Recommendations on Standards for the Design of Medical Diagnostic Equipment for Adults with Disabilities, Advisory Committee Final Report

8.2 Expanding Medical Equipment Covered

Its statutory authority limited the MDE Advisory Committee to addressing medical diagnostic equipment. However, some Committee members raised concerns that the Committee had not addressed every possible type of diagnostic equipment. Other Committee members noted that equipment used specifically for treatments was explicitly excluded. Committee members stated strongly that future standard setting initiatives must aim to encompass all equipment used within health care settings, both diagnostic and therapeutic equipment. The U.S. Access Board’s MDE initiative will work hand-in-hand with the existing requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which already require health care providers to provide accessible health care to their patients (see Section 2.7).

At their first meeting, MDE Advisory Committee members conducted an exercise aimed at eliciting a comprehensive listing of medical diagnostic equipment types. Table 3.1 lists the equipment types mentioned during this exercise. Although this list seemed to encompass a wide range of diagnostic equipment types, it is possible that the Committee did not sufficiently consider specific diagnostic equipment with sufficiently different features to have merited special attention. Clearly outside the statutory authority of the committee is medical equipment with solely therapeutic (treatment) intent. Examples of these types of equipment include:

• Infusion chairs: chairs used for seating of patients receiving infusions, such as intravenous chemotherapy;

• Dialysis chairs: chairs occupied by individuals undergoing hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis;

• Radiation therapy equipment: treatments involving various types of radiation for persons with cancers, in which patients typically are positioned carefully on a table and then strapped down so they cannot move; this focuses the beam of radiation on the tumor and minimizes damage of nearby tissues; and

• Other tables and chairs specifically designed for highly specialized procedures.

Persons with disabilities obviously need these services just as do others. Without necessary accommodations they confront barriers to obtaining these services. This could lead to worse health and perpetuate inequities in health and well-being experienced by individuals with disabilities. Future efforts to develop accessibility standards must include the full range of medical equipment used for treating patients. Exceptions might include equipment used in settings where all patients are sedated, anesthetized, or transferred by medical personnel, such as operating room tables.