Treating People with Disabilities- Facilities and Communications

Joan Willshire (2019), Minnesota Physician, The Independent Medical Business Journal, Volume XXXIII, No. 04. Pages 16 – 18.

What’s the worst part about a routine trip to the doctor’s office—the long wait, the old magazines, the fear of needles? Add a disability, and you’ve got a recipe for a very stressful event, instead of a routine medical visit.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 26% of the adults in the U.S. have some type of disability. The majority of disabilities fall in the category of physical (mobility, hearing impairment, vision loss). Intellectual and cognitive issues may also create challenges when accessing medical care. However, medical professionals should be concerned less about the type of disability, and more about whether or not their clinics are accessible to all of their patients.

Joan Willshire, MPA