[acb-hsp] [leadership] FYI: Doctors' offices unprepared

[Jess K]

And if we feel slighted, imagine being deaf/HOH or especially deafblind.  It is rare to not have a major fight just trying to get an interpreter, let alone a relay phone call accepted in the first place.  Here's hoping the investigation leads to some improvement.
Jess
 

> From: ceverett at dslextreme.com
> To: acb-hsp at acb.org
> Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2011 14:14:51 -0700
> Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] [leadership] FYI: Doctors' offices unprepared
> 
> I would like to know or find out what response providers especially Pharmacy
> companies had to this report. 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Claude Everett
> "I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does
> absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions
> of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their
> lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence." 
> Eugene Victor Debs 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of
> peter altschul
> Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2011 8:27 AM
> To: Acbhsp
> Subject: [acb-hsp] [leadership] FYI: Doctors' offices unprepared
> 
> ---- Original Message ------
> From: "Sharon Lovering" <slovering at acb.org
> Subject: [leadership] FYI: Doctors' offices unprepared Date sent: Thu, 3 Nov
> 2011 10:19:56 -0400
> 
> Equal Rights Center Investigation Uncovers Widespread Accessibility
> Violations by Medical Care Providers
> 
> 
> WASHINGTON, D.C., November 2, 2011-Tomorrow, the Equal Rights 
> Center (ERC)
> will release a report documenting staggering levels of violations 
> of federal
> accessibility requirements at hospitals, doctor's offices, and 
> pharmacies
> across the nation. The report, "Ill-Prepared: Health Care's 
> Barriers for
> People with Disabilities," reveals that less than 25 percent of 
> medical
> service providers were compliant with accessibility standards 
> required under
> federal law.
> 
> 
> 
> "The denial of accessible health care compromises medical 
> treatment and puts
> both health and lives at risk," said Donald Kahl, ERC Executive 
> Director.
> "We hope that, after reading this report, health care service 
> providers will
> take the steps needed to comply with the law and effectively 
> treat all
> patients, including people with disabilities."
> 
> 
> 
> The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the
> Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibit both private and publically 
> funded
> health care providers from discriminating against people with 
> disabilities,
> and establish national standards to ensure that the health care 
> facilities
> and services are accessible.
> 
> 
> 
> Each year, the ERC receives numerous complaints from individuals 
> with
> disabilities across the nation who experience substantial health 
> care
> disparities and lack of access to appropriate care. To further 
> investigate
> these claims, the ERC initiated a three-pronged series of 
> investigations
> focused on structural barriers in health care facilities, 
> inaccessible
> medical equipment, and policies and procedures that create access 
> barriers
> for patients with disabilities, such as inaccessible forms of 
> communication.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The ERC's investigation revealed significant barriers in the 
> structural
> accessibility of doctors' offices and equipment, and in effective
> communication for individuals who are blind or have low vision. 
> As detailed
> in today's report, of the hundreds of tested facilities:
> 
> 
> 
> * Only 20 percent of optometrists' offices were able to 
> perform a
> complete eye exam on someone who uses a wheelchair;
> 
> * Only 23 percent of doctors' offices and hospitals 
> offered patient
> information in large print, and only 24 percent offered patient 
> information
> in an accessible format; and
> 
> * Only 1 percent of pharmacies offered any information in 
> Braille
> and only 1 percent offered audible prescription bottles. In 
> fact, 86
> percent of tested pharmacies would not accommodate the use of an 
> audible
> prescription bottle even if provided by the customer.
> 
> "Despite legal accessibility requirements, significant 
> impediments to
> service remain for the more than 54 million Americans living with 
> a
> disability. These problems will only become more devastating as 
> baby
> boomers age and the number of people with disabilities continues 
> to grow,"
> said Kat Taylor, ERC Disability Rights Manager. "Access not only 
> benefits
> individuals, but also society at large by creating a larger pool 
> of healthy,
> productive, working citizens. The ERC is committed to ensuring 
> equal access
> for all, and we hope that the findings in this report will lead 
> service
> providers to join in this effort."
> 
> 
> 
> To read the full report, go to: 
> www.equalrightscenter.org/illprepared
> 
> 
> 
> 
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