At home COVID-19 tests are one example of technology that presents challenges for disabled people, given its small print instructions and results panel which may be difficult for blind people to read. The move to more at-home testing has also put pressure on disabled people, and in some cases has forced them to delay their care as they wait for an in-person appointment with a physician. Virtual health services for deaf-blind people can also be difficult, especially without an interpreter, and can lead the patient unsure of the health advice given by their physician.
Only a small number of health systems offer interpretive services for telehealth appointments, and according to Health Affairs, more than 35 percent of physicians don’t understand their legal obligations to disabled patients.
Some organizations are hitting back in response to some of these exclusions and disabled people are speaking up to urge health providers to do better. The American Council of the Blind is currently engaged in litigation against Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics over touch-screen check-in kiosks at the medical device companies’ COVID-19 testing facilities.
“Accessibility needs to be part of what we do as a government, as a society,” said Bryan Bashin, CEO of the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco to KHN.
