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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Good afternoon all,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Anna and I hope this message finds you well.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>During the March meeting of the NFB of SC Legislative and advocacy Committee, we reviewed the 2021 resolutions in order to identify actions that need to be taken in order to address the concerns brought up at last year’s state convention. The first of these four resolutions refers to inaccessibility regarding medical records; please see the text of the resolution here:<o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin-bottom:.25in;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#616161;letter-spacing:.75pt'>Resolution 2021-01<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-bottom:.25in;background:white;box-sizing: inherit;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#616161;letter-spacing:.75pt'>Regarding Access to Electronic Health Records<br>WHEREAS, electronic health records are becoming more prevalent in our daily lives; and<br>WHEREAS, these records are not always accessible by blind South Carolinians; and<br>WHEREAS, Under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, electronic medical records must already be accessible yet many health care providers in South Carolina still maintain electronic platforms which are not accessible to the blind and low vision;<br>WHEREAS, lack of accessibility to electronic health records places the health, independence and right to privacy of the blind at risk; and<br>WHEREAS, it is essential that blind South Carolinians have full accessibility to electronic health records in order to establish independence and improve their health, well-being and overall quality of life and maintain their right to privacy; now therefore,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-bottom:.25in;background:white;box-sizing: inherit;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#616161;letter-spacing:.75pt'>BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina in convention assembled this twenty second day of August, 2021, that this organization call upon the South Carolina State Legislature to amend the Physicians’ Patient Records Act to require medical providers to adopt policies that ensure electronic health records platforms are fully accessible to blind individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In order for our committee the most effectively address the issues identified by this resolution, we need any individual who has encountered inaccessibility regarding medical records to reach out so that we can more accurately identify the problem. If you feel comfortable, we invite and encourage you to reach out to me via email at <a href="mailto:elizabethrouse.nfb@gmail.com">elizabethrouse.nfb@gmail.com</a> so that we can discuss your experiences.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>If anyone has questions, we also invite you to reach out via email and/or attend our next committee call, taking place on Wednesday, April 6 at 8 PM.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>With gratitude,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Elizabeth<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>