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

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Richard D. Brown (D-Canal Winchester) today announced that House Bill (HB) 382 was voted favorably out of the Ohio House of Representatives. 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.

 “We are taking a crucial step in making prescription audio readers readily accessible to Ohio’s blind and visually impaired communities,” said Rep. Brown. “I am proud to see House Bill 382 pass out of the House and hope to see it move quickly through the Senate.”

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 move to the Senate.