30 Nov 2006 0733H

Prescription labels poorly written, designed

Blogged about this in July, but, another opportunity here to restructure the information and the delivery method on prescription labels, where mistakes can sometimes mean life or death.

Low literacy and multiple medications are a prescription for misunderstanding. The biggest user group to be impacted in the study conducted by LSU are those with low education and low income, but that number is deceptive when it comes to understanding these labels: over 36% of the US population is at or below a level of basic literacy regarding health-related tasks. One of the more interesting quotes I heard today on CBS news radio is around an icon which indicates potential risk of dizziness, a person with wavy lines around them, which the respondent indicated to her meant, “someone was having an experience with God.”

There’s a video press release from the Annals of Internal Medicine, here (WMV, 6.6MB).

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2 responses to "Prescription labels poorly written, designed"

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30 Nov 2006 1216H

tim writes:

It is an experience with God, from a certain point of view =)

01 Dec 2006 2022H

Gino writes:

That was only slightly macabre, Tim. ;-)

And now it's your turn.

Fire your weapon, soldier. Just be careful of friendly fire. NAME & EMAIL required.

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