Hy-Vee debuts talking prescription labels in 26 languages

Hy-Vee is offering talking prescription labels in 26 languages to visually- and print-impaired patients at Hy-Vee’s more than 275 Hy-Vee Pharmacy locations.

The talking prescription labels are available through Hy-Vee’s partnership with En-Vision America and are free to Hy-Vee Pharmacy patients.

Using En-Vision America’s ScripTalk product, Hy-Vee pharmacists are able to program and place a small electronic tag on the prescription package, typically located on the bottom of the bottle. The tag contains all of the prescription label information. By scanning the label with either a ScripTalk reader (provided to each patient at no cost) or the free ScripTalk mobile app, patients can have all of their information read aloud. This information includes drug name, dosage, instructions, warnings, pharmacy information, doctor’s name, prescription number, date and more. ScripTalk can assist patients with low vision, blindness, dyslexia or other reading disabilities.

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In addition to English, the talking prescription labels can be translated to 25 other languages upon request. Patients who request this option will receive large-print dual-language prescription labels that feature a high contrast font in English, as well as a translation from one of the 25 other languages. These labels can also be read aloud in the selected language via the free ScripTalk reader or free ScripTalk mobile app. View the complete list of available languages below.

“We are on a mission to make health care services more accessible for our patients,” said Kristin Williams, executive vice president and chief health officer for Hy-Vee. “Through our partnership with En-Vision America, we now offer a solution to help improve the health outcomes for our visually- and print-impaired patients, along with our non-English speaking patients who often face language barriers to health care.”

“At En-Vision America, patient safety is paramount. For individuals who have trouble reading their prescription labels, the dangers of mistakes and hospitalizations are real,” said David Raistrick, president of En-Vision America. “We’re very excited to partner with Hy-Vee — a company that recognizes the need to bolster medication safety and independence for patients with print impairments or speak English as a second language.”

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To enroll in ScripTalk’s talking prescription labels program, Hy-Vee Pharmacy patients should contact their local Hy-Vee Pharmacy.

Languages available via ScripTalk talking prescription labels at Hy-Vee:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Bengali
• Burmese
• Chinese (simplified)
• Chinese (traditional)
• English
• Farsi
• French
• German
• Greek
• Haitian Creole
• Hindi
• Italian
• Korean
• Nepali
• Pashtu
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Romanian
• Russian
• Somali
• Spanish
• Swahili
• Tagalog
• Vietnamese