From Arrival to Aisles: Pharmacy Support for Newcomers
The Minnesota Center of Excellence in Newcomer Health and doctors from the University of Minnesota presented a helpful overview and case study information to help pharmacists and providers address common medication challenges when caring for newcomers.
Topics include:
- The triple trauma paradigm and trauma informed care
- Building trust and understanding in western medicine practices
- Addressing potential misunderstandings though patient education
- Potential issues with as-needed medications
- Potential issues with chronic medications
- Working as a provider-pharmacy team
- Making every encounter an opportunity to educate
- Educating using prescription bottles
- Educating using pictures & videos
- Educating using teachback
- Educate using talking labels, translated labels, stickers, language line, pill boxes.
Recording
From Arrival to Aisles: Pharmacy Support for Newcomers (YouTube)
Slides
From Arrival to Aisles: Pharmacy Support for Newcomers (PDF)
ToolKit:Improving Well-Being for Refugees in Primary Care: A toolkit for Providers
https://healtorture.org/improving-well-being-for-refugees-in-primary-care-a-toolkit-for-providers/
October is Medication Label Safety Awareness Month
The overall theme this year is "Medication Labels are not one size fits all" with weekly themes emphasizing a particular kind of accessible prescription label.
- Week One (Oct 1-4): Medication labels are not one size fits all!
- Week Two (Oct 5-11): This label is too small! - Font Size Matters
- Week Three (Oct 12-18): I like texture! - Braille Labels Feel Great
- Week Four (Oct 19-15): Is this label too loud? - Adjustable Sound & Video
- Week Five (Oct 26-31): Lost in Translation? Not anymore!
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| Medication Labels Are Not One-Size-Fits-All |
Equitable Healthcare Through Language Access in Kansas
Earlier this year Alce Su Voz published "Enhancing Infrastructure for Equitable Healthcare Language Access Services in Kansas." This white paper gives insight into the current state of language access in Kansas hospitals and proposes several actions that state agencies. Its suggestions and framework on how to improve language access in Kansas serves as a model for other states as well.
Here are some of the suggestions:
- Support development of institutional language access policy and procedures
- Provide reimbursed for interpreting services that are not covered under the MCOs,
- Assess the accessibility and quality of the interpreting services funded by the MCOs
- Gather data on needs and demographics using local health departments
- Create culturally-responsive educational materials
- Promoting the availability in the community of language access services at health
- fairs and community events
- Educate healthcare providers on the unique needs of specific cultural and linguistic groups present in their region
- Oversee state Medicaid and contracted MCOs compliance with the new Section 1557 regulations including Section 1557 coordinators, information in the top fifteen languages, and providing qualified interpreters.
- Expand outreach to Medicaid enrollees about the availability of language services
- Provide financial support for interpreter training and certification
- Programs to build a statewide workforce of qualified interpreters so jobs stay local,
- Ensure language access for speakers of less common languages and dialects
Read the full white paper and learn more about Alce Su Voz, their work, and resources here:
https://alcesuvoz.com/2025/02/26/read-our-white-paper/
Thanking Your Evergreen Bill Sponsors
If you find a sponsor and your bill goes nowhere, even multiple years in a row, do not give up hope. Like an evergreen tree, your bill being introduced again and again and your efforts to talk to legislators year after year, is slowly building awareness and a culture of accessibility. The most important thing you can do is thank all your sponsors at the end of the legislative session.
What was once a novel idea slowly becomes a common place idea, and eventually will seem like something logical that should have been done a long time ago. You will get to the point where people say, "Oh, I thought that was already a law."
Getting a law passed usually requires a lot of preparatory work and several introductions. Forming relationships, educating legislators, and influencing public opinion over many months or, more often, years, is usual.
With some exceptions, most states only pass a few hundred of the thousands of bills introduced. Unless you are in a state with a high passage percentage, you probably should expect to have to try several times to make progress.
Sometimes more pressing priorities are to blame, for example, a lot of bills during COVID were put on the back burner as states rushed to pass appropriations and health safety laws. In 2025 we see a lot of states trying to shore up certain rights and appropriations that are effected by federal regulation changes.
Other times party politics are at play. A majority may simply not allow a minority sponsored bill to get to committee. Finding another sponsor may or may not be the right solution. If your sponsor is offended they could end up actively working against your bill when introduced by someone else. You might be able to find out who they work well with on the majority side or find a majority member to introduce a mirroring bill in the other chamber.
