Accessibility for people with mobility disabilities like spinal cord injury (SCI) has improved over the decades since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990. But while businesses that serve the public readily comply with ADA regulations regarding provision of ramps for wheelchair access, that’s often where accommodations end – even in a medical facility.
If you require additional mobility assistance, such as help transferring onto the examination table, its not uncommon for health care providers to deny services.
But while it is not uncommon, it’s actually illegal.
When patients can’t get simple preventative care, health problems worsen and can become dangerous. Research shows that disabled women are less likely to get mammograms and Pap tests.
A national survey found that getting onto the exam table is the most common problem in healthcare facilities when it comes to lack of accommodations for people with disabilities.
The ADA is clear. Healthcare facilities are required to possess the necessary durable equipment and trained staff to meet the needs of all individuals.
Here’s what a healthcare provider cannot tell you:
- The exam will have to be performed in the wheelchair since you cannot access the table independently
- The exam will not be performed due to lack of durable equipment and/or trained staff
- You must bring your own assistant if you cannot transfer independently
- The exam cannot be performed because the transfer is a liability issue (the possibility of staff or patient being injured)
Know your rights
On August 9, 2024, the Federal Register published the Department of Justice’s final rule updating the regulation for Title II of the ADA. There are new and specific requirements about accessible diagnostic medical equipment.
Starting this October all equipment purchased by facilities with exam tables must accommodate individuals who cannot independently transfer. By August of 2026 they must have at least one accessible exam table.
For people with disabilities all across the country, these requirements are long overdue, and the ADA already clearly states that providers are responsible for transfers to exam tables.
If you have a spinal cord injury, especially at the cervical level, the odds are you have experienced this type of discrimination in healthcare settings already.
You might be able to relate to Nola, who suffered through preparation for a colonoscopy only to be denied the procedure when she showed up in her wheelchair, or Brian, who suffered kidney disease for lack of access to diagnosis exams in a timely matter. Maybe you’ve been turned down by three specialists in a row, and the ER isn’t an option until conditions deteriorate further. That’s what I’m going through this month as a C3-4 quadriplegic.
Refusing to assist people with disabilities onto examination tables for medical care is not ethical, it’s not fair and it’s not legal.
So what should you do if a healthcare provider denies your accommodation?
Phone: