The Critical Role of Label Adhesives in Healthcare

With the advancements made in healthcare throughout the years, the spotlight often shines on advanced diagnostic tools, groundbreaking medications, and sophisticated medical devices. Although they are all pivotal in enhancing patient care, it's the smaller, often overlooked details that can unexpectedly undermine these investments. Among these, the effectiveness of label adhesives holds surprising importance. Inadequate labels on essential healthcare items can lead to critical disruptions in patient care, potentially jeopardizing patient safety. This underscores the importance of choosing the right label adhesives. It’s a decision that, when made correctly, can safeguard against such issues and ensure uninterrupted, effective patient care.

Why Healthcare Label Adhesive Selection Is So Important

The fact is, labels are applied to hundreds of items across a healthcare facility. From small syringes and vials for medication identification to medical devices detailing maintenance information, the performance of those labels impacts patient care.

What Causes Label Adhesives to Fail in Healthcare Applications?

There are various reasons why label adhesives fail in healthcare applications. Here are a few of the most common.

Application Temperature vs. Service Temperature

Applying the label in one environment but storing or using it in a different one is a common cause of label adhesive failure. For example, consider a medication vial or IV bag. Although it is typically dispensed in a 70-degree hospital room, the items are often labeled and then placed into a 38-degree refrigerator. Using the wrong adhesive can cause labels to fall off syringes and vials. And, when multiple IV bags are stored together in a refrigerator, it can cause a label to transfer from the original bag to another one.

Labeling Plastics

In addition, the plastic contained in dispensing vials, IV bags and medication containers can create additional labeling challenges. The smoothness/roughness, porosity and flexibility of the container and outgassing, a process that occurs when plastic is exposed to heat or sunlight, can all cause labels to peel or fall off.

Chemical Exposure

From low-level disinfection for noncritical patient-care surfaces to sanitizing high-level medical devices, healthcare organizations use cleansers to minimize the presence of bacteria. Label materials not designed for chemical exposure will cause it to detach from the item or deface, making the information unreadable.

Moisture and Humidity

Similar to chemicals, moisture can cause a label to detach or deface if you don’t choose the proper adhesive. The same is true for high humidity. For example, labels applied to items stored in a non-climate controlled warehouse, where humidity can spike during certain times of the year, are likely to fail.

Abrasions and Excessive Handling

Medical carts store items necessary to treat emergencies. The items stored on and transported on the cart are handled frequently and often bump against other items in the cart. The abrasions that occur from those contacts and the excessive handling of the items can cause a label without the proper adhesive to fail.

Shelf Life

Although labels don’t spoil like food, their failure rate increases if materials remain in storage for too long. Consult your label provider to understand the potential longevity constraints for the materials you use.

Shape

Small Test tubes and small medicine vials need a material that can handle tight mandrels. Labeling a tube with a very small diameter presents a unique challenge, primarily due to the tight curvature of the surface. When a label is applied to a narrow tube, the tension created by the tight mandrel—the core around which the label is wrapped—can cause the label to resist conforming fully to the curved surface. This resistance may lead the label to unravel or lift, as it attempts to return to its flat, natural position.

Additionally, the smaller the diameter of the tube, the greater the difficulty in achieving a smooth, even application without wrinkles or air bubbles. The curvature can also strain the adhesive properties of the label, especially if it wasn't designed for high-tension applications. Although some labels perform properly under these conditions, it pays to do your research and work with companies that understand your applications and workflows.

UALs anesthesia paper labels and medication instruction labels are produced using materials designed to work effectively on tubes and vials with tight mandrels.

Five High-Risk Healthcare Label Adhesive Applications

Here are five high-risk healthcare applications that require special attention.

1) Medication Dispensing

Whether medications are prepared at the bedside or in the pharmacy, require refrigeration, or are injected into an IV line, labels inform and help guide proper medication dispensing. But not if the label falls off in transit, accidentally transfers to another IV bag, or crinkles making the information unreadable.

2) Specimen Collection

Specimens inform the care team's understanding of the patient allowing them to confirm a diagnosis and build a treatment plan. The label applied to a specimen guides that process, but not when it detaches from a container. This commonly occurs for two reasons:

During transportation - when processed internally through a pneumatic tube or when it’s transported in a bio bag. An adhesive that isn’t suitable to the conditions the specimen is subjected to may fail.

In addition, changing the type of test tube or vial may cause labels to fail. For example, a label that worked perfectly on a test tube before may not work properly on a new version that contains a different plastic composition.

3) Biomedical And Clinical Engineering

Medical imaging machines, treatment equipment, life support equipment, medical monitors, and more, require ongoing inspection, maintenance and calibration. The timing and results of those steps are often recorded on the equipment by way of a label. But medical devices require a multipurpose label that:

• Adheres to the surface of the equipment
• Stands up to cleaners
• Resists tampering
• Is waterproof

Label face stocks and adhesives that don’t meet these specifications fall off and obscure information which can hide important details.

In addition, many medical devices use a textured type of finish. Although this looks aesthetically pleasing, it creates two challenges. For a label to stay secure on the device, it requires special label materials and adhesives. And, because the textures and raised print on the device can trap bacteria and germs, it requires extra staff diligence to prevent the spread of infections.

UAL designs biomedical and clinical engineering labels with these challenges in mind. 

4) Sterilization And Disinfection

Sterilization and disinfection are critical to infection prevention. But, depending on the medical devices, choosing a method of disinfection remains difficult. However, for items such as surgical instruments, implantable medical devices, and more, there are steps that ensure the item is cleaned and disinfected properly.

Autoclave labels provide visual evidence that an item is ready for use. The label remains adhered to the item during the sterilization process.

5) Infection Prevention

For staff, visitors and patients, signs and labels that encourage hand washing and other precautions are common infection prevention deterrent tactics. But, when signs are applied in prominent germ locations, like patient bathrooms, the signs can become the germ magnet.

The appropriate adhesive option for this application differs from the others. It requires a repositionable adhesive that allows cleaning crews to clean the sign, remove it, clean the entire area properly and reapply the sign. This helps to keep the area as germ-free as possible.

United Ad Label

There are hundreds of companies that sell labels but very few understand the complexities of label materials, adhesives and your unique healthcare applications. UAL’s label and healthcare knowledge help to ensure that the products required throughout your organization work properly. And, we’re so confident in their performance, that if you don’t like the product for any reason, you can return it within 60 days, no questions asked. Browse our catalog or speak to our customer service team to learn more.