Stay Safe Rx: October Is Medication Safety Awareness for the Blind Month

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On Stay Safe Rx you will find current events and resources advocating for safe prescription labeling practices. When patients struggle to see, read or understand their prescription labels they are more likely to take the wrong medication, take it improperly, or not take it at all. Pharmacies can make prescription labels more accessible by incorporating dual-language, audible, large print, Braille, plain language, and user-friendly designs. Check out the resources in the side bar to assist your own advocacy efforts or browse through posts to see what others are working on or have achieved.

Medication errors can lead to illness, hospitalization or even death. Now imagine you can’t read your pharmacy prescription labels. If you are visually impaired, the danger of mistakes with your medication is real. Medication Safety Awareness for the Blind (MSAB) is a service project during the month of October that works to save lives.

MSAB is an initiative that spreads the word about FREE accessible prescription labels that are available throughout the country for individuals who are visually impaired. One such option is ScripTalk.

Through this program, an individual can receive a FREE talking prescription reader, or download a free mobile app that will read all their prescription label information out loud, including: drug name, dosage, instructions, instructions, warnings, pharmacy information, doctor name, prescription number and date.

This is a life-saving awareness program that can make a real difference.

More than 7.5 million individuals are considered legally blind in the United States, according to the National Federation ofthe Blind. As our population ages, this number continues to rise.

To learn more about MSAB and become an advocate, visit https://mailchi.mp/envisionamerica/msab or call 1-800-890-1180 to find a pharmacy near you that offers accessible labels.