California Board of Pharmacy: make prescription drug labels visual

“Prescription: A physician’s guess at what will best prolong the situation with least harm to the patient.” -Ambrose Bierce 

Do you read all the directions that are listed on your prescription drug container?
 
Can you imagine what it’s like to have to take a prescription drug when you don’t read English very well?
 
California lawmakers are currently doing just that. According to a story on NPR, California’s Board of Pharmacy is considering requiring all pharmacies in the state to provide bilingual prescription drug labels.
 
After all, the state wants healthy patients. Bilingual labels may help reduce patient risk and costly mistakes in taking their medications. Yet at the same time, pharmacists are concerned about their ability to verify that directions are correct when they are written in a language they don’t speak.
 
Could you imagine being responsible for directions you didn’t prepare, in a language you don’t speak?
 
No wonder pharmacists are resistant to this proposed change.
 
But perhaps the fix is easier than we realize.
 

Here’s an idea: change the language

 
While bilingual labels are a great idea, perhaps the second language needs to be a visual language.
 
Consider this label:

That’s a lot of text for me to process, even though I read English well and ESPECIALLY when I’m not feeling well. There’s a distinct possibility that I may not even bother to read the labels when I’m feeling crappy.
 
Now consider these labels:
 

 
These are actually bilingual labels because they provide information in two languages: English and a visual language. I’ve received these sort of labels on my prescription bottles in the past. You may have as well. I find these labels to be incredibly helpful–especially when I am feeling crappy–because the visual icon serves as a reminder of what all that writing actually says. Instead of having to focus on tiny words, I can look and at a glance remember “no sun while on this medication, and take this other one with food.” Because of the visual translation and reminder, the odds are better that I’ll actually stay out of the sun and eat something when I take my pill.
 
And that’s what pharmacists and California’s Board of Pharmacy want: all of us to follow the directions so that our medications can actually help.
 
Since we’re already using visual icons with our warning labels, what could be possible if we provided dosage information using the same formula?
 
Consider this quickie label I whipped up using an iStock photo and icons from The Noun Project‘s awesome online library:
 

(Creative Commons attributions: Pacman designed by Shrihari Sankaran from the Noun Project; Pill in Public Domain; Sunrise designed by Maurizio Fusillo from the Noun Project)
 
This label is meant to communicate the idea, “take two pills by mouth each morning.”
 
Did you get something like that from my mock-up?
 

California, leverage your resources

 
So, California’s Board of Pharmacy, may I make two suggestions as you consider how to go bilingual in the safest way for all patients:
 
1. Tap into our thriving UX community. UX stands for “user experience,” and that means more than simply designing interfaces with websites or devices. If the current drug direction experience is lacking for people who are fluent in languages other than English, then let the professionals help! Here in San Diego, we have an amazing community of UX designers called the UX Speakeasy. I’m sure they–or any number of the other amazing UX community organizations throughout our state–would love the opportunity to help design a label that makes the most sense for the safety and medical compliance of ALL Californians.
 
2. Go visual. You’re already going that direction with some of our prescription warning labels, so you’ve already got momentum with the visual language AND with pharmacists using those labels. Some of these warning label icons are more effective than others, however, so work with a team who is fluent in this particular language to craft the icons that speak most effectively to the content you are translating. (And if you need help with the visual translation piece, this native Californian would be happy to assist!)
 
I cannot wait to see what you draw forth,