Congressman Cliff Bentz (R-OR) and Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME) have reintroduced the Patients’ Right to Know Their Medication Act in the House of Representatives. The legislation aims to ensure that all Americans receive printed medication information with their prescriptions, focusing on patient safety.
“In rural Oregon, access to reliable internet or to a pharmacist is not always guaranteed. But what should be guaranteed are clear, printed instructions on how to take your medication safely,” said Congressman Cliff Bentz. “If enacted, this bill will provide patients with accurate, FDA-approved information. This would ensure fewer mistakes, fewer expensive hospital trips, and less strain on families and our small, local pharmacies. Additionally, this is at no cost to the government or to the rural pharmacies. It is a practical improvement that will help rural communities.”
Congressman Jared Golden added: “Mainers shouldn’t have to go out of their way to get the information they need about how their medicine works. Requiring hard copies of instructions to be included with medicine is a no brainer to make prescription drugs safer, make treatment easier for families and their pharmacists, and prevent large pharmaceutical corporations from cutting corners at the expense of quality health care.”
Alan Morgan, CEO of The National Rural Health Association (NRHA), stated: “The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) thanks Representatives Bentz and Golden on their work to reintroduce the Patients’ Right to Know Their Medication Act. NRHA is proud to support this legislation that will ensure rural residents have access to printed information about their medications. Not only will this bill support safe usage of prescription medications, but it also recognizes the importance of printed materials in rural areas where internet access is not always guaranteed or available.”
The proposed law requires drug manufacturers to include printed Patient Medication Information (PMI), which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with every outpatient prescription dispensed in the United States. PMI includes details such as a drug’s purpose, instructions for use, warnings, side effects, and other vital information necessary for proper medication use.
The bill mandates that PMI be provided in a one-page standardized format with content reviewed by the FDA as new drugs come onto the market or as new information becomes available.
Recently proposed FDA rules would move prescribing information (PI) and PMI entirely online—a change critics argue could negatively impact pharmacy care for patients who do not have reliable internet access or smartphones. Supporters say this legislation addresses those concerns by ensuring continued access to essential paper documentation.
Cliff Bentz has represented Oregon’s 2nd district in Congress since 2021 after succeeding Greg Walden (source). Before serving in Congress, he was a member of both chambers of Oregon’s legislature from 2008 through 2020 (source). Bentz was born in Salem in 1952 and lives in Ontario (source). He graduated from Eastern Oregon University in 1974 before earning his JD from Lewis & Clark College three years later.
