Access to Prescription Information With ScripTalk
By Hodges, Bradley; Access World, Vol. 10, No. 1Publication Date: January 2009
Review of ScripTalk, a voice-output device which reads information on the labels of prescription medications. The device works through radio frequency identification (RFID), a special class of computer memory chips the size of a grain of rice that can store information about the size of a small word-processing document and do not require a computer to have their data communicated. Information that is printed on a prescription label from the pharmacist’s computer is also saved on an RFID chip contained in a quarter-size label adhered to the bottle or package containing the medication. The chip is then read by the customer’s ScripTalk Station, a battery-operated semi-circular device about the size of half a salad plate. According to the reviewer, the device reads the information in a clear, easy-to-understand female voice. Operating instructions accompanying the station are in print format, on a CD, and programmed into the unit itself. At the time the review was written, pharmacies that had installed the necessary equipment for providing the RFID chips included those of the Veterans Administration and some independent and regional pharmacies in the U.S. Information about participating ScripTalk pharmacies can be obtained by contacting the manufacturer, En-Vision America.
Assistive Products Discussed: SCRIPTALK
Published by: AFB Press (Website:http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=46)
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) (Web Site: http://www.afb.org )
Link to text: http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw100106
