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RxTran CEO Presents On Pharmacy Language Access Requirements Nationwide

MEDFORD, MA. (June 14, 2013) — On Friday, June 14th, RxTran CEO Brian Kratt presented at the American Society for Automation in Pharmacy (ASAP) conference in Louisville, KY on pharmacy language access requirements nationwide. 

As pharmacies increasingly recognize the mandates to supply language services for limited English proficiency (LEP) patients, pharmacies look to industry leaders to discover what options exist for offering language services.

Brian Kratt presented an overview of federal mandates, such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Executive Order 13166, that require any organization receiving federal funding, including pharmacies that receive Medicare or Medicaid patients, to provide language access. These federal mandates require pharmacies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam to offer language services to LEP patients. The key to these federal mandates is that pharmacies take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to pharmacy services for patients with limited English proficiency.

State pharmacy language laws were also reviewed by Mr. Kratt. In recent years, states have passed legislation requiring pharmacies to offer both verbal interpreting and written translation of prescription medication information. Most notable are pharmacy language laws in California and New York.

In 2007, then California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 472 that has resulted in pharmacies being required to provide verbal interpreting services to LEP patients. In April, California SB 204 was introduced that would further mandate the use of standardized translated prescription labels.

New York has had pharmacy language requirements since 2009, but in 2012, New York passed groundbreaking statewide legislation requiring both written translation and verbal interpreting of prescription information into 4 major languages: Chinese, Italian, Russian and Spanish.

It has been estimated that twenty-two percent of all hospitalizations are a direct result of patient non-adherence to prescription medication directions for use. States pass pharmacy language requirements to increase adherence to prescription instructions.

Pharmacies have a variety of options when it comes to offering pharmacy language services, from doing nothing, to relying on ad hoc (or volunteer) interpreters, to hiring multilingual staff or outside agencies. In his presentation, Mr. Kratt presented all current available options for pharmacies along with the consequences and benefits of each of these options.

“It is important for pharmacies to know what the requirements are when it comes to mandated language services,” says RxTran’s Brian Kratt. “It is important for pharmacies to know what choices they have for providing language services.”

RxTran stands alone as the only provider of pharmacy language services to offer both written translation and verbal interpreting that meets all state and federal pharmacy language laws. RxTran offers pharmacies an online library of pre-translated prescription drug information (directions for use (SIGs), auxiliary warning labels and patient education sheets), which is available to print directly onto prescription labels or in supplemental forms, and distribute to LEP patients. RxTran also offers On-Demand Phone Interpreting that gives pharmacies 24/7 access to trained interpreters, enabling pharmacists to verbally communicate with LEP patients in seconds.

Brian Kratt’s presentation at the American Society for Automation in Pharmacy (ASAP) conference was given to increase awareness among pharmacies about current language requirements and pharmacies’ options for meeting these requirements.

Pharmacies increasingly look to RxTran to provide language services as LEP populations continue to grow and mandates for offering language services are enacted. RxTran translates and interprets prescription information, boosting prescription adherence among LEP patients. RxTran also provides pharmacies with website translation, pharmacist language proficiency testing and multilingual marketing collateral. 

About RxTran

RxTran provides pharmacies with language services, offering an online library of pre-translated written prescription drug information in 17 foreign languages and phone interpreting of verbal instructions into over 150 languages. For more information, visit: www.RxTran.com or email: info@rxtran.com

Media contact:

Nick Gaj
617.621.0940 x142
ngaj@RxTran.com