Ensuring Access to Health Care for Patients With Disabilities

Patients with disabilities face barriers when they attempt to access health care.¹ These barriers include physical barriers to entering health care establishments, lack of accessible equipment, lack of a safe method for transferring the patient to an examination table, and the lack of policies that facilitate access.² The barriers persist despite 2 federal laws (the Americans With Disabilities Act [ADA] of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) that explicitly state that health care settings must be accessible to patients with disabilities.