NYAM Shapes Policy to Provide Free Pharmacy Language Services

NEW YORK CITY - November 13, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced today that two of the largest pharmacy chains in the United States - CVS and Rite-Aid ??? will for the first time make prescription medication instructions available in Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Russian, French, and Polish, to better serve their New York patients with limited English language skills. The agreements are the result of an undercover investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, following a civil rights complaint filed by Make the Road New York and the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, which alleged that pharmacies violated civil rights laws by failing to provide language access services.

In 2006 a study conducted by The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) randomly selected 200 pharmacies from the 2,186 licensed pharmacies in New York City. Participating pharmacies included independent drugstores, chains, and outpatient hospital and clinic pharmacies. They found that while 88 percent of surveyed New York City pharmacists reported serving immigrant customers daily, only 34 percent translated labels.

According to Nisha Agarwal JD, Director of the Health Care Access Program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, "NYAM’s research into this issue played a critical role at every step of our advocacy. The survey data reported in the study, when combined with testimonies from community members who did not receive language assistance in pharmacies, told a compelling story about the scope of the problem in New York City, which helped us secure the interest of the Office of the Attorney General as well as local elected officials. Also, NYAM's study and its ongoing pharmacy pilot helped us in developing local legislation on pharmacies and language access that is both realistic and comprehensive. This campaign is an excellent example of the ways in which researchers and advocates can work together to promote public health."

According to the Census Bureau, over 35 percent (2.9 million) of New York City residents were born outside the U.S., and approximately 25 percent have limited English proficiency—over 100 different languages are spoken in New York City. This segment of the population experiences great difficulty maneuvering through the healthcare system. Simple things like being able to read and understand directions can have a significant impact on health. "Imagine, as an English speaker, picking up a prescription with a label in Chinese—you’ll have no idea what it says. And, imagine that you are on multiple medications and have to keep track of several sets of instructions ??? all without a comprehensible label to guide you. This is what people without strong English language skills have to face on a regular basis," said Linda Weiss, PhD, Director of Evaluation at The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM). NYAM has been a leader in research on this issue and has been working with St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and the NYU Center for Immigrant Health on pharmacist training and pilot interventions focused on improved language access in pharmacies.

The health and safety of New Yorkers are put at risk when they are unable to comprehend the instructions for using their medication. Reduced efficacy and serious adverse reactions can result if patients are unable to understand medication instructions and take their medicines incorrectly.

The agreements with the Attorney General, which affect more than 2,000 stores statewide, require the pharmacies to:

• Identify whether a customer needs assistance in understanding their prescription medication

• Inform customers of their right to free assistance in reading and understanding their prescription medication

• Provide prescription labels and directions regarding dosage and safety information in the six languages that are spoken by more than one percent of the population of New York

• Provide telephone interpreters in all languages

• Ensure that pharmacy staff counsel customers about their prescription medication in the customer’s own language

Posted on November 24, 2008

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Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org

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