Bean-sized pills in plastic bottles can be all too easy for anyone to mix up. For people with vision loss or blindness, managing prescription medications can be a particularly anxiety-inducing activity.
CVS Pharmacy® has a solution — Spoken Rx. A collaboration between CVS and the vision impairment non-profit group Hadley, Spoken Rx reads prescription information in English or Spanish through the free device pictured below or within the CVS Health app.
If you’re using the device, you simply put the bottom of the pill bottle down on the surface area above the speaker. After scanning the radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag stuck to the bottom of the bottle, the speaker reads the name of the prescription, the dosage prescribed, your number of refills available, etc.
If users prefer to use their smartphone, they can select the Spoken Rx feature within the CVS Health app, which not only connects with reading technology but pairs with magnification and a braille display as well.
With the Spoken Rx feature open in the CVS Pharmacy app, patients can just tap their phones against the label — similar to using contactless payment at a credit card machine.
Spoken Rx is an example of vital assistive technology, especially considering the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than three in five Americans over the age of 40 will experience vision loss by 2050 without effective intervention.
CVS patients can register for Spoken Rx at any of the 9,000-plus CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide or online, where they can request to receive the standalone reading device free of charge and learn how to use both the device and app through this workshop series from Hadley.
For more information about Spoken Rx, check out our Monday Tech Tip video or visit cvs.com/spokenrx.