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Title III of the ADA applies to all private health care providers, regardless of the size of the office or the number of employees. 28 C.F.R 36.104.

It applies to providers of both physical and mental health care. Hospitals, nursing homes, psychiatric and psychological services, offices of private physicians, dentists, and health clinics are included among the health care providers covered by the ADA. If a professional office of a doctor, dentist, or psychologist is located in a private home, the portion of the home used for public purposes (including the entrance) is considered a “place of public accommodation.” 28 C.F.R. 36.207

Health care providers have a duty to provide auxiliary aids and services that ensure that communication with people who have a hearing loss is as effective as communication with others. C.F.R. 36.306

A health care provider must ensure that it can communicate effectively with customers, clients, and other individuals with hearing loss who are seeking or receiving its services. 56 Fed. Reg. at 35565.

Such individuals may not always be “patients” of the health care provider. For example, if prenatal classes are offered as a service to both fathers and mothers, a father with a hearing loss must be given auxiliary aids or services that offer him the same opportunity to benefit from the classes as would other fathers. Similarly, a Deaf parent of a hearing child may require an auxiliary aid or service to give informed consent for the child’s surgery.

Appropriate auxiliary aids and services may include services and devices such as qualified interpreters, assistive listening devices, note-takers, written materials for individuals with hearing impairments; qualified readers, taped texts, and Brailed or large print materials for individuals with vision impairments. 28 C.F.R. 303(b)(1)

The auxiliary aid requirement is flexible, and the healthcare provider can choose among various alternatives as long as the result is effective communication for the individual with a hearing loss. A person with a hearing loss knows best which auxiliary aid or service will achieve effective communication with their health care provider.

The Justice Department expects that the health care provider will consult with the patient and consider carefully his or her self-assessed communication needs before acquiring a particular aid or services. 56 Fed. Reg. at 35566-67.

Auxiliary aids and services are often needed to provide safe and effective medical treatment. Without these aids and services, medical staff run the grave risk of not understanding the patient’s symptoms, misdiagnosing the patient’s medical problem, and prescribing inadequate or even harmful treatment.

Similarly, patients may not understand medical instructions and warnings or prescription guidelines.

Yes. The ADA does not require the provision of any auxiliary aid or service that would result in an undue burden or in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the goods or services provided by a health care provider. 28 C.F.R. 36.303(a)

However, the health care provider is not relieved from the duty to furnish an alternative auxiliary aid or service, if the provision of that aid or service would not result in a fundamental alteration or undue burden. 28 C.F.R. 36.303(f)

Both of these limitations are derived from existing regulations and case law under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and are to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

In certain situations, the cost of providing an auxiliary aid or service (for example, an interpreter) to achieve effective communication in administering a particular medical service may exceed the charge to the patient for that very same service.

A healthcare provider is expected to treat the costs of providing auxiliary aids and services as part of the overhead costs of operating a business. Accordingly, so long as the provision of the auxiliary aid or service does not impose an undue burden on the provider’s business and does not fundamentally alter the provider’s services, the provider may be obligated to pay for the auxiliary aid or service in this situation.

No. A health care provider cannot charge a patient for the costs of providing auxiliary aids and services, either directly or through the patient’s insurance carrier. 

A qualified interpreter is an interpreter who is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary. 

Global Interpreting makes sure our interpreters are trained and vetted