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In the late 90’s, a father and son had an idea. One evening, Philip and David Raistrick were playing a family game of poker. What started out as a typical night ended up inspiring the creation of En-Vision America – a company that provides high-tech, problem-solving products for the visually impaired.
“David had two uncles who were visually impaired and they were playing poker together,” begins Jenna Reed, marketing director of En-Vision America.
While one uncle could read braille to identify the cards, the other uncle could not.
“They would have to whisper what was on the cards and it kind of defeated the purpose. It wasn’t as fun. So David came up with the idea of tagging the cards with a UPC code. You could scan the code and it would read the card name out loud to you (through an earbud in this case). And that evolved into our ‘i.d. mate’, the talking barcode reader.”
This flagship product started the company, but it was soon apparent that this kind of technology would be useful in the world of healthcare.
In the early 2000s, En-Vision America began creating their ScriptAbility product line – a suite of accessible patient prescription labels for pharmacies.
“Our accessible labels are designed to help pharmacists ensure their patients’ safety, medication adherence and independence,” says Jenna Reed.
These labels include accessibility for the visually impaired, as well as controlled substance labels and dual language labels.
As a pharmacist, you can communicate with your patient when they are in the pharmacy – but you can’t always be there with the patient to see what happens after they go home. If a patient cannot read the label – whether it’s due to a language barrier or visual impairment – that increases their risk of taking their medication incorrectly.
“Safety and adherence is what we’re focusing on,” emphasizes Reed. “At the end of the day, it’s dangerous if you don’t know what you’re taking and how much to take.”
ScriptAbility offers a range of products that integrate with PioneerRx’s pharmacy software.
Patient information from profiles within PioneerRx is used to create the necessary labels and transfer the information in the proper formats. This makes it easy to integrate ScriptAbility into your workflow and provide this beneficial service to your patients. ScriptAbility will also help you identify which of your patients would benefit most from accessible labels for improved adherence and safety.
In the United States, 2.4% of the population over 16 years of age is visually imparied. That’s over 7.6 million people.
According to the US Access Board, individuals with visual impairments who cannot read print prescription drug container labels all too often report inadvertently taking the wrong medication, the wrong amount, at the wrong time, and under the wrong instructions.
Since these people are typically over 60, they are also more likely to be taking several medications which can increase their risk of improper usage.
These solutions from ScriptAbility are a great option for visually imparied patients, depending on their needs:
ScripTalk is a talking prescription label that uses text-to-speech technology to read all of a patient’s vital medication info out loud at the push of a button. The reader can be easily set-up by the pharmacist through the PioneerRx software.
“The pharmacist just pushes two buttons on it and programs it right through the software, then they can just pass it off to the patient. So it’s simple, it’s easy, it’s efficient,” explains Reed.
Learn more about ScripTalk Text-to-Speech Solution
All the information that you would hear out loud on ScripTalk is now going to be on the actual bottle. Large Print Labels are booklets printed in large font, high contrast text that is easy to read and can be quickly affixed to the prescription bottle by a pharmacist.
Learn more about ScriptView Large Print Labels
Braille Labels are embossed adhesive labels printed with grade 2 braille and can be quickly affixed to the prescription bottle by a pharmacist. “A lot of patients who get Braille Labels also get ScripTalk,” comments Reed.
Learn more about ScriptAbility Braille Labels
In the United States, about 20% of the entire population (over 67 million people) speak a language besides English at home.
Pharmacists who care for patients that have difficulty reading or understanding English need a way to make sure these patients are not left in the dark.
“Once this individual gets home, they may or may not remember what the pharmacist told them,” explains Reed.
This solution from ScriptAbility is a great option for patients whose primary language is not English:
Pharmacists can translate a patient’s prescription information through PioneerRx using one of 25 different languages. Dual Language Labels are printed with both English and the patient’s preferred language, and can be quickly affixed to the prescription bottle by a pharmacist.
Learn more about ScriptView Dual Language Labels
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in record-high drug overdoses, highlighting the importance of properly educating patients who are prescribed Schedule II drugs. This solution from ScriptAbility is a great safety addition for any patient who is prescribed a controlled substance.
Controlled Substance Safety Labels flag and emphasize warnings about a patient’s medication on a label that encourages extra caution. The label also includes a QR code that opens an educational safety video about the drug. The label can be quickly affixed to the prescription bottle by a pharmacist.
Learn more about ScriptView CSSLs
Not only are these products helpful for patients, they are also a way to remain compliant with federal requirements and guidelines.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that organizations must provide auxiliary aids and services when needed to communicate effectively. Effective Communication Rules are designed to ensure an individual with vision, hearing or speech disability can communicate from and convey information to the company.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) protects individuals with disabilities or limited English proficiency in access to healthcare facilities and appropriate communication technology.
ScriptAbility works with pharmacists to provide cost-effective ways to use their products, with options to lease or buy equipment. ScripTalk reader devices can even be shipped directly to your patients from ScriptAbility, saving you time and effort.
They provide practical solutions to help you serve all of your patients with the highest level of care.
“The goal is to offer guidance to pharmacies on how to help their patients manage their medications privately and independently, and have the confidence that they are taking their medication safely, securely, and as prescribed.”
Interested in offering ScriptAbility products at your pharmacy?
Contact En-Vision America
Call: 800-890-1180
