A 2006 survey of people with disabilities showed that 75% of them have at least a moderate degree of difficulty using the examination tables in a doctor’s office. The most obvious problem is that most of the tables are too high. But also there is a lack of railing and hand-holds to allow safe transfer.

The survey also indicated difficulties with imaging equipment like x-ray machines and MRIs. Something as simple as getting weighed can also pose significant challenges for those with disabilities.

The survey was published by the Western University of Health Sciences Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions in Pomona, California, and Houston’s Independent Living Research Utilization.

So I’ve had this ongoing battle with my eye doctor over a bill. It has been month after month. They say one thing and my insurance company says another. I keep thinking that I’ve got it resolved. Then the next month another bill comes and it still isn’t resolved.

So today when yet another incorrect bill arrived, I was about to lose my cool. I picked up the phone ready to really let someone have it. I really didn’t care how friendly the voice was on the other end of the line. But when Samantha (the customer service agent) let me have my say, she immediately went to work on her computer. She pulled up the bill and all of my former attempts to get this fixed. In less than five minutes, she not only had it resolved, she had called my doctor’s office with me still on the line and made sure they knew what was going on too. So for all my complaining, I thought it was fair that I gave praise where it was due as well.