On May 20, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is establishing a docket to receive information and comments on certain issues related to the accessibility of pharmaceutical information to blind and visually-impaired individuals.

This action is intended to ensure that there is a venue for information and comments to be communicated to the agency for consideration in a study on making prescription drug information accessible for blind and visually-impaired individuals, which was mandated by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Medicare Modernization Act).

On December 8, 2003, President Bush signed the Medicare Modernization Act (Public Law 108-173). Section 107(f) of this legislation requires that the Secretary of Health and Human Services undertake a study on how to make prescription pharmaceutical information, including drug labels and usage instructions, accessible to blind and visually-impaired individuals. The legislation requires that the study “include a review of existing and emerging technologies, including assistive technology, that makes essential information on the content and prescribed use of pharmaceutical medicines available in a usable format for blind and visually-impaired individuals.”