National Consumers League, FDA, National Alliance for Hispanic Health partner to distribute medication adherence radio PSAs in Spanish – National Consumers League
February 26, 2015
Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org (202) 835-3323
Washington, DC—Thanks to a partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Consumers League (NCL) has created a new Spanish-language radio public service announcement (PSA) to encourage consumers to take their medications as directed. The new PSAs are the latest tool released by NCL’s Script Your Future campaign and features the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance). Script Your Future is a multi-media public awareness campaign, coordinated by NCL, the nation’s pioneering consumer group, to educate consumers and key health stakeholders on the importance of taking medication as directed.
“Poor medication adherence is a huge public health problem, resulting in 125,000 deaths per year, not to mention hospitalization and costs to our health care system of $300 billion annually,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the NCL. “We are pleased that this partnership with the FDA and the Alliance has enabled us to reach Hispanic communities with these crucial patient messages about the importance of improving one’s personal adherence and working with their health care professionals to better manage chronic conditions.”
The new Spanish radio PSA features the voice of Dr. Jane Delgado, president and CEO of the Alliance reminding patients with chronic conditions of the importance of taking medications as prescribed and refers listeners to the Script Your Future website and the Su Familia helpline for more information. The Script Your Future website now also features information on medication adherence, along with resources and tools for patients with chronic conditions, all in Spanish.
“The National Alliance for Hispanic Health is proud to partner with NCL and FDA to raise awareness in the Hispanic community about the importance of taking your medicines in the recommended way,” said Dr. Delgado. “Helping people take their medicines as directed will benefit individuals, our families, our communities, and our healthcare system as a whole. Working with NCL and its Script Your Future program is a natural fit for our Su Familia helpline, which offers Hispanic consumers free, reliable and confidential health information so they can make informed decisions about their health.”
“Making sure patients have the information they need to fully understand their medicines and the importance of taking them as prescribed is critical to ensuring healthier futures for Americans as well as our health care system,” said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, which supports the partnership with NCL. “We are pleased these messages will now be able to reach people through the Spanish-language radio stations in their communities.”
For more information, visit ScriptYourFuture.org. To access the PSA, click here.
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Script Your Future, launched in 2011, is a three-year national public awareness campaign about medication adherence coordinated by the National Consumers League (NCL), a private, non-profit membership organization founded in 1899. NCL’s mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information about the Script Your Futurecampaign, visit www.ScriptYourFuture.org. For more information on NCL, please visit www.nclnet.org.
