Improved Detection of Patient Disabilities Can Reduce Disparities in Clinical Care

Newswise — CHICAGO, May 9, 2014 – People with disabilities have greater risk for experiencing healthcare disparities and differences in diagnoses, treatments and outcomes, according to research reported in the Journal for Healthcare Quality (JHQ). The journal is the peer-reviewed publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ, www.nahq.org).

Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population lives with a disability, but little attention has been paid to improving the quality of healthcare provided to disabled patients. A major factor has been inadequate identification of specific disabilities.

“People with disabilities are a diverse population and it is difficult to fully capture their experiences within the healthcare system,” said lead author Megan A. Morris, Center for Healthcare Studies at Northwestern University, Chicago. “After passage of the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services published six required disability status questions, but they fulfill agency needs and are not designed to gather disability data within a healthcare provider organization.”

According to Morris, the ACS questions may be limited because they focus on impairments and limitations and do not includ environmental and personal factors. For example, patients with communication or learning disabilities are important to identify because they may have difficulty in communicating with physicians or with overall health literacy.

The study recommended that healthcare providers develop questions that capture the range of possible disabilities and produce actionable data, which can be used for developing quality improvement initiatives. Also, the authors suggested that involving persons with disabilities and their families in developing questions would help incorporate a broader perspective in which environmental and social factors are considered. This will help identify potential disparities. The authors concluded that pinpointing disparities in care for disabled patients would enable provider organizations to establish effective quality improvement initiatives and eliminate disability disparities.

About the Journal of Healthcare QualityThe Journal for Healthcare Quality (JHQ) is the first choice for creative and scientific solutions in the pursuit of healthcare quality. JHQ is peer reviewed and published six times a year. JHQ publishes scholarly articles targeted to leaders of all healthcare settings, leveraging applied research and producing practical, timely, and impactful evidence in healthcare system transformation covering topics in: quality improvement, patient safety, performance measurement, best practices in clinical and operational processes, innovation, leadership, information technology, spreading improvement, sustaining improvement, cost reduction, and payment reform.

About NAHQFounded in 1976 and covering a full spectrum of healthcare specialties, the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) is an essential and interactive resource for quality and patient safety professionals worldwide. NAHQ’s vision is to realize the promise of healthcare improvement through innovative practices in quality and patient safety.

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