Full press release also
below:
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alex Kepnes
Humana Corporate Communications
502-580-2990
akepnes@humana.com
Kim Charlson
American Council of the Blind
617-501-5853
kimcharlson@acb.org
Humana Offers Talking Prescription Labels for Members with Visual Impairmentsew service continues Humana’s Commitment to Quality Care and Member Experience
Louisville, Kentucky (9/30/2015) – Humana (NYSE: HUM) announced today that it now offers talking prescription labels, at no cost, to blind and visually impaired members who fill prescriptions through Humana Pharmacy, Inc. and at its seven PrescribeIT Rx locations in Florida. Humana, a leading health and well-being company, worked on its accessible prescription initiative with the American Council of the Blind and individual blind members in Nevada, Florida and Georgia.
Humana offers talking labels provided by the ScripAbility prescription accessibility system, a service of En-Vision America. The talking labels provide people who cannot read standard print a safe and convenient way to access information on prescription labels. Humana members who are blind, have low vision, or those who have dyslexia will benefit greatly from the new service. Braille labels are also available through the Humana mail-order Pharmacy.
In addition to accessible prescription labels, and to ensure “equality of opportunity for meaningful access to healthcare services and activities,” Humana blind or visually impaired members may request alternative format communications (i.e., Braille, Audio, Large Print, Screen Reader Accessible PDF’s), at no cost, as their standard communication method, by sending an email to accessibility@humana.com. A concierge representative will contact members in response.
“One size does not fit all with our blind and visually impaired members. Effective communication, in the chosen format of the member, is extremely important. Braille and talking labels on prescription bottles are two ways that Humana serves its members,” states Dr. Michelle Griffin, PhD of Humana Language Assistance and Alternative Format Services.
ACB President Kim Charlson is enthusiastic about Humana’s initiative: “Talking and braille labels are not a luxury for blind people,” she says. “Accessible labels are critical for people with visual impairments to take medication safely and independently. This initiative demonstrates that Humana cares about its blind members and is a leader in its field.”
Humana Pharmacy members can request talking or braille labels by contacting the Humana Pharmacy Call Center at 800-379-0092.
About Humana
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a leading health and well-being company focused on making it easy for people to achieve their best health with clinical excellence through coordinated care. The company’s strategy integrates care delivery, the member experience, and clinical and consumer insights to encourage engagement, behavior change, proactive clinical outreach and wellness for the millions of people we serve across the country.
About the American Council of the Blind (ACB)
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alex Kepnes
Humana Corporate Communications
502-580-2990
akepnes@humana.com
Kim Charlson
American Council of the Blind
617-501-5853
kimcharlson@acb.org
Humana Offers Talking Prescription Labels for Members with Visual Impairmentsew service continues Humana’s Commitment to Quality Care and Member Experience
Louisville, Kentucky (9/30/2015) – Humana (NYSE: HUM) announced today that it now offers talking prescription labels, at no cost, to blind and visually impaired members who fill prescriptions through Humana Pharmacy, Inc. and at its seven PrescribeIT Rx locations in Florida. Humana, a leading health and well-being company, worked on its accessible prescription initiative with the American Council of the Blind and individual blind members in Nevada, Florida and Georgia.
Humana offers talking labels provided by the ScripAbility prescription accessibility system, a service of En-Vision America. The talking labels provide people who cannot read standard print a safe and convenient way to access information on prescription labels. Humana members who are blind, have low vision, or those who have dyslexia will benefit greatly from the new service. Braille labels are also available through the Humana mail-order Pharmacy.
In addition to accessible prescription labels, and to ensure “equality of opportunity for meaningful access to healthcare services and activities,” Humana blind or visually impaired members may request alternative format communications (i.e., Braille, Audio, Large Print, Screen Reader Accessible PDF’s), at no cost, as their standard communication method, by sending an email to accessibility@humana.com. A concierge representative will contact members in response.
“One size does not fit all with our blind and visually impaired members. Effective communication, in the chosen format of the member, is extremely important. Braille and talking labels on prescription bottles are two ways that Humana serves its members,” states Dr. Michelle Griffin, PhD of Humana Language Assistance and Alternative Format Services.
ACB President Kim Charlson is enthusiastic about Humana’s initiative: “Talking and braille labels are not a luxury for blind people,” she says. “Accessible labels are critical for people with visual impairments to take medication safely and independently. This initiative demonstrates that Humana cares about its blind members and is a leader in its field.”
Humana Pharmacy members can request talking or braille labels by contacting the Humana Pharmacy Call Center at 800-379-0092.
About Humana
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a leading health and well-being company focused on making it easy for people to achieve their best health with clinical excellence through coordinated care. The company’s strategy integrates care delivery, the member experience, and clinical and consumer insights to encourage engagement, behavior change, proactive clinical outreach and wellness for the millions of people we serve across the country.
About the American Council of the Blind (ACB)
The American
Council of the Blind is a national consumer-based advocacy organization working
on behalf of blind and visually impaired Americans throughout the country with
members organized through seventy state and special interest affiliates. ACB is
dedicated to improving the quality of life and promoting equal opportunity for
all people who have visual impairments. Its members and affiliated
organizations have a long history of commitment to the advancement of policies
and programs that will enhance independence for people who are blind and
visually impaired. More information about ACB can be found by visiting
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Bonus RantWoman commentaries:
--Prescription errors cause the healthcare system A LOT of Money every year. RantWoman thinks there are probably many customers for whome reading is difficult who could really benefit also from having audible labels on their prescriptions. RantWoman will be interested to hear wither pharmacies find ways to test this idea.
--RantWoman is not up-to-the-second current about multilingual text-to-speech and prescription labelling databases, but RantWoman thinks there is probably a pretty big market for talking labels in languages other than English. RantWoman would like to see some projects taht test options for trying this and possible benefits of doing so.
--Audible labels are available to customers when pharmacies make audible prescription labels available AND health insurers include pharmices which provide audible labels in their provider networks. RantWoman thinks more pharmacies would get a chance to appreciate other benefits of making audible labels available IF insurance providers / healthcare payers would include availability of audible labels /# accessibility in their decision matrices about which providers to contract with. Word.
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Bonus RantWoman commentaries:
--Prescription errors cause the healthcare system A LOT of Money every year. RantWoman thinks there are probably many customers for whome reading is difficult who could really benefit also from having audible labels on their prescriptions. RantWoman will be interested to hear wither pharmacies find ways to test this idea.
--RantWoman is not up-to-the-second current about multilingual text-to-speech and prescription labelling databases, but RantWoman thinks there is probably a pretty big market for talking labels in languages other than English. RantWoman would like to see some projects taht test options for trying this and possible benefits of doing so.
--Audible labels are available to customers when pharmacies make audible prescription labels available AND health insurers include pharmices which provide audible labels in their provider networks. RantWoman thinks more pharmacies would get a chance to appreciate other benefits of making audible labels available IF insurance providers / healthcare payers would include availability of audible labels /# accessibility in their decision matrices about which providers to contract with. Word.
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