Talking labels: the pharmacy has 30 days to provide them if you cannot see

It is the law requiring retail pharmacies in Puerto Rico to offer talking labels to their blind or partially visually impaired patients. The statement of motives explains the problem it solves: blind people have no immediate way to know the content of their medicine labels and usually depend on a relative or pharmacy employee to read the instructions; those without that support make errors such as mixing contraindicated medicines, taking the wrong dose, or not knowing the reorder or expiration date. The technology allows programming an electronic label with the medicine name, dose, instructions, warnings, pharmacy information, physician name, prescription number and date, and reading it aloud — even in different languages — through a mobile app or electronic device.

Blind patients or those with partial visual impairment, as reflected in the electronic pharmacy record, who receive medicines prescribed by a licensed physician and dispensed by a retail pharmacy established in Puerto Rico. The request may be made by the person themselves or by someone they authorize to pick up the medicine.

• Being a blind patient or one with partial visual impairment, as reflected in the pharmacy’s electronic pharmacy record.Verified against the official source
• That the medicine was prescribed by a licensed physician and is dispensed at a retail pharmacy.Verified against the official source
• Requesting the service in writing, personally or through a person authorized to pick up the medicine.Verified against the official source

• The request form the pharmacy is required to provide you to facilitate asking for the service.
• A dated copy of your written request: the 30-day term runs from the date of the request.

1. 1

   Step 1: Make sure the pharmacy has your condition on record

   The pharmacy’s duty is triggered when it serves a blind patient or one with partial visual impairment "as reflected in the electronic pharmacy record". That detail decides whether it applies to you: if your condition is not in the pharmacy’s record, ask them to register it before or at the same time you request the service.

2. 2

   Step 2: Ask for the form and request in writing

   The law requires the request to be in writing: the blind or visually impaired person who goes to the pharmacy to obtain prescribed medicines must request the talking label service in writing, either personally or through a person they authorize to pick up the medicine. And the pharmacy cannot leave you without a route: it is required to provide you a form designed to facilitate requesting the service.

3. 3

   Step 3: Count the 30 days from the request date

   Once requested by the patient, the pharmacy has a term of thirty (30) days, counted from the date of the request, to obtain the pertinent equipment and extend the service. That is why keeping a dated copy of what you submitted matters: that paper is what starts the clock.

4. 4

   Step 4: Accept that the pharmacy chooses the technology

   Article 4 leaves the pharmacy the discretion to select, contract or develop the existing product or technology it deems pertinent, as long as it is compatible with its operating system and covers your information need, and as long as the letter and spirit of the law are not frustrated. In other words: you can demand the service, not a particular brand or app. The law also does not promise the app or device is free: the statement of motives notes the market has both free and paid options, and the text does not set who pays for what.

5. 5

   Step 5: If you are denied, the fine comes from the Department of Health

   Any pharmacy established in Puerto Rico that fails in its duty to provide the talking label service may be penalized by the Department of Health with administrative fines not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation. The Department of Health is also the one that must approve the law’s implementing regulation and publicize it so the public and pharmacies know its details.

The service is requested directly at the pharmacy where you fill your prescriptions, in writing and on the form it must provide you. Oversight and fines belong to the Department of Health, which was also to approve the implementing regulation under Act 38-2017 (Uniform Administrative Procedure) and Act 454-2000 (Administrative and Regulatory Flexibility for Small Business), and to publicize it before it took effect.

• Asking for the service only verbally: the law requires the request to be in writing.
• Not keeping a dated copy: the 30-day term runs from the date of the request.
• Not checking that your condition is in the electronic pharmacy record, which is what triggers the pharmacy’s duty.
• Believing a relative cannot request it for you: the person you authorize to pick up the medicine can.
• Demanding a specific app or brand: the pharmacy has discretion to choose the technology compatible with its system.
• Assuming it covers over-the-counter medicines: the law speaks of medicines prescribed by a licensed physician.
• Accepting "we do not have it" as the final answer: the pharmacy has 30 days to obtain the equipment and extend the service.
• Not knowing there is a fine: the Department of Health may impose up to $500 per violation.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico

  Salud

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov