Florida Board of Pharmacy Adds Procedure Manual Requirement for Fully Informing Visually Impaired Patients

 Board Seal

UPDATE:  The 64B16—28.108 rule revision went into effect on July 18, 2023.
 
On April 13, 2023 the Florida Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously to revise code 64B16—28.108 regarding Labels and Labeling of Medicinal Drugs to require pharmacies to include how they will accommodate blind and visually impaired patients as part of their policy and procedures manual. 
 
The additional language was drafted by the Board's Counsel in response to a request by the National Federation of the Blind of Florida to consider rulemaking to require accessible prescription labels.
 
The board determined that to really create specific requirements, they need a legislative change.  If they attempted to create rules exacting specific requirements the financial report phase would probably take longer than if legislation was passed.  Still, they expressed an understanding of the need for pharmacies to accommodate their blind and visually impaired patients and added the clause to remind pharmacies to have a policy in place:  

64B16—28.108 All Permits – Labels and Labeling of Medicinal Drugs.
Each container of medicinal drugs dispensed shall have a label or shall be accompanied by labeling. Every pharmacy that dispenses a medicinal drug to a patient or agent of the patient shall ensure that the pharmacy’s policy and procedures manual covers dispensing to the blind or visually impaired. The manual must make certain to address that those with visual  impairments are fully informed of all the information required to be part of the label or labeling
 
Listen to the conversations and read more at: 
 
 
 



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Maryland Passes Accessible Labeling Legislation

 

Due to the hardwork of Delegate Michele Guyton, Senator Anthony Muse and the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland an accessible prescription labeling bill has passed and is on it's way to the Governor. In committee hearings, members of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland provided descriptive and moving testimony detailing the struggles and dangers of managing medications with vision loss.

This bill directs the state Board of Pharmacy to adopt regulations necessary to ensure that individuals who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print impaired have appropriate access to prescription labels, bag tags, and medical guides (patient education information).  The law goes into effect in October 2023, and the Board of Pharmacy must complete the regulations by January 1, 2025.  

The regulations must include:

  • accommodations are at no additional cost to the individual
  • in a format fully accessible to the patient
  • provided in a time frame comparable to which the information is provided to other patients who are not visually impaired
  • the best practices for accessible labels previously published by the Government Accountability office in 2016
  • a method for notifying customers that accessible prescription labels are available

 For full information on this bill visit: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB0456?ys=2023RS


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