Critical medical information shouldn’t be kept behind a QR code

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Minnesota’s population is getting older, and many older Minnesotans today increasingly feel as though they are being left behind. Fortunately, Minnesota’s U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats, have worked to protect America’s growing older population from fraud, abuse and neglect. However, without our senators’ help, a recently proposed rule from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would cut off older Americans from critically important medication information and expose them to new health risks.

The FDA recently proposed a rule to standardize the medication guides dispensed with prescription drugs at the pharmacy. The new guides would be called “Patient Medication Information,” or “PMI” for short. There currently exists no standard for the consumer medication information attached with prescriptions, nor that any information be attached at all. Older Americans reference printed medication information to take their prescriptions correctly, but they often receive piecemeal, incomplete or incomprehensible information. Therefore, the FDA’s proposal attempts to address a real problem but does so in a misguided way.

Instead of simply improving standardized medication information and ensuring every patient receives a printed copy with each prescription, the FDA rule would require everyone picking up a prescription to ask for a printed copy of the crucial instructions and information. If they forget to ask for any reason, then they will only be left with a QR code to access their information online. Older adults, who are currently the most likely to suffer from medication errors and the least equipped to navigate personal technology, would be cut off from the information they need to stay safe and healthy.

The rule would also shift the burden of printing medication information from pharmaceutical companies that are currently responsible for it and instead force community pharmacies to print the information upon request. That change would place a significant financial burden on Minnesota’s already struggling pharmacies. The new rule is estimated to impose an additional $1.6 billion in costs and over 71 million working hours on pharmacies nationwide.

Minnesota’s community pharmacies, especially in rural areas, can’t afford these costs and are already closing their doors at alarming rates. That’s a problem, especially because Minnesota’s older population, a population far more likely to require access to a pharmacy, disproportionately relies on rural community pharmacies. In many rural counties, over 25% of the population is older than 65. The additional costs community pharmacies would incur from the FDA’s proposed rule would lead to more closures and lower-quality care for those who need it most.

To mitigate those costs, many struggling community pharmacies would likely stop offering printed medication information and instead switch to digital-only formats, accessible only through a QR code. Older adults without smartphones or modern technology skills would lose access to the information they need to stay healthy. That’s especially dangerous given the current rate of medication non-adherence, which is already a problem in Minnesota. Medication non-adherence, or when patients skip doses or misuse medication, causes over 100,000 preventable deaths every year. Older Minnesotans juggling multiple medications can’t afford to lose their medication information and risk making dangerous mistakes with their prescriptions.

Klobuchar and Smith should act to protect access to printed medication information and the dangerous potential health consequences of the FDA’s proposed rule. A bipartisan piece of legislation is making its way through the U.S. House called the Patients’ Right to Know Their Medication Act (H.R. 1173). This legislation would ensure that all Americans receive improved printed medication information, provided by the drug manufacturer, with every prescription. If passed, it would help all Minnesotans stay safe and keep pharmacies open. Klobuchar and Smith can introduce this bill in the Senate and demonstrate their commitment to protecting America’s senior citizens.

Michelle Benson, a Republican, was a member of the Minnesota Senate from 2011 to 2023.