California Governor Jerry Brown has recently signed a bill into law, which requires pharmacists in California to provide translations for prescription instructions. California, being a highly diversified state, has millions of residents with no or limited English language skills.
AB 1073, created by Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), unanimously passed both Assembly and Senate before Governor Brown ratified it Sunday. The law requires all pharmacists in California to provide their own translation of instructions or use the 15 standardized directions issued by the California Board of Pharmacy for the consumption of prescription medicines in languages aside from English, such as Vietnamese, Spanish, Russian, Korean and Chinese. According to the office Assemblyman Ting, previous requirements were only for the provision of over-the-phone oral translation services.
Necessary due to language diversity
Translation of Drug Information Now a Law in California Meta: Californians with limited English proficiency can now understand prescription drug information in their own language with the signing of AB 1073. California Governor Jerry Brown has recently signed a bill into law, which requires pharmacists in California to provide translations for prescription instructions. California, being a highly diversified state, has millions of residents with no or limited English language skills. AB 1073, created by Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), unanimously passed both Assembly and Senate before Governor Brown ratified it Sunday. The law requires all pharmacists in California to provide their own translation of instructions or use the 15 standardized directions issued by the California Board of Pharmacy for the consumption of prescription medicines in languages aside from English, such as Vietnamese, Spanish, Russian, Korean and Chinese. According to the office Assemblyman Ting, previous requirements were only for the provision of over-the-phone oral translation services. Necessary due to language diversity In a statement, Assemblyman Ting said that the services of a pharmacy play a critical role in modern medicine and that death or medical complications should not be caused by lack of language skills. He added that due to the language diversity in the state of California, translations of prescription information are absolutely necessary. The census done in 2010 showed that there are over 6.5 million residents in California who do not speak English very well. It was also mentioned that a 2014 report on language access revealed that in San Francisco, immigrants comprise 36 percent of the population and that 45 percent of the residents beyond the age of five speak mostly Russian, Filipino (Tagalog), Spanish and Chinese at home.
In another statement, Xavier Morales, the executive director of Latino Coalition for a Healthy California said that access to health care involves efficient communication between medical professionals and their patients. Morales said that AB 1073 greatly provides an answer to situations that could save lives, as patients with limited English proficiency would be able to understand information about their prescription medicine in their own language.
Image Copyright: Rich Pedroncelli Via KRON4.com
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+
LinkedIn
Email