Advances in Mental Health

Treating certain medical conditions often requires more than just taking medication. There are specific medical products that are sometimes combined for certain types of treatment. These are referred to as drug combination products. They can include medication and a medical device, a medical biologic product and a medical device, a medication and a medical biologic product or a combination of all three, a medication, a medical device, and a medical biologic product. These are some of the different types of drug combination products.

Single Packaging Combinations

This is often one of the most common types of drug combination products used today. In a single packaging combination, the needed medication or biologic is applied to a device or other administration product and sold as a single item. Examples of this include insulin that has been put into a syringe to be injected under the skin of the patient, medication that has been applied to an adhesive patch that is worn on the skin to be absorbed into the body, or medication that has been put into an inhaler to be inhaled into the lungs of the patient.

Separate Products That Are Packaged Together

This type of drug combination product is commonly used in hospitals or other health care facilities. This is especially true for those facilities that may have certain procedures performed by physicians or other medical staff. An example of this type of drug combination product includes a surgical tray that is packaged with surgical tools, drapes, and numbing medications.

Separately Packaged Products That Are Designed to Be Used Together

These drug combination products are almost always used in hospitals, medical treatment centers, or other facilities that provide more advanced services. With this combination, there will be a medication, a medical biologic product or medical device that is meant to be used with another medication, a medical biologic product, or a medical device to achieve a specific type of treatment for a specific patient. 

However, the dose of the medication, the strength of the medication, and the method of administration may be adjusted depending upon the individual patient and how severe the health condition is. The label on the products being used must reflect this information to ensure the patient gets the proper, intended treatment. Examples of this would be chemotherapy treatments being given to a cancer patient or a patient with a certain condition taking part in a medical trial for a new medication that has not yet been approved for treating that condition.

Drug combination products are basically treatments that require the combination of medications, biologic products, or medical devices with other medications, biologic products or medical devices to be used together to ensure the patient receives the proper treatment for specific health conditions. They are not stand-alone products. Without the combination of two or more products, the patient could not receive adequate treatment.