H.C.R. 5 Enrolled

1

PATIENT- AND SAFETY-CENTERED PRESCRIPTION
2 LABELS CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
3 2011 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Chief Sponsor: Marie H. Poulson
6 Senate Sponsor: Allen M. Christensen
7
8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor urges prescribers,
11 dispensers, manufacturers of drugs, health insurers, and government agencies generally
12 to take specific steps to improve patient- and safety-centered prescription labels.
13 Highlighted Provisions:
14 This resolution:
15 . urges individuals to assume primary responsibility for the proper and safe use,
16 storage, and disposal of any drug prescribed to them, and to encourage their
17 dispensers to provide adequate instruction on how to fulfill those responsibilities;
18 . urges the Utah Pharmacy Board, the Utah Pharmacists Association, and other
19 related groups to meet regularly during 2011 to develop a prescription label format
20 that is patient- and safety-centered;
21 . urges the Utah Pharmacy Board and the Utah Pharmacists Association to provide
22 project updates and present the improved prescription label format to the
23 Legislature's Health and Human Services Interim Committee; and
24 . urges federal, state, and local agencies to continue working to reduce prescription
25 drug misuse, addiction, and drug-related death, to develop campaigns to educate the
26 public about the dangers of prescription drug misuse, to promote the proper disposal
27 of partially used or expired prescriptions, to continue developing drop-off sites and
28 other secure and environmentally friendly methods for disposing of unused
29 prescription drugs, and to continue promoting the availability and use of programs

30 that treat prescription drug addiction.
31 Special Clauses:
32 None
33
34 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
35 WHEREAS, the misuse of prescription drugs increases the likelihood of a negative
36 physical reaction, dependency, addiction, overdose, and death;
37 WHEREAS, individuals, as consumers of prescription drugs, should assume the
38 primary responsibility for the proper and safe use, storage, and disposal of any drug prescribed
39 to them;
40 WHEREAS, dispensers of prescription drugs should provide adequate instructions to
41 consumers on how to fulfill their responsibilities regarding the safe use, storage, and disposal
42 of prescription drugs;
43 WHEREAS, patient- and safety-centered prescription labels decrease the chance for
44 misuse of prescribed drugs;
45 WHEREAS, patient- and safety-centered labels should include improved directions for
46 use with wording that is easily understood by a non-medical professional or individual;
47 WHEREAS, properly and safely storing prescription medications reduces the potential
48 for misuse, abuse, and theft;
49 WHEREAS, properly disposing of unused medications, by the expiration date, reduces
50 the potential for misuse, abuse, and theft; and
51 WHEREAS, prescribers, dispensers, manufacturers, health insurers, and government
52 agencies are each in a position to improve prescription drug patient safety:
53 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
54 Governor concurring therein, urge individuals, as consumers of prescription drugs, to assume
55 the primary responsibility for the proper and safe use, storage, and disposal of any drug
56 prescribed to them, and to encourage their prescription drug dispensers to provide adequate
57 instructions on how to fulfill those responsibilities.

58 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge the Utah
59 Pharmacy Board, the Utah Pharmacists Association, and other related parties to meet during
60 2011 to design a prescription label that is patient-centered and contains directions for safe use,
61 including the purpose of the medication, that employ simple and clear terms that can be easily
62 understood by non-medical professionals or individuals and improved font types and sizes to
63 meet the needs of those who are visually impaired.
64 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge the Utah
65 Pharmacy Board and the Utah Pharmacists Association to provide updates on the progress of
66 this project and present the improved prescription label format to the Health and Human
67 Services Interim Committee by November 2011.
68 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge federal,
69 state, and local agencies, as entities created to protect the public, to continue working, on their
70 own and through multi-agency projects like the Utah Prescription Pain Medication
71 Management and Education Program and the Utah Pharmaceutical Drug Crime Project, to
72 reduce prescription drug misuse, addiction, and death, to continue developing campaigns such
73 as "Use Only as Directed" and "Clean Out the Cabinet," to educate the public about the dangers
74 of prescription drug misuse, the importance of reading the prescription drug label and using
75 only as directed, to promote the disposal of partially used or expired prescriptions, to continue
76 developing drop-off sites and other secure and environmentally friendly methods for disposing
77 of unused prescription drugs, and to continue promoting the availability and use of programs
78 that treat prescription drug addiction.
79 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of the resolution be sent to the Utah
80 Pharmacy Board, the Utah Pharmacists Association, the Utah Medical Association, the Utah
81 Nurse Practitioners Association, the Utah Food Industry Association, the Utah Retail
82 Merchants Association, the Utah Health Insurance Association, the Employers Council, the
83 ERISA Industry Committee, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, the National
84 Federation of Independent Business, the Health and Human Services Interim Committee, the
85 Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, the Utah Department of Health, the Utah

86 Department of Human Services, the Utah Association of Local Health Departments, and the
87 United States Department of Health and Human Services.