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History
- Referred to health
- Print number 5000a
- Amend and recommit to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to prescription forms and labels, interpretation services and patients with limited English proficiency
In Assembly Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor Richard Gottfried
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5000A
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation to prescription forms and labels, interpretation services and patients with limited English proficiency
Purpose or general idea of bill
To promote safe and effective use of prescription medications by reducing the barriers many consumers face in trying to understand prescription drug labels, dosage instructions and other vital patient information
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends § 21 of the Public Health law to require that prescription forms and electronic prescriptions include a section that allows prescribers to indicate whether an individual is limited English proficient and, if so, the preferred language of the patient.
Section 2 amends § 6810 of the education law to provide that all prescription labels must conform to the standardization and language accessibility requirements outlined in Education Law § 6829 (see below).
Section 3 enacts a new Education Law § 6829 to require chain pharmacies and mail order pharmacies to provide free, competent oral interpretation services to all limited English proficient individuals, particularly during the process of medication counseling and when obtaining information to establish the patient's medication profile. This section also requires the commissioner of health to develop standardized prescription drug labels to ensure greater comprehension of labels by consumers, improved directions for use, improved font types and sizes, and better placement on medication bottles and requires that the standardized prescription drug labels be translated into the top seven languages spoken by limited English proficient individuals in New York State.
Section 4 adds a new subdivision (15) to Education Law § 6509 to make a violation of § 6829 grounds for professional discipline of only as to a pharmacy and not to an individual pharmacist.
Section 5 is the effective date.
Justification
Misuse of prescription medications causes over one million "adverse drug events" every year, resulting in visits to the emergency room, hospitalization and, in some cases, even death. One of the reasons such misuse occurs is limited English proficiency among patients, Studies have found that less than half of patients understand the dosage instructions currently provided on prescription medication bottles. Pharmacists often transcribe the same medication instruction in different ways at different times,
which can cause confusion for patients, especially those who take many medications such as the elderly. Language barriers and the inability to read or understand medical information in English can pose health risks to patients with limited English proficiency.
This legislation aims to reduce the number of medication errors that result from the challenges patients face in comprehending medication labels. By requiring the commissioner of health to standardize and simplify the content of medication warning and instruction labels, the legislation will ensure that prescription drugs dispensed in New York State are more accessible and understandable to a broad range of consumers. By requiring interpretation services and the translation of standardized medication labels, the legislation will ensure that language does not pose as a barrier to safe and effective use of prescription drugs. Standardizing drug labels will make them easier for patients to understand, reduce errors, and make translating labels easier.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
2010: A.11627 - Referred to Higher Education
Effective date
Shall take effect one year after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.