[nfbmi-talk] access issue related to employment of blind

[joe harcz Comcast]

Also impacts consumers....

Now this goes to the ability of blind folks to work in these fields and is precisely what NFB should be, in my opinion. We are not the job providers, or service providers. It is our job as a civil rights organization to ensure systems are accessable and that civil rights laws are followed so that we can be both informed consumers and employees in this field.

Joe Harcz
Inaccessibility of Electronic Health Records in Michigan

 

WHEREAS, the transition from print-based medical records to electronic health records (EHRs) offers the opportunity to expand the circle of participation in the healthcare industry by giving blind providers mainstream access to systems and material that they need in order to do their jobs without the need for alternative formats, specialized services, and customized supports, and by giving blind patients private and equal access to their health records; and

 

WHEREAS, most current EHR technology is inaccessible to blind patients and blind people working in or pursuing work in the healthcare industry, creating new barriers that may ultimately drive blind people out of the industry altogether and prevent blind patients from having equal access to and privately viewing their records; and

 

WHEREAS, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 have been in effect since 2008 and are the means by which EHR technology can be made accessible; and

 

WHEREAS, blind patients and workers in the health care industry in Michigan are facing extreme and needless discrimination as a result of inaccessible EHR technology: Now, therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan in Convention assembled this 12th day of October, 2014, in the city of Flint, Michigan that we strongly demand compliance to all laws which insure our right to information and that the Department of Human Services, hospitals, outpatient physical health clinics, the Department of Community Health, the 46 community mental health agencies/authorities and any healthcare provider that deploys HER technology proactively to demand without delay, accessibility from developers, since all of these entities are stakeholders in this matter and will never fully realize the benefits of EHR technology unless that technology is accessible to users with disabilities; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that within 30 days this organization shall request legal consultation with our national office to determine if any declaratory, injunctive relief, or any other legal remedies would be deemed appropriate.