Measure would enhance prescription drug labels
CARSON CITY — Firefighters who show up to emergency calls often find a collapsed senior adult patient — and get handed a jumbled box of two dozen pill bottles with no idea where to begin.
Sen. Shirley Breeden, D-Henderson, is sponsoring a bill that would enhance labeling on prescriptions to help first responders, patients and their caretakers avoid medication mix-ups, although some say it could expose personal information about a patient’s embarrassing medical conditions.
"This would make our job easier," Rusty McAllister of the Professional Firefighters of Nevada said Thursday at a hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Labor and Energy. "This helps us in at least getting a start in getting a medical history."
Senate Bill 329 would require doctors to list the purpose of a medicine on the written prescription itself. It would also require doctors to ask patients whether they want the condition listed on the bottle.
Supporters say the bill would bring clarity for seniors who are overwhelmed by their collections of medications, many of which have long, confusing names.
But opponents say the bill could pose privacy issues for people who don’t want anyone finding out they are taking contraceptives or the morning after pill, for example.
Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood Affiliates requested clarifications to the bill so patients don’t feel they have to put embarrassing disclosures on pill bottles.
The group requests that doctors also tell patients they can skip the added labeling.
No action on the bill was taken by the committee Thursday.