Wegmans rolls out in-store pharmacy aids for shoppers with sensory disabilities

Dive Brief:

Wegmans announced Tuesday it has added in-store aids and accessibility options to its pharmacies to better serve customers with sensory disabilities.
Along with the new options, the grocer is also piloting ScripTalk audible prescription bottle/container identification labels at pharmacies in five stores in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, New York, per the announcement.
The efforts from Wegmans follow similar steps by other retailers in recent years to make their shopping experiences more accessible.

Dive Insight:

As part of the new pharmacy accessibility options, Wegmans has added video remote interpretation services in American Sign Language and Video Relay Service to make and receive calls with customers using a customer’s video phone — a device that allows the customer to use sign language.

The grocer has also added inductive hearing loops at one release-to-patient register/pharmacy payment checkout and one counseling area in each in-store pharmacy. Other types of technology the grocer added include Telephone Relay Service and TTY technology to make and receive calls with customers. Customers can also now use Aira.io app service to access live, real-time visual information and descriptions by professional assistants for people who are blind or have low vision.

Prescription labels and counseling documentation is now available in large print. The retailer also offers informational materials, such as a pharmacy accessibility checklist containing a description of accessibility options for customers.

“Implementation of these in-store pharmacy auxiliary aids and accessibility options for customers with sensory disabilities helps us deliver on this commitment, giving our Deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind and low-vision customers industry-leading, enhanced access to effective communication at our in-store pharmacy locations,” Linda Lovejoy, community relations manager for Wegmans, said in the announcement.

Wegmans has website information dedicated to listing the accessibility features.

Grocers and other retail chains have worked on improving the accessibility of their services in recent years. In 2021, CVS rolled out chainwide its Spoken Rx app feature, which reads aloud prescription information for pharmacy customers who are blind or visually impaired. Retailers have also worked to make their websites more accessible for people with disabilities as online shopping rose during the pandemic.