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

International Mother Language Day 2023

 

 International Mother Language Day February 21, 2023

International Mother Language Day aims to safeguard linguistic diversity and the unique opportunities, traditions, memory, modes of thinking and expression that lived languages preserve.

 

According to the UN, "Every two weeks a language disappears taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world."

 

Learn more about cultural diversity and International Mother Language Day 2023: https://www.un.org/en/observances/mother-language-day

 

Virginia and Oklahoma Introduce Bills Promoting Translated Prescription Labeling

 

Virginia and Oklahoma Introduce Dual-Language Prescription Labeling Bills

Virginia Delegate Elizabeth Guzmán has introduced a HB2147. The original text of the bill meant to require pharmacies to provide dual language prescription labels and direct the board to publish on their website model directions for use in five languages.  The text was amended to first direct the Board of Pharmacy to convene a work group of interested stakeholders to evaluate the feasibility of requiring translated directions on prescription labels. The Board will then report back to the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committee on Education and Health by December 1, 2023.  The amended bill was unanimously passed by the House on February 6, 2023 and moved onto the Senate. For full text and tracking visit: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+HB2147

In Oklahoma Representative Arturo Alonso-Sandoval has introduced HB2419 which instructs the Board of Pharmacy to adopt rules that pharmacies, upon request of a patient of limited English proficiency or their representative, will provide a prescription label in both English and the language requested.  The board also has the option of requiring the informational insert to be dual-language as well.  The board will  determine 14 languages to be made available based on US Census and Oklahoma Health Care Authority data.  The bill also requires pharmacies to post signage about free interpretation and translation services. For complete text and tracking: http://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=hb2419&Session=2300