The University of Michigan Center for Disability Health and Wellness (CDHW) recognizes that the lack of centralized accessibility/accommodations resources for patients and visitors with disabilities places additional burden on patients and clinics. CDHW is advocating for improvements in the resources available at Michigan Medicine to ensure we are pioneering excellence in patient care for all patients.
The goal of the MiChart Disability and Accommodations Tab is to improve the accessibility of Michigan Medicine ambulatory care and inpatient services for people with disabilities using the electronic health record. To facilitate access, we are developing this tool to systematically collect disability-based information and accommodation needs from patients and making this information available in the patient’s medical record.
About the Disability and Accommodations Tab
The Disability Tab is a way to immediately access information about your patients’ disability accommodation needs. Information is fed to the Disability Tab through a patient facing questionnaire in the patient portal, or through entry by clinic staff.
The Disability and Accommodations Tab is available in MiChart, on the patient Storyboard (see the image on the left).
Selected disabilities appear in red text.
Clicking on the Disability Accommodations section of the Storyboard and selecting an encounter will launch a view screen allowing you to see the disabilities the patient has identified having, and the requested accommodations for those disabilities.
For example, this patient indicates they are Hard of Hearing/Deaf/Deaf-blind and require the use of an ASL interpreter, and requests that provider(s) and staff wear an approved clear mask (see our Resources page). Clinic staff should see these accommodations and ensure that Interpreter Services is aware of the patient’s appointment, and that the clinic has clear masks available.
Status of the Disability and Accommodations Tab
The Disability and Accommodations Tab is live in MiChart. Patients with portal access can complete the patient facing questionnaire and provide information on their disability accommodation needs to Michigan Medicine. Clinics can learn about patient accommodation needs through the patient’s Storyboard, the Multi-Provider Schedule, or the Department Appointments Report (DAR). We recommend looking at the Multi-Provider Schedule or DAR a few days prior to patient appointments to ensure that your clinic can provide requested patient accommodations.
We are currently working on ways to better integrate the Disability Tab into clinic workflows to ensure accommodation needs are met. As of late October 2021, we are piloting workflows at Dexter Family Medicine. If your clinic is interested in establishing a workflow to implement the Disability Tab, please contact the Disability Tab Coordinating Team (email: MiChartDisabilityTab@umich.edu).
Important Resource Links
- Resources, Protocols, Workflow, and Tip Sheets for Providers and Clinic Staff
- Frequently Asked Questions
MiChart Disability and Accommodations Tab Leadership and Champions
Coordinating Team
The Disability Tab Coordinating Team manages revisions to the Tab and has ongoing projects focused on the implementation and usability of the Disability Tab. For questions or inquiries about collaborations, please contact us via email at MiChartDisabilityTab@umich.edu.
- Heather Halkides – Ambulatory Application Coordinator, Health Information Technology Services.
- Tyler G. James, PhD, CHES – Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Family Medicine.
- Michael M. McKee, MD, MPH – Co-Director of U-M CDHW, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine.
- Michelle A. Meade, PhD – Co-Director of U-M CDHW, Professor, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Family Medicine.
- Christa Moran, MEd – Supervisor, Interpreter Services
- Sophia Park – Research Assistant II, Department of Family Medicine
Champions
We could not accomplish the work of implementing the Disability Tab without clinic- and department-level champions who support this work. If you are interested in serving as a champion for the Disability Tab, please email the Coordinating Team at MiChartDisabilityTab@umich.edu.
- Family Medicine at Dexter Health Center: Alyssa P. (Medical Assistant) and Meghan F. (Medical Assistant/Front Clerk)