Walgreens helps visually impaired with ‘talking prescriptions’

Walgreens has introduced a new service for visually impaired patients, a talking prescription device that attaches to the prescription bottle, providing the prescription medication label instructions and alerting patients to take their medication.

The Talking Pill Reminder device is being offered nationwide to pharmacy patients who are blind or who have visual impairments, and it’s free for these patients with their prescriptions. The device will be available through Walgreens retail pharmacies and Walgreens mail-order service. It can also be purchased at Walgreens drugstores for $9.99, the company said.

“Adherence to medication can be critical in treating illness today, and this is an innovation that will help our visually impaired customers correctly identify and take medications as prescribed,” said Jeff Koziel, Walgreens group vice president of pharmacy operations.

Walgreens collaborated on this initiative with The American Council of the Blind (ACB) and the ACB affiliates in California and Illinois.

“Accessible prescription information is critical to people who are blind, and with today’s announcement, Walgreens assumes a significant leadership role in serving its customers with visual impairments,” said ACB President Kim Charlson.