Difficulty swallowing tablets is a problem for all age groups, with some patients taking potentially dangerous steps to break up and swallow their medication. Such issues can influence patient compliance, so what can medicine manufacturers do to help overcome the problem?
Dr. Thomas Hein (Senior Vice President Commercial and Regulatory Affairs at HERMES PHARMA) spoke to eyeforpharma about the issue of tablet palatability and how to make medicines easier to take. Read the article to learn:
- How widespread swallowing difficulties really are and the ad hoc methods patients use to overcome them
- The new technologies available to improve taste, mouthfeel and swallowability, such as hot melt coating, adding glucono-delta-lactone, or digitally printing tablets
- How pharma companies should start offering alternative, user-friendly dosage forms to improve patient compliance