Recommendations on Prescription Container Labeling

Posting Date: 26 April 2010

The Health Literacy and Prescription Container Labeling Advisory Panel (HL AP) has made a series of recommendations to its sponsoring Expert Committee, the Safe Medication Use Expert Committee (SMU EC) on standardized prescription container labeling. The HL AP was formed in September 2008 as a result of a meeting on Health Literacy sponsored by the Institute of Medicine, and a resulting call for standards for prescription container labeling. The HL AP recommendations focus on patient-centered label standards for the format, appearance, content, and language of prescription medication instructions on prescription containers to promote optimal patient understanding.

The recommendations form the basis of a new General Chapter <17> Prescription Container Labeling. General Chapter <17> will appear in a future Pharmacopeial Forum and will be publicized to consumer and healthcare organizations for public comment.

Should you have questions, please contact Shawn C. Becker ( or 301-816-8216).

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