There are over a million New Yorkers who do not speak English. Many of them are not good at the language or don’t know it all. This creates a problem in understanding prescriptions. It has been noted that pharmacists frequently fail to provide the required information about dosages of various medicines and their side-effects to non-English speakers. This has frequently led to medical complications which can vary from simple allergic reactions to more dangerous, as well as fatal side effects.
Taking such things into account, the New York State Attorney General has announced that arrangements are being made so that non-English speakers who speak Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, and Chinese would be able to get prescription translations in their native languages from many drugstore and supermarket chains, and big-box department stores. The said translations would be carried out by professional translation agencies that would be connected to the pharmacies through phone lines.
Organizations like Wal-Mart, Target, Duane Reade, Costco, Pathmark, A&P, Food Emporium, and Super Fresh have agreed to provide counseling along with written prescription information to the above mentioned groups of people. This measure is expected to come fully into effect by the end of this year.
The above mentioned languages have been selected to begin this scheme because they are the most widely spoken in New York after English. The State plans to add another 150 languages in the coming year.
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