ASHP technical assistance bulletin on single unit and unit dose packages of drugs.

Modern drug distribution systems use single unit packages to a great extent and, in fact, such packages are central to the operation of unit dose systems, intravenous admixture services, and other important aspects of pharmacy practice. These guidelines have been prepared to assist pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacists in the development and production of single unit and unit dose packages, the use of which has been shown to have substantial benefits. A single unit package is one that contains one discrete pharmaceutical dosage form, i.e., one tablet, one 2-mL volume of liquid, one 2-g mass of ointment, etc. A unit dose package is one that contains the particular dose of the drug ordered for the patient. A single unit package is also a unit dose or single dose package if it contains the particular dose of the drug ordered for the patient. A unit dose package could, for example, contain two tablets of a drug product.