| People with a visual impairment often experience problems in
differentiating packets, with the increased standardisation of
packaging sizes and shapes. They can also have problems with
reading the instructions since they are often printed in a small
typeface with poor visual quality. In order to alleviate these
problems, the European Commission has issued a directive requiring
suppliers of pharmaceutical products to incorporate braille labels
and produce information leaflets in alternative formats. However, the
associated standard has yet to be published, which leaves uncertainty
about the detailed implementation of the directive.
Packaging poses significant problems for many older people.
This is often due to an inability to read the label, understand its
meaning or open the package without damaging the contents.
Failure to take medicine correctly has been estimated to cost the
US economy $100 billion per year (1). THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED POPULATIONAbout 1.5 per cent of the population could be officially registered as
‘blind’ or ‘partially sighted’. Of these, around 0.4 per cent have to
rely on non-visual methods to access information (2)... |
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