5 Things We Must Do To Improve the US Healthcare System
For too long, deaf patients have navigated a healthcare system that overlooks their humanity. Providers still turn away while speaking, programs are designed for deaf people instead of with them, and access continues to be treated as an optional add-on rather than a right.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
True change begins when healthcare professionals see Deaf patients as whole individuals, not communication challenges to solve. Accessibility, representation, and accountability are not extras; they are the foundation of quality care.
In our latest video, “5 Things We Must Do to Improve the U.S. Healthcare System,” our vice-president, Allysa Dittmar, highlights what meaningful change looks like when deaf voices lead the conversation.
Watch the video below to hear how healthcare can truly become whole; when deaf patients are seen, included, understood, supported, and respected.
When deaf professionals and patients are part of the dialogue, the entire system becomes stronger, safer, and more responsive for everyone.
Accessibility isn’t optional. It’s the heart of equitable healthcare.
SOURCE: Authority Magazine
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Video Description & Transcript
[VD: The post has a video thumbnail with blue shading overlaid. The middle has a text bubble that reads “5 Musts for Better Healthcare” in white text with rose background. In the video, a woman with blonde wavy hair is sitting in front of the camera. She is wearing a black top.
Transcript:
1. See us. Too often, deaf people walk into hospitals and become invisible. Providers talk to the interpreter, not to us. They turn away while speaking. There’s no eye contact, no connection. If you can’t look at me, how can you care for me?
2. Include us. Healthcare often makes decisions about patients without patients. Too often, programs and services are designed for deaf people instead of with deaf people, leading to systems that seemingly look good on paper but fail in practice. If you want to build healthcare that truly works, start by including the people it’s meant to serve in the decision-making process. If you don’t know what we need: ask and listen when we tell you.
3. Understand us. Access must be built in, not requested. Deaf people shouldn’t have to fight for interpreters, captions, or other accommodations every time we need care. Access is the foundation of safety, trust, and quality care. A missed interpreter or an inaccessible telehealth platform can lead to missed diagnoses, medication errors, or even life-threatening outcomes. Communication is a basic right, not a luxury.
4. Support us. Mental health must be seen as an essential part of healthcare, not treated separately. There’s a severe shortage of accessible mental health resources for deaf communities and that gap too often ends in crisis. Deaf patients already enter the healthcare system carrying additional stress and trauma from being misunderstood, misdiagnosed, dismissed or discriminated against. That burden compounds over time, and it’s preventable. Supporting us starts with listening to our stories, and believing our experiences.
5. Respect us. Accountability must have consequences. The Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act already mandate equal communication access, yet deaf people are still denied interpreters, captions, and equitable care – again and again. Doctors and hospitals face little to no repercussions, and that lack of accountability sends a message that our rights are optional. Accessibility laws mean nothing without enforcement.
See us. Include us. Understand us. Support us. Respect us. That’s how healthcare becomes whole. [The screen fades to show a thumbnail of a faded white background of a doctor holding hands with another individual] Deaf. Healthy. DeafHealth. Learn more at www.deafhealthaccess.org.].]