Many physicians are obligated to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when caring for their patients. It may come naturally to think about how your physical space is designed to help your patients who are disabled, but what about your digital space?
The Texas Medical Association’s House of Delegates recently adopted policy that supports the compliance of telemedicine platforms with ADA and encourages hospitals and clinics in Texas to adhere to guidelines that maintain ADA standards within telemedicine.
ADA defines a person with a disability as someone with “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.”
“Because telehealth is health care, physicians absolutely should consider how they use telehealth when treating patients with disabilities so those patients have equal access to services,” said Austin psychiatrist Thomas Kim, MD, a consultant to TMA’s Committee on Health Information Technology.
The federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) maintains a telehealth website to support physicians and other health care professionals with a variety of resources for their digital health strategy. One section of the site is dedicated to improving access to telehealth, including assisting patients with disabilities.
Prior to the appointment, send previsit materials and assess patient accessibility and the patient’s technological situation;
Consider making the format of the patient materials available as audio recordings or Braille; and
Contemplate telehealth platforms that include accessibility features such as live captions or high-contrast displays. It’s possible these options are available on your current platform and have not been enabled.
As you incorporate telemedicine into your practice, be sure to update your policies and procedures to reflect how you make these technologies available to all patients. Check out the TMA Telemedicine Resource Center, which includes downloadable policies, procedures, and forms you can modify for your practice.
You can direct questions about telemedicine and other office technologies to TMA’s Health Information Technology Department by calling (800) 880-5720 or by email.