No matter what happens, relationship building is key and thanking your sponsors, regardless of outcome, is the best relationship builder you can perform! Use your thank you note to remind them of the importance of the cause and your hope that they will continue to pursue it in the following year. If there was a particularly meaningful conversation or testimony, comment on what that did for you and the cause. Make them feel good about the work they did and present opportunities for future involvement with your organization or events.
Don't forget to thank your grassroot members too! Their calls always help to build awareness and support.
Reprint of NFB Colorado Press Release
ACCESSIBLE PRESCRIPTION LABELS
THE LAW OF THE LAND IN COLORADO
The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado, through its statewide office and local chapters, is eager to work with local pharmacies to help in the implementation of Colorado's accessible prescription labels law, HB24-1115. Starting July 1, 2025, pharmacies in Colorado are required to provide patients who have difficulty seeing or reading standard labels on a prescription drug container with an accessible method to read the information on the prescription drug label free of cost to the patient.
A system called ScripTalk, available from En-Vision America, places critical prescription drug information onto an RFID label that can be read out loud, either with a talking smartphone or an easy-to-operate, dedicated reading device that reads and speaks the information on the RFID label. Compared to other systems, ScripTalk is the simplest to operate and the most universally accessible. Smartphone users find ScripTalk to provide the broadest accessibility. For example, for someone who cannot hear what is spoken, the smartphone can also send spoken information to a connected refreshable Braille display. For customers who do not use a smartphone, the same information is also available using a dedicated reading device that is available to the customer on indefinite loan. This reading device is easy to learn and use.
The ScriptAbility suite of software is the heart of the system that enables pharmacies to produce accessible labels. The suite encompasses Audible, Dual Language/Translation, Large Print, Controlled Substance Safety (CSSL) and Braille labels. It is an all-in-one interface that requires minimal setup. Contact ScriptAbility at 800-890-1180.
There is an up-front cost to pharmacies to acquire and integrate the technology that creates accessible RFID prescription labels. The Colorado Department of Health and Environment operates the Prescription Accessibility Grant Program, which can award up to $1,500 to individual pharmacies. Information is available online by searching Google for "Prescription Accessibility Grant Program." To answer additional questions about this grant program or to obtain assistance, please email Maisey Lyons de Valle at maisey.lyonsdevalle@state.co.us.
Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado stand ready to help pharmacies and their customers to make effective use of the ScripTalk system. Our blind members can contact patients and walk them through the use of the ScripTalk app or the ScripTalk reader. We also would welcome the chance to visit pharmacies throughout Colorado and offer free demonstrations to everyone who has an interest in ScripTalk.
For further information, contact me:
Jessica Beecham, President
National
Federation of the Blind of Colorado
2233 West Shepperd Avenue
Littleton, Colorado 80120
Phone: 303-778-1130, Extension 219
Email: JBBeecham@gmail.com
Outreach Ideas:
- Hand carry the flyer to our pharmacy.
- Hand carry the flyer to our doctors and dentists.
- Email the flyer to our doctors and dentists.
- Hand carry the flyer to our local Senior centers and facilities. Ask them to post it on their bulletin boards and ask to speak at any meetings at the centers to educate and explain what access to prescriptions means.
- Submit the flyer or an article based on the flyer to 55 plus community newsletters.
- Hand carry the flyer to organizations, non-profit organizations, and government programs that work with non-English speaking populations.
- Hand carry the flyer to Urgent Care facilities.
- Ask our pharmacies to let us have a table for a few hours to show off our ScripTalk and other options.
- Email the flyer to our “sighted” friends and family who may need a little more help reading the prescription labels on their medications.
- Reach out to the deafblind community about the new law and provide information about how people who are deafblind can get Braille information from the ScripTalk system even though speech is the primary way in which it provides information.
- Send the flyer to other disability advocates.
- Send the flyer to our state legislators.
- Send the flyer to independent living centers and other Assisted Living facilities.
- Send and hand carry the flyer to Immigration Assistance programs.
- Send the flyer to our city council members and mayor and ask to present at the next city council meeting.
- Bring the flyer to your church and ask for it to be distributed to all parishioners.
