Our Member Bulletin on the topic
is posted below for your reference:
WNY HEALTHCARE ASSOCIATION MEMBER
BULLETIN
Please see details of the
state’s new provision of pre‐admission and discharge information law below.
As discussed at our November WNY
Healthcare Association Board meeting, as a member of the Executive Board of the
New York State Health Department’s Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped I was privileged to
have input into the ways hospitals can meet this obligation. I have included a
link to the one application discussed below, and a printout of information
about the ‘app’, for your reference: http://www.knfbreader.com/
Or hear an online presentation
on the application, at: http://knfbreader.com/media/demo/audio/KNFBReader%20Official%20unveiling%20NFB14.mp3
John
John E. Bartimole
President, WNY Healthcare Association
MEMO
To: Hospitals and Health Systems
Subject: Implementation of New Law on Provision of Pre‐Admission and Discharge
Information to
Blind or Visually Impaired Patients
This letter has been developed
by HANYS and GNYHA, in consultation with the New York State Department of
Health (DOH) and the Executive Board of the Commission for the Blind and
Visually Handicapped, to provide guidance
regarding implementation of Chapter 92 of the Laws of 2014. This new law, which
was effective as of October 20, 2014, requires hospitals to provide blind or
visually impaired patients specific accommodations concerning pre‐admission and
discharge information.
The law was advanced and
supported by the Executive Board of the Commission for the Blind and Visually
Handicapped ‐ a state panel charged with examining and analyzing services
provided to individuals who are legally
blind or visually impaired, identifying any problems or deficiencies, and recommending
improvements in those services.
At a recent meeting of the
Board, HANYS asked for clarification and guidance as to what would be considered
acceptable compliance policies (based on the Board’s intent in advancing this
legislation), which would best meet the needs of the patients. Based on the
discussion at the Executive Board,
and subsequent discussions with
DOH, the following best practices have been identified: The first—and most
basic step—is to ask the patient what medium is preferred. Among the possibilities facilities may
offer, include:
• Large Print. Technically, large
print is anything over 14‐point type. But that may vary, depending on the needs
of the individual. Also, large print documents should not be created using
serif typefaces (such as Times Roman). Instead, facilities should create these
documents using sans serif typefaces, such as Helvetica, and use bold print.
• Voice Mail. Since many blind
or visually impaired patients will have cell phones, it may be acceptable for
the hospital to simply read the instructions into the individual’s voice mail.
• E‐Mail Word Documents. In
consultation with the patient, the hospital may also choose to email the files
to the patient (Word or plain text is best). Many blind or visually impaired
individuals have computer programs that read
email to them quickly and thoroughly.
• KNFB Reader. Ask the patient
if he or she has access to the KNFB Reader on his or her smartphone. This
recently released application allows the user to take a picture of applicable documents and then have those
documents read back to the patient.
• Audio File. Provide an audio
file (via email or USB) to the individual.
• Include a Call‐Back Number.
Always provide, in one of the formats listed above, a call‐back
number for the blind or visually
impaired patient.
• Honor personal preference. The key—always—is to
ascertain from the blind or visually impaired individual what his/her
preference is.
One additional note: Facilities
should avoid emailing .PDF (portable document format) files, since today’s
readers have difficulty in using that format for output back to the user.
‐End-
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