Written Medicine

Amanda Pritchard, CEO of NHS England speaking about Written Medicine's solution: "Simplicity of the idea of printing your medicines labels not just in English but in someone's spoken language as well. We think about the amount it costs the NHS around medicines optimisation, people not able to follow the instructions and getting into a situation where they end up in a crisis situation or just missing some of their routine care because of that difficulty of just being able to to read the instructions to understand them properly. And you think why does that not already exist!" Amanda is absolutely correct. Medicines can be mismanagement by patients with limited English proficiency, ultimately leading to a cycle of ill health and pharmaceutical waste. Bilingual labels is a low hanging fruit for pharmacy, which can help solve all the above and help reduce health inequalities. Prof. Bola Owolabi, MRCGP MFPH(Hon), FRSPH David Webb Tony Young Amandeep Doll Wing Tang Heidi Wright Yousaf Ahmad Gisela Abbam FRSA Mohammed Hussain MSc FRPharmS Tase Oputu Selina Ullah Ann Jacklin Keith Ridge Richard Cattell Wasim Baqir Anne Joshua Nicola Goodberry Kenneally Rima Makarem Ankish Patel Dr. Raliat Onatade IPresc., FRPharmS Duncan Rudkin Ravi Sharma Dr. Raliat Onatade IPresc., FRPharmS Ben Standeven Scott Durairaj MBA Neville Young Marc Donovan OBE Jack Porter Aditya Aggarwal Abdul Hamied Daniel Hinchley Sima Jassal Gianpiero Celino Guy Lucchi Gurnak Singh Dosanjh Rahul Singal

Thank you for the plug Helen Louise! Health inequality is a massive issue, and language barriers play a huge role in medication errors and poor health outcomes. At Written Medicine Medicine, we’re tackling this by ensuring patients get prescription information in their own language, using trusted medical translations, pictograms, and audio—because healthcare should be accessible to everyone. Suvera’s work on long-term health monitoring is another game-changer, especially for deprived communities where engagement is often low. These kinds of solutions are crucial in closing the gap. If you missed the webinar, I’d highly recommend watching the recording—important insights were shared by Ghalib Khan and Ivan Beckley, MD .

Thank you for the plug Helen Louise! Health inequality is a massive issue, and language barriers play a huge role in medication errors and poor health outcomes. At Written Medicine Medicine, we’re tackling this by ensuring patients get prescription information in their own language, using trusted medical translations, pictograms, and audio—because healthcare should be accessible to everyone. Suvera’s work on long-term health monitoring is another game-changer, especially for deprived communities where engagement is often low. These kinds of solutions are crucial in closing the gap. If you missed the webinar, I’d highly recommend watching the recording—important insights were shared by Ghalib Khan and Ivan Beckley, MD .

We’re proud that our founder, Ghalib Khan, contributed to this important research alongside Dr Anna Robinson-Barella and the team. The paper highlights the need to: ✅ Raise awareness of pharmacy services ✅ Increase cultural competency training ✅ Build stronger relationships with minoritised communities ✅ Expand access to interpretation services A structured template of recommendations has been developed to support implementation at the pharmacy, community, and professional levels. Independent community pharmacies across the UK, with staff representing local demographics, already play a vital role in understanding their communities and tailoring services to meet their needs, including meeting language needs. At Written Medicine, we have always championed bilingual pharmacy labels and accessible medication information to improve patient safety. This research reinforces why clear, culturally competent communication in the patients first language is essential in healthcare. We look forward to continuing the conversation and working towards a more inclusive and equitable healthcare system. 📄 Read the paper here: https://lnkd.in/e9dJamFT #PatientSafety #HealthInequalities #LanguageBarriers #Pharmacy #CoDesign #WrittenMedicine

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮’𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 Everyone in the healthcare system has a role in improving health inequalities, but those with lived experience often feel the urgency more acutely and more likely to act on it. Due to intersectionalities, when an ethnic minority healthcare professional observes a problem in the system, they don’t just notice it, they live it. And tackling it? That’s another uphill battle. It often happens in a poorly resourced setting, where they’re forced to innovate with what they have. They don’t wait for perfect conditions; they make change happen with whatever tools are available. This is where pharma can step in. The challenges faced by ethnic minority communities, like language barriers in medication use, aren’t just local issues, they’re global inequalities. Not being able to read an English prescription label isn’t just a UK problem; it’s a reality across healthcare systems worldwide. Pharma is global. So are the inequalities. The question is, can big pharma collaborate with innovators on the ground to scale the solutions that are already working? Instead of reinventing the wheel, there’s an opportunity to replicate and amplify these solutions, bringing the benefits to those who need them most. This connects the macro (big pharma, global inequalities) with the micro (local, frontline innovation), a crucial conversation in healthcare transformation. To bridge these gaps, we need collaboration, investment, and a commitment to real impact. This is how we bridge gaps. This is where innovation meets impact. At Written Medicine we actively looking to partner with pharma to improve patient safety and adherence. Suhrab Sayfi Prof. Bola Owolabi, MRCGP MFPH(Hon), FRSPH Tony Young Yousaf Ahmad Nadeem Sarwar Sam Shah Hassan Chaudhury HonFAPM Yasmin Karsan Mohammed Hussain MSc FRPharmS David Webb

