Accessibility will be one of the themes of the 2022 National Public Health Week.  Each daily theme focuses on the inter-connectivity of the people and world around us.  Improving the health of the many begins with improving the systems we have created and the earth we live on.

 

According to the American Public Health Association 26% of the population of the United States (61.4 million adults) live with a disability. Disability is especially common in tribal communities, where 2 in 5 non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives live with a disability.  

 

Because of cost, over 37% of adults with disabilities have been unable to access primary and regular preventive care. Delayed care puts adults living with disabilities at greater risk to have other health issues like heart disease (11.5% versus 3.8% of adults without disabilities) and diabetes (16.3% versus 7.2%). Access to care is also affected by access to health insurance. In 2020, 28 million people in the U.S. lacked any type of health insurance."

National Public Health Week 2022 Themes

Racism: A Public Health Crisis (Monday)

Public Health Workforce: Essential to our Future (Tuesday)

Community: Collaboration and Resilience (Wednesday)

World Health Day: Health is a Human Right (Thursday)

Accessibility: Closing the Health Equity Gap (Friday)

Climate Change: Taking Action for Equity (Saturday)

Mental Wellness: Redefining the Meaning of Health (Sunday)

 

‘Empowering for patients’: Washington bill would require pharmacies to translate prescription information

  

By Amber D. Dodd

A bill that would require pharmacies across Washington to translate medical information, such as prescription bottle directions, passed out of committee this week and is awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.

The bill was crafted by medical students at the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. 

Aditha Vegaraju, Domeg Moore, Fatima Elwalid, Carmen Abbe, Bailey Hall and Aivi Tran spearheaded the research and writing of the bill. They are members of the Language Access Team from the regional chapter of Health Equity Circle, a student nonprofit with chapters in Spokane, Seattle, Portland, Denver and Laramie, Wyoming.

The goal of the bill is to “reduce harmful and costly medication errors” by requiring Washington pharmacies print prescription container labels in both English and “readable language for patients with limited English proficiency.”

In their proposed model, the vial will contain the standard information of the medicine’s name, directions of use and expiration dates.

After research and discussion with local organizations, the medical students drafted the bill in late August. Discussions with Atia Iqbal, an Afghan refugee and a coordinator at Refugee Connections Spokane, helped the team identify the cultural importance of passing the bill.

“She talked about how many women come to her, asking for help to translate prescriptions because they can’t ask the men in their family since it’s personally sensitive with medications,” Vegaraju said. “This is not only an issue for people who don’t speak English well but an issue based around gender equity.”

While it’s not uncommon for an interpreter to be on hand during a medical appointment to help a non-English-speaking patient communicate with a doctor, that help only goes so far. 

“A patient may have an interpreter at the visit but once that visit ends the interpretation and understanding ends with them,” Elwalid said. “All their pharmacy interactions, their after-visit summaries, the medications they would take home, would all be in English, which would still be a big barrier for the continuity of care for our patients.”

According to the Institute of Medicine, over 90 million Americans misunderstand drug labels or have trouble following the directions. Medication errors are responsible for 1 of out 5 emergency room visits, with an average cost of $10,000. Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety, a medical journal that examines the culture and methods of pharmacy practices, cites the total cost of the preventable visits at $1.2 million. For those with limited English proficiency, the rate of medication errors is twice as high.

Read More:  https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/feb/14/empowering-for-patients-washington-bill-would-requ/