Prescription Drug Instructions Often Lost In Translation
Chicago Tribune: "Pharmacies that print prescription labels translated into Spanish often issue inaccurate or confusing instructions that could be potentially hazardous to a patient's health, according to a report in the May issue of Pediatrics journal." Such mistakes can lead to confusion among patients like 8-year-old Linda Jimenez, whose mother typically takes her to a Spanish speaking physician, but did not have that opportunity during an emergency appointment. Jimenez's mother failed to understand the doctor's instructions, and mistook the dosage she provided to her daughter.Also, "[p]rescription information delivered in 'Spanglish,' a mix of English and Spanish, is a frequent problem, according to the study. For example, instructions to take iron 'once' a day would mean one time. But in Spanish, 'once' means 11." Misspellings on labels, jargon and other miscommunications can also lead to problems (Woodward, Cancino and Deardorff, 5/12). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
