Bill Improving Medication Safety for Individuals with Visual Impairments Voted Out of Committee

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Richard D. Brown (D-Canal Winchester) today announced that House Bill (HB) 382 was voted favorably out of the House Insurance Committee. The bill would require retail and mail-order pharmacies to provide prescription readers to ensure blind and visually impaired individuals can safely access critical information about their medications. 

“People with visual impairments or who are blind can face significant challenges in safely managing their prescription medication and run the risk of at-home medication errors,” said Rep. Brown. “Having prescription audio readers readily accessible is a cost-effective solution that can help improve medication safety, promote independence, and enhance our state’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

Additionally, this legislation will:

• Require retail pharmacies to notify an individual that a prescription audio reader is available at the time of prescription purchase if the retail pharmacy has reason to believe that the purchaser is blind or visually impaired or is purchasing the drug for someone else who is blind or visually impaired;
• Require mail-order pharmacy to provide this notification to all purchasers; and,
• Require that health benefit plans and Medicaid programs provide coverage for prescription audio readers that are provided by a licensed terminal distributor of dangerous drugs.

House Bill 382 will now be considered for House passage.