[NFBOH-Cleveland] HB 214 THE ACCESSIBLE PRESCRIPTION BILL

Sat Nov 16 21:14:46 UTC 2019

THE ACCESSIBLE PRESCRIPTION BILL

Over half a million blind, low-vision, and print-disabled Ohioans are unable
to read FDA-mandated prescription labels and prescription information
sheets. The counseling provided by pharmacists at the window does not give
the access to information needed at home by low-vision and blind consumers
to manage their medications safely and independently as sighted people do by
reading their prescription label information when they are in doubt. All
consumers need access to the dosage, instructions, side-effects,
contra-indications, and emergency/refill phone numbers provided by the legal
label.  Requiring the provision of accessible prescription labels would
reduce the detrimental health consequences of medication errors and improve
the safety and medication adherence of those with vision loss and print
disabilities.

We ask you to support legislation that will require pharmacies to provide an
accessible label to convey the information already required by law to be
affixed to the container in which a dangerous drug is dispensed for a
patient who is blind, low-vision, or otherwise print-disabled. The
information to be conveyed audibly shall include any information required by
federal and state laws, drug interactions, contra-indications, and side
effects. 

For more than 25 years, since the Americans with Disabilities Act went into
effect, pharmacies have had the option to offer accessible labels as a
voluntary accommodation to the blind and print-disabled. However, none
provided them voluntarily.  It did not begin to happen until various blind
organizations requested structured negotiation to bring about compliance
with the federal law. Even those pharmacies that do provide it often
maintain a culture of non-compliance by not educating their pharmacists and
not openly telling patients that the accommodation is available.

Several options are available to provide accessible prescription labels.
Pharmacies are free to choose and develop any option that complies with the
law. The US Access Board best practices were specifically designed to assist
pharmacies in developing solutions to the accessibility issue. The ADA
specifically states that consumers can specify their preferred format of
accommodation to assist the pharmacist in determining the most effective
means of communicating the required information. These formats can include
audible, large print, or Braille.

Assuring equal access to services and information is a cost of doing
business, and provision of such should not be determined based on the
profitability of providing the accommodation.  Pharmacies did not consider
the cost per prescription when they provided male and female bathrooms, made
sidewalks and doorways wheelchair accessible, posted handicapped parking
signs, or paid for overhead lighting so that sighted people can see products
better.  These were all assumed to be part of the cost of doing business,
and this accommodation is a similar cost.  This legislation will not place
an undue burden on any pharmacy since a variety of solutions and price
points are available.

Available Options to Pharmacies:

Walgreens Talking Pill Reminder

<https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-talking-pill-reminder/ID=prod62
11860-product>
https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-talking-pill-reminder/ID=prod621
1860-product

Average retail cost online is $10, which means the pharmacy cost before
mark-up is probably less than half that. 

Optiphonic by AccessAMed.  Pharmacy pricing was not available online, but a
Home Starter Kit was advertised. Each Digital Audio Label will record a
60-second message and can be re-recorded as many times as the battery lasts,
which is a minimum of 400 message repeats. The Home Starter Kit includes
Docking Station with Text-to-Speech Software, the USB Cable, and 10 Digital
Audio Labels.  Price: $125.

WayAround is not designed specifically for the pharmacy application, but for
those not familiar with RFID tags, you can compare this with ScripTalk tags.
Tags are approximately $1 each, and consumers would be able to read it only
with a smartphone. Pharmacies would need a dedicated smart device to program
labels.  <https://www.wayaround.com/shop/> https://www.wayaround.com/shop/

ScriptAbility by En-Vision America provides general cost information for
pharmacies. They have tiered pricing, which is designed to give the greatest
discounts to pharmacies willing to provide the service at any location upon
request, right where the patient needs it most, close to home. That would
mean that mail order and pharmacies using a central-fill model would pay
more.  They have purchase and lease options available. En-Vision America
also has a Braille printer available for producing labels for deaf/blind
patients.  En-Vision America provides ScripTalk RFID readers at no cost to
the patient that needs one.  Their tags can also be read using a smartphone
app.  Though every pharmacy's needs are different, here are some general
cost estimates for pharmacies choosing to lease the equipment:

Lease Option: ($200/year + cost of labels)

$200/year for ScriptAbility software & support, ScripTalk programmer and
ScriptView printer.  

$500 for a roll of 250 ScripTalk RFID labels  

$110 for ScriptView starter kit with labels, clips, and bands (enough for
approximately 300 large-print labels). 

Obviously how long those supplies last will be based on the number of
consumers needing the service and the number of prescriptions they each
have.  It is not uncommon to see a blind individual with 5-20 prescriptions.
(Imagine managing 20 prescriptions without print!)  Pharmacies can opt out
of having one of the printer/programmers, which will mean that they are
providing an audible label only, but the lease rate will stay the same. That
ends up being $16.60 per month for the lease, just slightly more than a
subscription to Amazon Prime, plus the cost of the labels.  

Provide safety to blind, low-vision, and print-disabled Ohioans. 

Cosponsor the Accessible Prescription  Bill. Contact Mike Leiterman,
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Legislative co-chair at
540-656-0597 or email leitlaw at hotmail.com.

Let's get those letters in!

Suzanne Hartfield-Turner, President

NFBOH-Cleveland Chapter

C: (216) 990-6199

P: (641) 715-3900

Ex: 582705

A: PO Box 141077

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

E: President.NFB.ClevelandOhio at Gmail.com
<mailto:President.NFB.ClevelandOhio at Gmail.com> 

Please visit and take a moment to like our Facebook Page!

https://m.facebook.com/NationalFederationOfTheBlindOfOhioClevelandChapter/ 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

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