Quoting Texas Medicine December 2, 2019
“An April 2019 study by Massachusetts General Hospital and two universities examined physicians’ knowledge of legal obligations when caring for patients with disabilities.”
“The study said most physicians interviewed “exhibited a superficial or incorrect understanding of their legal responsibilities to patients with a disability.”
The ADA defines a person with a disability as someone with “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities”; someone with a record of such an impairment; or someone who is “regarded as having such an impairment.”
Among the ADA standards required for accessible exam rooms, according to the guidance:
• The entry door to the exam room should be a minimum width of 32 inches when the door is opened at a 90-degree angle;
• There should be a minimum of 30 by 48 inches of clear floor space next to the exam table; and
• An accessible exam table should be able to be lowered to the height of the patient’s wheelchair seat, 17 to 19 inches from the floor .
Federal guidance also includes requirements on removing architectural barriers, accessible parking, and entrance and maneuvering spaces – which apply to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Among them:
• Designated accessible parking spaces must be included among any parking the business provides for the public “if doing so is readily achievable.” Those parking spaces should be the closest to the accessible entrance, on level ground. The spaces should be at least eight feet wide, with an access aisle on either side.
• For accessible spaces for cars, the adjacent access aisle must be at least five feet wide; for van spaces, eight feet wide.
• If achievable, an accessible service counter must have a maximum height of 36 inches, with a clear floor space of 30 by 48 inches to permit the use of a wheelchair.
• Hearing-impaired patients present their own considerations for delivering adequate care. TMA’s white paper, Americans with Disabilities Act and the Hearing Impaired, contains a summary of physicians’ requirements for those patients under the ADA and guidance from the Department of Justice (DOJ) on how they may be able to meet those requirements.
• In 2014, DOJ substantially increased ADA penalties for small businesses. The maximum fines are now $75,000 for a first-time violation – $20,000 higher than the previous maximum – and $150,000 for any subsequent violations.
To read the entire article, please click below.
Tex Med. 2019;115(12):40-41
December 2019 Texas MedicineContents
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