Adaptive Technology

Three institutions are teaming up to discover how people with disabilities can best access information in the new world of electronic health information.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Inglis Foundation in Philadelphia are partnering with Boston public broadcaster WGBH’s Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) on a joint project to explore how adaptive technology (AT) can make personal health records accessible to people with disabilities. NCAM is the project leader and principal recipient of the three-year, $600,000 grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The Accessible Designs for Personal Health Records project is funded by the Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The project began operations late last year.

Project staff members will systematically observe consumers served by Inglis Foundation as they perform tasks and seek information in their own electronic health records (EHRs). Inglis serves more than 900 adults with physical disabilities in the Philadelphia area.

Many people are using electronic devices to manage their healthcare, including scheduling appointments, refilling prescriptions, and viewing lab results. For people with disabilities, more specific needs come into play—for individuals with visual impairments, getting nonvisual information; for those with limited hand mobility, having AT to access computer keyboards, screens and mice; for people with cognitive impairments, having minimal distractions and perhaps simplified terminology.

After the project’s initial assessment of the current EHR situation, the staff will develop guidelines and recommendations for better accessibility. Making information systems more useable and accessible for people with disabilities will also benefit broader populations of users.

For more information, visit ncam.wgbh.org.

 

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