’s integrity at every step of the process.
Companies that operate within the cold chain management in the pharmaceutical industry face complex challenges. Organizations must meet these possible predicaments head-on because the health and safety of consumers are at stake.
Because protecting the public is the main goal of the pharmaceutical industry, companies should be able to demonstrate their commitment to people’s health, safety, and overall well-being. Accomplishing this feat is challenging. However, this is achievable through these sensible strategies:
The most crucial task in the entire cold chain is monitoring the temperature of the entire system from end to end, ensuring that it is within the proper range. Any aberrations must be reported and assessed on the spot. Here are some recommendations for better monitoring:
Utilize advanced sensor technology to monitor assets, automate vital alerts, implement actions, and report urgent issues.
After real-time monitoring, this is one of the most dependable processes that safeguard any company’s bottom line. Risk assessments enable businesses to identify potential hazards and vulnerable points in the cold chain that could compromise the safety and quality of the products. Listed below are a few tips on how to conduct this:
Eliminate manual tasks and streamline your operations.
Everyone involved in cold chain management (pharmaceuticals, biologics, etc.) should know the significance of their job and its impact on their end users. This can be accomplished through regular refresher training, continuous learning, and evaluating them to guarantee adequate learning.
It is quite rare to find a company that covers the entire cold chain management. More often than not, tasks are divided among different stakeholders (e.g., manufacturers, wholesalers, logistics providers, healthcare facilities). When various key players are working towards one goal, collaboration is a must. Here are some of the best practices to ensure a good working partnership.
The pharmaceutical cold chain is a vital component in the healthcare industry, ensuring the integrity and efficacy of temperature-sensitive medical products. Maintaining the appropriate temperature range throughout the supply chain requires more than just skill and the right equipment. It also takes dedication from every member of the team. With SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor), maintaining the precise temperature throughout the cold chain is guaranteed.
Eunice Arcilla Caburao
Eunice is a content contributor for SafetyCulture. A registered nurse, theater stage manager, Ultimate Frisbee athlete, and mother, Eunice has written a multitude of topics for over a decade now.
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