Mid-wheel drive powered wheelchairs

Mid-wheel drive powered wheelchairs (MWDs) have been extremely popular in the American and Canadian markets for the past few years. The drive wheels of this type of chair are positioned in line with or near the centre of gravity of the chair, while the drive wheels of other powered chairs are located towards the front or the rear. This characteristic provides greater manoeuvrability in confined spaces. In Québec, more and more people who need mobility aids have been
applying for this type of wheelchair.

That is why the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), which administers the program covering devices that compensate for physical deficiencies, called upon AETMIS to shed light on the advisability of adding MWDs to the list of insured devices and, if so, to recommend specific eligibility requirements for potential users.

The analysis we conducted revealed that powered wheelchairs were generally unreliable in the United States during the last decade. This problem led to the enactment of laws commonly known as wheelchair lemon laws. Their primary goal was to oblige wheelchair manufacturers and dealers to fulfill their repair or replacement warranties, and to do so within a reasonable amount of time. Although this situation is not directly applicable to Québec, it does alert us to the need for caution in managing our fleet of powered wheelchairs.