Texas Bill to Help Seniors with Medications
Texas's Senate Bill 2470 focuses on prescription labeling standards that would help senior citizens be able to read their prescription labels and drug information more easily. SB2470 would expect pharmacies to provide patients with low vision:
- a format accessible to the patient through a mobile internet application or assistive technology electronic device available to the patient at no cost
- labels in plain language and printed in a minimum of Times New Roman 12 point font and/or a
- large print data sheet with the label information, side effects and contraindicated medications.
The bill came forward as a result of the Texas Silver Haired Legislature's Resolution SL10. This resolution is one of their top 10 legislative priorities designed to help senior citizens in Texas. Learn more about the TSHL Legislative report in this post: https://www.staysaferx.org/2025/02/texas-silver-haired-legislatureresoluti.html
Six Talking Points on the Importance of State Laws
The Importance of State Laws
Prescription labels are a critical component of healthcare, providing essential information about medication usage, dosage, and potential side effects. However, for many individuals, these labels can be difficult to understand due to language barriers, visual impairments, or other accessibility issues. Implementing state laws to ensure accessible and translated prescription labels is crucial for several reasons.
1) Regulatory Context
It is important to note that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate the format of patient prescription labels. Instead, each state's board of pharmacy is tasked with this responsibility. This decentralized approach means that there can be significant variability in labeling standards across different states. State laws mandating accessible and translated prescription labels can help create more uniform standards, ensuring that all patients receive clear and understandable medication information regardless of where they live.
2) Enhancing Patient Safety
One of the primary reasons for state laws mandating accessible and translated prescription labels is to enhance patient safety. Misunderstanding prescription instructions can lead to medication errors, which can have serious or even fatal consequences. For instance, taking the wrong dosage or misunderstanding the frequency of medication can result in overdoses or ineffective treatment. By providing labels in multiple languages and accessible formats, patients are more likely to understand how to take their medications correctly, reducing the risk of errors.
3) Promoting Health Equity & Health Literacy
Health equity is another significant reason for implementing these laws. In a diverse society, many patients may not speak English as their first language. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 67 million people in the United States speak a language other than English at home. Without translated prescription labels, these individuals may struggle to understand their medication instructions, leading to disparities in healthcare outcomes. Health Literacy means having access to and being able to understand the information needed to make health care decisions for one's self. State laws requiring translated and accessible labels can help bridge this gap, ensuring that all patients have equal access to medication label information.
4) Supporting Vulnerable Populations
Accessible prescription labels are particularly important for vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and those with disabilities. Older adults often have multiple prescriptions and may have difficulty reading small print due to age-related vision loss. Similarly, individuals with disabilities, such as visual impairments or cognitive challenges, may find standard prescription labels difficult to read or comprehend. State laws mandating accessible formats, such as large print, braille, or audio labels, can help these individuals manage their medications more effectively and maintain their health.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
From a legal and ethical standpoint, providing accessible and translated prescription labels aligns with the principles of patient rights and informed consent. Patients have the right to understand the medications they are taking and the potential risks and benefits associated with them. Ensuring that prescription labels are accessible and understandable is a fundamental aspect of respecting patient autonomy and promoting informed decision-making. State laws can help standardize these practices, ensuring that all healthcare providers adhere to these ethical principles.
Economic Benefits
There are also economic benefits to implementing state laws for accessible and translated prescription labels. Medication errors and adverse drug events can lead to increased healthcare costs due to additional treatments, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits. By reducing the incidence of these errors through clearer and more understandable prescription labels, healthcare systems can save money and allocate resources more efficiently. Additionally, improved medication adherence resulting from better understanding of prescription instructions can lead to better health outcomes and reduced long-term healthcare costs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, state laws mandating accessible and translated prescription labels are essential for enhancing patient safety, promoting health equity, supporting vulnerable populations, and upholding legal and ethical standards. These laws can also provide economic benefits by reducing healthcare costs associated with medication errors. By ensuring that all patients have access to clear and understandable prescription information, we can create a more inclusive and effective healthcare system.
NFB of Missouri Press Release
Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri Will Convene in Jefferson City in Support of Its 2025 Legislative Priorities
Agenda Stresses the Need for Improved Accessibility
St. Louis, Missouri (February 7, 2025): On February 11 and 12 members of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri will be in Jefferson City to promote the legislative priorities of blind Missourians. “Our 2025 legislative agenda highlights the need for improved accessibility,” said Shelia Wright, President of the NFB of Missouri. Deaf/blind Missourians face unique challenges and as such require specialized help in communicating their needs with other people. We therefore urge the legislature to increase funding for the state’s Support Service Provider program so that more deaf/blind individuals can take advantage of this service. Healthcare accessibility is also important to Blind Missourians, and as such, we welcome the opportunity to work with the legislature to ensure that we have access to prescription labels that can be accessed non-visually. The third issue we bring to the legislature this year has to do with removing the requirement that the letters advising Blind Missourians of their need to re-certify for the Blind Pension not be sent through certified mail. The state of Missouri can save money on administering this program, and it would make it easier for Blind Missourians to respond to these letters.”
