Recommendations on Standards for the Design of Medical Diagnostic Equipment for Adults with Disabilities, Advisory Committee Final Report

CURRENT SITUATION: THE VAST MAJORITY OF EXAMINATION AND PROCEDURES TABLES ARE 32 INCHES HIGH

In the United States, approximately 82 percent⁴ of physicians, hospitals and other health care providers use examination and procedures tables with a 32-inch fixed height, as shown in Figure 1. Industry commonly refers to these tables as "box tables.” These tables provide an often-insurmountable barrier to health care for people with mobility disabilities. Since 2001, the number of adjustable-height tables has steadily increased, but continues to represent a minority of examination tables in the United States.

Figure 1: Percentage of fixed height versus adjustable height medical tables 
(representing the U.S. install base of medical tables)

One of the primary objectives of the U.S. Access Board’s requirements should be to accelerate the growing trend of heath care providers to purchase adjustable height tables. In doing so, care should be taken to not render the progress that has already been made obsolete. For the reasons presented in this minority report, a 19 inch low adjustable height is best suited to achieving this objective. As illustrated in Figure 1 above, a standard lower maximum height that is less than 19” would re-classify the existing adjustable height tables available on the market today as inaccessible and penalize the physicians who have already made a good faith effort at accommodating their disabled patients.

Figure 2: Photograph illustrating the height difference between a fixed height and adjustable height medical table

NOTES

^4. Medical table install base derived from U.S. medical distribution sales data, as provided by Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX), found at http://www.ghx.com/product-pages/solutions/supplier-solutions/sales-data-analytics.aspx