New Colorado law will increase accessibility to medication for the visually impaired

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – A new Colorado law was passed that now requires pharmacies in the state to offer prescription drug labels in braille, audio devices, or other requested formats.

Many who are visually impaired have had to rely on other people or special phone apps to read their medication. A braille teacher at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind said that she often worries she could be given the wrong medication, as someone who is blind herself.

Braille Instructor Marty Rahn said,” I have a friend who overdosed actually a couple of years ago and it wasn’t even her fault. They gave her the wrong medication and they gave her the wrong milligram dosage, even when she thought the tablets felt different. She called and said to the pharmacist ‘Do I have the right meds’ and they were like ‘Yeah we just changed the tablets’ which happens all the time. But as a result of that, she’s dealing with all kinds of medical issues so it really is a very serious thing.”

Previously, to get these accommodations some pharmacies had to refer to larger regional stores for people to get the proper equipment.

“One store in every kind of geographic region would refer patients that have this special equipment. Just kinda get it on demand, if they had somebody who requested this they go out and get it. Some pharmacies have gone decades without anyone ever requesting it,” said Pharmacist, Ky Davis, with Harris Pharmacy.

State Representative Mary Young was a sponsor of this bill and said she wanted to ensure those with a visual disability could always have the resources they need.

“This is 30 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act where we committed to people that we would provide them access, so they could live independently in communities. For me, this was a critical issue that needed to be addressed,” said Rep. Young.

For smaller pharmacies that may not have the budget to make all these formats of labels, they will be given a grant paid over 2 years to fund these requests. For other formats a pharmacy may not have, they will be given 28 days to make that accommodation.

The law will officially take effect in 2025.

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