labeling, 1. the providing of information on a drug, food, device, or cosmetic to the purchaser or user. The information may be in any one of various forms, including printing on a carton, adhesive label, package insert, and monograph. Regulations for labeling in the United States are provided by the federal Food and Drug Administration. The label must contain directions for use, unless such directions are exempted by regulation, as well as warnings or contraindications. It must not contain false or misleading information. Health Canada provides guidance for the labeling of pharmaceutical drugs for human use in Canada. 2. the assignment of a word or term to a form of behavior. It often involves describing what one observes in a client’s affect or behavior in order to highlight, clarify, or validate it. 3. the act of classifying a patient according to a diagnostic category. Labeling can be misleading because not all patients conform to defined characteristics of standard diagnostic categories. Also spelled labelling.