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗮𝗽𝘀 Suhrab Sayfi perfectly captures the intersection of social determinants of health and clinical outcomes in this PM Healthcare Article and mentions how tools like Written Medicine can help overcome them. Overcrowded living conditions, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer diets, create the perfect storm for long-term conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory issues to manifest earlier in life. When you add genetics into the mix, the disparities widen even further. This is why health inequalities in secondary care can’t be tackled in isolation. Pharmacists, particularly in hospital settings, have a vital role to play in bridging these gaps. From ensuring culturally competent medication counseling to leveraging digital tools like Written Medicine for multilingual support, secondary care pharmacy is a frontline defense against widening health inequities. What’s needed now is systematic change. Integrating personalised, language accessible, and community aware pharmacy services across the NHS to ensure that no one is left behind. Read the full article here https://lnkd.in/ee-cZTBT

It has been a privilege working with Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust's Pharmacy team, led by Alison Tennant, Adam Khimji, and Hash Shah, to roll out and implement our solution. The Trust serves an incredibly diverse population across the West Midlands, where many languages are spoken and catered for. With the adoption of Written Medicine, BWC is ensuring that patients and families receive clear, multilingual medication instructions, improving safety, understanding, and adherence. We're proud to support and make healthcare more accessible and inclusive for all. #HealthEquity #PatientSafety #WrittenMedicine #PharmacyInnovation #BWCNHS NHS Innovation Accelerator NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme Professor Patrick Vernon OBE FrHistS Prof. Bola Owolabi, MRCGP MFPH(Hon), FRSPH David Webb

Really looking forward to this conversation with Ivan this Thursday at 1pm, where we’ll be exploring accessibility and digital engagement in underserved communities. Tackling health inequalities requires both innovative thinking and practical action. This session will highlight real-world approaches that are making a difference. If you work in primary care, ICBs, or health innovation, this is one to join! 📢 Closing the Gap: Tackling Health Inequalities with Innovation We’re kicking off a new webinar series, Closing the Gap, showcasing effective strategies for reducing health inequalities. This first session brings together NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellows: ✨ Ghalib Khan – Addressing language barriers in healthcare. ✨ Ivan Beckley, MD Beckley – Enhancing digital health engagement in deprived areas. Key takeaways: ✅ Practical ways to improve access for non-English speakers. ✅ Strategies to drive digital engagement where it's needed most. ✅ Insights into whether deprivation truly correlates with low digital uptake. ✅ Frameworks that can be implemented in your own setting. Join us for an important discussion by clicking this link: https://lnkd.in/ghHYFWyE

Looking forward to partnering with Suvera on this webinar this Thursday! We’ll be diving into accessibility and digital engagement in underserved areas, an urgent challenge that needs practical solutions. We’ll be discussing how breaking language and communication barriers can improve healthcare access. If you’re involved in tackling health inequalities, this is one not to miss. This inaugural session features two NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellows: ✨ Ghalib Khan Khan, Foonder of Written Medicine, on breaking language and communication barriers in healthcare. ✨ Ivan Beckley, MD CEO of Suvera, on driving digital engagement in underserved areas. What you’ll learn: ✅ Practical solutions for overcoming language and communication barriers. ✅ Proven strategies for boosting digital health engagement in deprived areas. ✅ Data insights: Are more deprived areas truly less digitally engaged? ✅ Real-world frameworks to apply in your community. A must-attend for ICB leaders, Primary Care teams, and anyone committed to reducing health inequalities. See you there!

𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘃𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 - 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 & 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 🌍💊 We are at Pharmapack Europe in Paris and it’s been an incredibly eye-opening experience! What are these springs and metal components you are asking? These are just some of the elements that go into making your auto injectors and other medical devices. It’s fascinating to see the level of innovation, precision, and attention to detail that pharmaceutical manufacturers commit to, from drug discovery all the way to the delivery of medications to the pharmacy. Every step is meticulously engineered, not just to ensure safety and effectiveness but also to account for human factors that could cause failures and impact patient safety. This year’s main theme is environmental sustainability, a timely reminder of the broader impact of what it takes to get these products to us. The resource demands for producing medical grade polymers, metals, and paper are immense. The key takeaways was understanding the high carbon intensity of the pharmaceutical industry, which includes production and packaging. Our participation in Pharmapack Europe is driven by the mission to forge partnerships that improve patient medication adherence through better quality interactions and patient-centred information. According to World Health Organization 50% of medicines are not taken as prescribed, and 10% end up in landfill according to Office for National Statistics. The most sustainable outcome is ensuring patients take their medicines as instructed, delivering both better health outcomes and reduced environmental waste.