Access to health care occurs when there are no barriers to health services. For people with disabilities, this may mean more than physical access[1] to a building. It also means access to effective communication[2].
Access is achieved when each request for an accommodation[3] is addressed as best practice and not resisted as burdensome.
Vision: A health care system that is truly person centered is by design barrier free in every aspect, enabling all to have genuine equal access to preventative, primary and secondary health care.
Value: When a health care business is flexible and meets the needs of PWD in every aspect of their operations, they are able to effectively serve all members of their target populations.
Access is more than compliance, it is just good business.
Barrier: When people treat accessibility only as a legal requirement and resent it, they lose an opportunity to think outside of the box and conduct business in a manner that can better serve the entire patient population.
Ask: Access to health care is about much more than insurance coverage. It helps policy makers, payers and providers of health care understand that accessibility is good business.
[1] 42 U.S.C. §§4151 et seq
[2] http://www.ada.gov/effective-comm.htm includes access to all programs at all levels, from intake, to service delivery, to follow up, in all settings where health care is delivered, such as hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices.
[3] For communication access or reasonable modification of policy, practice or procedure
This document is not legal advise and following advise in this document does not mean that an entity has any certificate of compliance with the American’s with Disabilities Act or other disability rights laws
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