Inspite of the best efforts, there are many patients who are not so literate and may forget the instructions given and are not able to read the prescriptions even, if given, They may need to repeatedly refer to the instructions and they may still need help. For taking care of such patients, use of pictorial labeling is recommended. While there has not been any national standard of pictorial label adopted so far, based on a project by Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust, in collaboration with Apothecaries Foundation the following pictorial labels that were developed and used and found appropriate are recommended for use. Such labels can be pre-printed using self-adhesive sticker label and made available in Pharmacies. Pharmacists should paste relevant pictorial label either on the bottle/pack of the drugs dispensed or on the prescription sheet against each drug prescribed. Based on the most commonly needed instructions, 11 types of messages were identified and pictorial labels have been developed. More instructions, if required can be added to this list and additional labels need to be developed.
1. | Take 1 time | ![]() |
2. | Take 2 timeS | ![]() |
3. | Take 3 timeS | |
4. | Take 4 | |
5. | Take at bed time | |
6. | Take when needed | |
7. | Take with meal | |
8. | Take on empty stomach | |
9. | Tthis medicine may make you dizzy | |
10. | Dispensed | |
11. | Refer your doctor |