Target makes the prescription label more user friendly

Target Pharmacy announced its ClearRx program with special inserts in Sunday newspapers yesterday. A key part of the company's approach to addressing medication errors is to make labels more user friendly. In particular:

• The bottle is flatter and the cap is on the bottom, which leaves more room for printing on the label
• The label wraps over the top, so it's visible from above
• The most pertinent information (patient name, medication name and instructions for use) is closest to the top. Less important information, like Dr.'s name, is nearer the bottom than on most labels
• The patient information card attaches directly to the bottle, rather than being a separate document that is likely to get separated from the medication and be unavailable when needed
• Color coded rings are designed to distinguish one family member's prescriptions from another. This is a copy of what electric toothbrush makers have done. It looks nice but I doubt it will have a great impact

Some of these innovations are useful and all are low cost. Prescription labels are difficult to read and understand, so I applaud Target for taking the initiative.