Deaf Patients, Hearing Medical Personnel

When deaf people interact with the medical system, access can mean the difference between life and death. Accommodations are not always intuitive to medical personnel, and not all deaf patients know how to explain why they need what they do. Interpreters, family, and friends of deaf people and patients themselves can either help or make it much worse. This publication unpacks each role and shows how by working together, a comprehensive individualized access system can make medical care for deaf people as successful as possible, respecting their safety and dignity.