[Nfbwv-talk] FW: [leadership] ALERT! ALERT! Accessible Prescription Drug LabelingBill to be Introduced in House

[Koch, Sheri L]

ACB is proposing this bill for accessible prescription bottles; see
below. 

 

Sheri Koch, MS, CRC 

WVDRS 

Program Supervisor 

Blind & Visually Impaired Services

McJunkin Rd.

Nitro, WV  25143

sheri.l.koch at wv.gov 

Phone:    (304) 760-7178

FAX:  (304) 759-2274

 

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From: Sharon Fridley [mailto:sharon.fridley at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 1:23 PM
To: Douglas, Michelle L
Cc: Koch, Sheri L
Subject: FW: [leadership] ALERT! ALERT! Accessible Prescription Drug
LabelingBill to be Introduced in House

 

 

 

Sharon Fridley

 

When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall
lift up a standard against him.  Isaiah 59:19

 

From: donna brown [mailto:dandmbrown at atlanticbb.net] 
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2012 9:32 PM
To: wayne dillon; vratcliffe01 at comcast.net; terry dupke; Sharon Fridley;
sam mowery; pat.sheehan1 at verizon.net; ninetta garner; mucie allred;
michele hartley; mary gibson; Mary Ellen Zeppuhar; linda yost; kim
klineman; kathygerhardt at wildblue.net; kathy39lg at aol.com; karen swauger;
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carlos mccormick; C Workman; annis householder; anita bennett; A. C.
McGhee; dennis dennison
Subject: Fw: [leadership] ALERT! ALERT! Accessible Prescription Drug
LabelingBill to be Introduced in House

 

 

I am very pleased to announce that on Monday Representative Ed Markey
(D-MA) will introduce H.R. 4087, Accessible Prescription Drug Labeling
Promotion Act of 2012! 

 

 

 Under H.R. 4087,  representatives of consumers and pharmacies and
federal regulators will convene a working group. This group will
establish "best practices" for pharmacies to ensure that people who are
blind or visually impaired have access to prescription drug labeling. In
other words, the group's recommendations would provide guidance to
pharmacists on actions they can take to ensure that the blind or
visually impaired understand the information on their prescription and
they can access this information independently. The guidelines should
provide pharmacies a range of options they can choose to offer
consumers,. Many of these options are low-cost, widely-available, and
compatible with equipment already in pharmacies. 

 

The working group would consider options including:

*	Enhanced visual aids such as large-print font, sans-serif font,
and high-contrast printing 
*	Non-visual aids such as braille 
*	Auditory aids such as digital voice recorders attached to pill
bottles, "talking bottles" that provide audible label information, and
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags or auxiliary smart labels,
which are programmed, printed, and affixed to a prescription label
container by a pharmacist. These labels can then be accessed by the
consumer privately and independently, using a hand-held device that
reads out the label information. 

 

After pharmacies have had  the opportunity to implement the guidelines,
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will review the degree to
which pharmacies are in compliance. They will examine whether the blind
or visually impaired still lack safe and independent access to
prescription drug labeling and issue a report to Congress on the
remaining gaps and the scope of the problem. 

 

As you can imagine, this issue will be covered at length during the
Legislative Seminar. Our sincere thanks go to Rep. Markey and his staff
for championing this issue. 

 

Eric  

 

 

Eric Bridges

Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs

American Council of the Blind

2200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 650

Arlington, VA 22201

202-467-5081

ebridges at acb.org

www.acb.org

Follow us on Twitter @acbnational

 

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