Tech company announces partnership with Midwest grocery chain

PALMETTO — En-Vision America recently partnered with a Midwest grocery chain to offer talking prescription labels in 26 languages for visually- and print-impaired patients. 

The labels will be available at more than 275 Hy-Vee Inc. Pharmacy locations. Additionally, the labels will be provided for free to Hy-Vee Pharmacy patients, according to a statement. 

En-Vision America President David Raistrick came up with the product idea for his uncles, who were both diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which can affect a person's eyesight later in life. Being around that, Raistrick always sought ways to improve vision or ways to make life easier for those with impairments. While the company got its start in 1996, ScripTalk wasn’t invented until 2003. It’s an electronic label that pharmacies can put on the prescription. It can read off a customer’s name, the drug name and instructions for how to use it. The company is located in Palmetto, in north Manatee County.

“At En-Vision America, patient safety is paramount. For individuals who have trouble reading their prescription labels, the dangers of mistakes and hospitalizations are real,” says Raistrick in a statement. “We’re very excited to partner with Hy-Vee — a company that recognizes the need to bolster medication safety and independence for patients with print impairments or speak English as a second language.”

Hy-Vee pharmacists will be able to program and place a small electronic tag on the prescription package. The tag contains all of the prescription label information and can be scanned using a ScripTalk reader or the free mobile app. The product is designed for patients with low vision, blindness, dyslexia or other reading disabilities.

The labels can be translated to 26 languages upon request. Patients who request this option will receive large-print dual-language prescription labels that feature a high contrast font in English, as well as a translation from one of the 25 other languages, the press release states. 

“We are on a mission to make health care services more accessible for our patients,” says Kristin Williams, executive vice president and chief health officer for Hy-Vee. “Through our partnership with En-Vision America, we now offer a solution to help improve the health outcomes for our visually- and print-impaired patients, along with our non-English speaking patients who often face language barriers to health care.”