Washington, DC (September 1, 2026)
Ask most patients what they remember from their last pharmacy visit, and chances are it isn’t much. Health literacy research consistently shows that patients forget most of what they’re told verbally within minutes of leaving a provider’s office, and that a striking share of American adults struggle to understand basic health information. That gap between what patients are told and what they actually retain is exactly why preventable medication errors happen.
The Texas Center for Patient Safety at UNT Health has built a program designed to close that gap, and it’s worth highlighting. Through its free Medication Safety and Communications packages, the center sends communities across Texas a set of plainly written, printed tools. They provide a 15-page booklet walking patients through the basics, like the difference between generic and name-brand drugs, how to store and dispose of medications safely, and how to read a prescription label. These resources are then paired with a doctor’s visit, plus a companion booklet on communicating with healthcare providers and understanding medication reconciliation. Every package is free. This removes the cost barrier that so often keeps good health information out of the hands of the people who need it most.
What makes this program notable isn’t just that the material exists. It’s that it’s printed. A patient doesn’t need a working app, a login, or a stable internet connection to read a laminated card sitting on their kitchen table. There is no digital divide. They don’t need to remember which portal their pharmacy uses or dig through an email inbox for an attachment. The information is simply there, in hand, exactly when it’s needed.
That’s the same principle behind the bipartisan Patients’ Right to Know Their Medication Act (H.R. 5133). The bill would require manufacturers to include standardized, FDA-approved printed medication information with every outpatient prescription, ensuring every patient has the same clear, physical resource that UNT Health is distributing on the ground in Texas. Programs like this one prove the concept works. Patients read it, keep it, and refer back to it, without needing anything more than a piece of paper.
UNT Health didn’t wait for federal legislation to start solving this problem locally. That’s why it is exactly the kind of initiative worth watching. But not every patient in America has a program like this reaching their community. Making printed medication information the standard, not the exception, is what H.R. 5133 is designed to do.
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