Gap (TG:GAP)
Historical Stock Chart

From Jun 2019 to Jun 2024

Five more chain stores, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Target Corp. (TGT), have agreed to provide non-English speaking customers in New York with prescription medication instructions in their primary languages, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.

In a statement, Cuomo said Target, Wal-Mart, Duane Reade Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) and Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (GAP), which operates A&P Supermarkets, have agreed to counsel all pharmacy customers about prescription information in their own language.

The stores will also provide written translations in Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Russian and French.

"The need to understand prescription information can literally be a matter of life and death," Cuomo said in a statement. "There are over 1 million people in New York who don't speak English as their first language, and this agreement will ensure they have the medical information needed to protect their health and well-being and that of their families."

Last year, CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) and Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) reached agreements with Cuomo's office to provide translation services to their customers in New York. The agreements follow an undercover probe by Cuomo's office into the policies and procedures of New York pharmacies. Cuomo said the probe found that pharmacies routinely fail to advise non-English speaking customers in a language that allows them to understand the purpose, dosage and side effects of their medications.

Pharmacists are required under New York law to provide information about prescription drugs to patients orally and in writing, Cuomo said. They're also prohibited from discriminating against non-English speakers, he said.

Under the agreements the stores will inform customers of their right to free assistance in understanding their prescription medication, provide prescription labels and instructions in the six languages that are spoken by more than 1% of the population of New York and provide additional assistance in all languages.

CVS and Rite Aid have provided additional language assistance through a service called Language Line.

The agreements will affect more than 700 pharmacies operated by Target, Wal-Mart, Duane Reade, Costco and A&P in New York.

"We have a common goal with Attorney General Cuomo, and that is to make the pharmacy experience easier for customers and members with limited English proficiency," said Daphne Davis Moore, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. "We appreciate the hard work of the Office of the Attorney General in helping us improve our program in New York, and we plan to implement these improvements in more than 4,500 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club pharmacies nationwide."

In a statement, Duane Reade said, "We applaud the Attorney General's efforts to upgrade prescription translation services." The company said it provides New Yorkers with written language translations in 13 languages, plus telephone translations for over 170 different languages using Language Line.

Costco and Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea didn't immediately return phone calls seeking comment. A Target spokesman didn't immediately have a comment.

-By Chad Bray, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-227-2017; chad.bray@dowjones.com