The Support Service Provider program currently receives a maximum of $300,000 annually through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). There are currently 80 consumers in the program who have limited service hours (13 per month at best), and more deaf/blind individuals on the waiting list who cannot receive services due to insufficient funding. With an increase to $600,000 annually, the program would be able to accept the consumers on the waiting list, provide sufficient SSP hours for consumers (average of 10 weekly), train consumers and SSP's on how to use the program, and pay for IT systems needed to manage and administer the program.
Taking medication as prescribed is an essential aspect of remaining healthy. This can only be done right if one has medication that is clearly labeled and instructions provided, and for too many blind and low-vision people, this is not currently the case. Technology is available to create prescription labels that provide audible, Braille, or large-print output to ensure that everyone knows what medications they are taking. This technology allows pharmacy staff to run the prescription bottles through a label maker to make the label accessible based on the blind persons needs. We therefore support legislation that gives guidance to pharmacies for making prescription labels accessible to enhance the health and safety of all Missourians.
We also support legislation that seeks to exclude the word "certified" from the legislation governing the Blind Pension. Many blind Missourians have experienced significant hardship due to receiving correspondence via certified mail. For this reason, the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri strongly endorses this legislation as presented.
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About the National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore, is the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind Americans. Founded in 1940, the NFB consists of affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. The NFB defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. We believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and initiatives at www.nfb.org.
CONTACT:
Randy Carmack, Public Relations Chair
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
(314) 239-2947
rcarmack@nfbmo.org
Texas Silver Haired Legislature:Resolution SL10, PRIORITY #9
The Texas state Silver-Haired Legislature was established by the Texas
legislature to assist in assessing the needs of seniors in Texas and
propose future legislation. The legislators represent each Area Agency
on Aging geographic region. The Silver-Haired Legislature develops resolutions and prioritizes them. The top ten priorities are presented to the Texas House and Senate members. In 2024
Resolution SL10 on Improving Prescription Drug Labeling was assigned
Priority #9. The text of the resolution is below. You can also read full legislative report.
Texas Silver Haired Legislature:Resolution SL10, PRIORITY #9
By: Charles Isaac, Wayne Merrill, Elgin Davis, Mary Pat Smith, John L. Johnson,
Improve Prescription Drug Labeling for Older Texans
A RESOLUTION TO: Assist visually-impaired and print-disabled older Texans by increasing the font size on prescription labels and drug data sheets.
WHEREAS, Prescription drugs significantly contribute to addressing health issues and improving life quality and expectancy. However, inadequate labeling and unreadable data sheets have led to ineffective treatment and/or harmful outcomes, particularly among the visually-impaired and print-disabled older Texans; and
WHEREAS, A Canadian study of drug labeling practices reported that legibility of medicine labels “is an issue of concern to individual pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and the pharmaceutical industry as a whole.” The study pointed out that a combination of larger print, a consistent layout, left justification, and overall lowercase lettering with uppercase lettering for numbers in the instructions gives increased accessibility to patient-critical information; and
WHEREAS, Legislation is needed to mandate increased font size on prescription labels to a minimum of 12 pt Times New Roman, to require pharmacies to provide large-print data sheets upon request, or to incorporate accessible prescription labels and instructions (including dosing, potential side-effects, and contraindicated medications) that are readable via smartphone apps or no-cost-to-customer standalone readers such as Script Talk; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 20th Texas Silver-Haired Legislature recommends that the 89th Texas legislature amends the Texas Health and Safety Code, Title VI, Subtitle A, to require accessible labeling for prescriptions provided to visually-impaired and/or print-disabled individuals in Texas.
PASSED AND APPROVED on April 5, 2024, by the Health and Human Services Committee.
PASSED AND APPROVED on May 6, 2024, by the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature
Rea Barry, Chair
Sherry Hubbard, Speaker
Patricia Gleason-Wynn, Secretary
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