Accessibility of primary care physicians' offices for people with disabilities - An analysis of compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act

Objective: To determine if primary care physicians are in compliance with t he Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and to what extent offices of primary care physicians are usable for persons with disabilities. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Members listed in the Harris County (Texas) Medical Society roster . Subjects: Sixty-two general practitioners, family practitioners, internists , and obstetrician-gynecologists. Main Outcome Measure: A 15-page questionnaire with 57 items and 136 variabl es. Results: Eleven (18%) of the primary care physicians in this study were una ble to serve their patients with disabilities in the last year for reasons that could be interpreted as noncompliant with the ADA. Two physicians (3%) had offices that patients with disabilities could not enter because of phy sical barriers, and 1 physician (2%) had inaccessible equipment. Fourteen p hysicians (22%) were improperly referring patients with disabilities althou gh they generally treat such patients. In measuring the level of compliance with regard to structural features that enhance the accessibility of the p hysicians' offices, only 8 (13%) had a low level of compliance. Thirty-nine (63%) of the physicians supplied auxiliary aids and services to their pati ents with disabilities. The most common aid was printed materials. Conclusions: A substantial portion of primary care physicians' offices are not in compliance with the ADA, and some informational tools will be requir ed to inform physicians about the nondiscriminatory requirements of the sta tute.