Happy #GAAD2022. Let's talk Rulemaking about Accessible Prescription labels

The following is RantWoman's official Global Accessibility Awareness Day #GAAD post for this year. 

The short version:

Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission to organize workshops as part of rulemaking intended to expand availability of prescription label information in languages other than English and in formats accessible to people who are blind low vision or print impaired. This rulemaking draws on advocacy from several directions:

--research the language access group, part of  Health Equity Circle, a multidisciplinary organization of young health care professionals

--legislation sponsored by Rep. Thai, a working pharmacist, 

--a petition for rulemaking by Judy Brown, RN BSN, co-chair of the WA Council of the Blind Advocacy Committee

--Recommendations dating from 2004 from the US Access Board about prescription label accessibility; recommendations left to individual states to implement.

--Model legislation developed by the National federation of the Blind.

--a later petition for rulemaking by the WA Pharmacy Association 

--The WA State legislature for demonstrating that rulemaking will be a much more fruitful path toward accessibility than either committee hearings or floor debate.

Now is a great time to think about what will make this process accessible and useful for different language and other communities in WA. For more information specifically related to the rulemaking, email PharmacyRules@doh.wa.gov or Joshua Munroe, Joshua.Munroe@doh.wa.gov, Phone: 360-236-2987

(RantWoman is not shy about a quest for world domination: RantWoman would like not only for consumers to be able to get their prescription labels in the form and language they prefer. RantWoman would also prefer that any insurance company doing business in WA have to cover accessible labels in whatever form works best for each situation. RantWoman is not a lawyer and has not decided whether it might also be necessary and feasible to pursue parallel insurance-related rulemaking through the WA Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Stay tuned?)

The longer version: RantWoman invites readers to leave a comment about what accessibility means to them. RantWoman has all kinds of thoughts which probably get their own post.