The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention has released new rules designed to standardize the format, appearance, content and language found on medication labels for patient safety.
Studies have found shown 46 percent of patients misunderstand one or more dosage instructions on their prescription labels. This risk increases for patients with lower health literacy. As part of efforts to mitigate the risk of adverse events from medication errors, the USP has published the following standards:
• Emphasize instructions and other information important to patients.
• Improve readability.
• Give explicit instructions.
• Include purpose for use.
• Address limited English proficiency.
• Address visual impairment.
The new USP standards can be found in greater detail in General Chapter <17> Prescription Container Labeling of the United States Pharmacopeia and the National Formulary.
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Studies have found shown 46 percent of patients misunderstand one or more dosage instructions on their prescription labels. This risk increases for patients with lower health literacy. As part of efforts to mitigate the risk of adverse events from medication errors, the USP has published the following standards:
• Emphasize instructions and other information important to patients.
• Improve readability.
• Give explicit instructions.
• Include purpose for use.
• Address limited English proficiency.
• Address visual impairment.
The new USP standards can be found in greater detail in General Chapter <17> Prescription Container Labeling of the United States Pharmacopeia and the National Formulary.
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