OP-ED: Tara Jackson: As a Rural Pharmacist, I Know Health Care Modernization Can Improve Patient Safety

As a Rural Pharmacist, I Know Health Care Modernization Can Improve Patient Safety 

By Tara Jackson 

 When a patient walks into Matthews Drug Store in Clinton, North Carolina, they're trusting me with their health. That trust is something I take seriously, and it's why I pay close attention to anything that helps me do my job better or gets in the way. 

 In my years serving rural Sampson County, I've watched health care technology transform what we can do for patients. Electronic prescribing is the clearest example. When prescriptions for controlled substances moved to fully digital systems, it changed my practice for the better. We saw fewer errors and verification got much faster. Many pharmacists were skeptical when this change first took place, but the results were undeniable, and today I cannot imagine practicing any other way. 

 That experience illustrated the value of health care modernization. When it is done right, it protects patients and empowers providers at the same time. Which is why I find it frustrating that one corner of our system is still stuck in 1962. 

 Federal regulations dating back to that year still require pharmaceutical manufacturers to print prescribing information inserts and ship them physically with every medication. These documents can run 30 to 45 pages and are written for health care professionals, not patients. The reality is that pharmacists do not typically even refer to them. We rely on continuously updated digital drug databases that reflect current FDA guidance in real time. The paper inserts often arrive months out of date. Rather than serving any useful function, they simply pile up and get discarded. In a modern pharmacy, they serve no practical purpose. 

 I saw this firsthand after Hurricane Helene. When I was coordinating emergency shipments of insulin, cardiac medications, and diabetic supplies to affected communities in western North Carolina, there was no time to sort through paper documentation. We needed accurate information quickly, and digital tools made that possible. Paper would have slowed us down, and there was no time for that. 

 Electronic labeling is the straightforward solution. It would authorize the FDA to distribute prescribing information digitally rather than requiring manufacturers to print and ship physical inserts. Pharmacists and physicians would have immediate access to the most current safety warnings and dosage guidance. When the FDA updates a drug interaction warning, providers would see that change right away.  

 Anything that reduces administrative burden and allows pharmacists to spend more time with patients is worth supporting. Rural communities depend on their local pharmacist, and modernizing the tools we use will help us deliver on that. 

 Senator Thom Tillis has built a strong record supporting technological innovation and commonsense regulatory reform. Electronic labeling fits squarely within that framework. It reduces cost and waste across the pharmaceutical supply chain while making the information health care professionals depend on more accurate and more current. North Carolina deserves pharmacy systems rooted in the 21st century. 

 Tara Jackson is the owner and operator of Matthews Drug Store in Clinton, North Carolina, the oldest pharmacy in Sampson County, serving the community since 1968.