Navigating Medication Adherence Packaging: A Global Glossary

We have led the medication management market for over a century with operations around the world, and we’ve heard nearly every possible term for medication adherence packaging.

Medication adherence packaging solutions play a vital role in ensuring patients take their medications correctly, reducing hospitalizations, and enhancing overall health outcomes. However, for patients and caregivers seeking these solutions, understanding the terminology can be a challenge.

Medication adherence packaging is like a calendar that organizes medications in compartments by the day and time they should be taken. It comes in many different formats with even more names. Pharmacists can organize medications in weekly packs for seven days or monthly packs for up to 32 days. Some packs are referred to as “single-dose” or “unit-dose” when they contain one medication per compartment or “multi-dose” when they contain multiple medications in each compartment. Some solutions even have connected technology to track patient usage.

Multi-dose (left) and unit-dose (right) adherence packaging.

To help patients, caregivers and pharmacists understand exactly what this packaging is and all the ways we describe it around the world, we assembled a useful glossary of terms.

This glossary represents not only our expertise, but also the unique terminology contributed by our network of partners and clients across the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond.

Whether in English or another language, the translations differ between geographies. What’s more, regions may not have a term for medication adherence packaging as we know it – but rather terminology describing containers or compartments a pharmacist fills with medication, sorted by time and day of administration.

So let’s dive in.

Common terms for medication adherence packaging:

English – Canada and the United States

• blister pack or packaging

• adherence card, pack or packaging

• compliance card, pack or packaging

• medication manager

• medication management tool

• bubble card or pack

• punch card

• dosette

English – United Kingdom

• monitored dosage system or “MDS” for short

• compliance packaging

• adherence packaging

• blister pack or packaging

• dosette

• Venalinks – People call medication adherence packaging by our brand name even when it’s not our product!

Spanish

• "sistema personalizado de dosificación" or "SPD" translating to personalized dosage system

• "blister de medicación" – medication blister or medication packaging blister

Italian

• "pillolaio" – pill dispenser

• "sistema personalizzato di somministrazione" (SPS) – personalized administration system

Portuguese

• "embalagem de dose unitária" or simply "dose unitária” – unit dose packaging

French

• "pilulier de compliance" – compliance pillbox

German

• "blisterschachtel" – blister box

• "blisterverpackung" – blister packaging. This is a more general term referring to all types of blister packs, encompassing medication adherence packaging, but also those unrelated.

The world of medication adherence packaging is as diverse as the cultures and languages it serves. From “blister packs” to “pilulier de compliance” and beyond, these complex names reflect the global effort to improve medication adherence and ultimately, patient well-being.

Regardless of the term you use, adherence packaging products have made a positive impact on the lives of both patients and caregivers.

For further insights, success stories, and the latest advancements in medication adherence solutions, we encourage you to visit our blog.