OCTOBER 2026

Thank you to all who attended The Accessible Healthcare Workshop: Real-World Lessons from Health Systems Nationwide! The Workshop will be available as an on-demand course through Rusk Medical Education at NYU Langone Health soon – stay tuned! 

NEW Chapters: Accessible Healthcare for People with Disabilities: An Implementation Guide for Healthcare Organizations

DEC added two NEW chapters to Accessible Healthcare for People with Disabilities: An Implementation Guide for Healthcare Organizations.

• Chapter 5: Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment↗: Guidance on auditing, procuring, and monitoring replacement of accessible MDE.
• Chapter 6: Accessible Physical Structures and Features↗: Guidance on designing and constructing healthcare spaces that are physically accessible to people with disabilities.

A special thank you to Holly Darnell and Bill Zellmer for their contributions to the development of each of these chapters. You can explore the full Guide on our website.↗ Please share widely with your networks!



The Accessible Healthcare Workshop: Real-World Lessons from Health Systems Nationwide

THANK YOU to all who attended the first annual Accessible Healthcare Workshop! Earlier this month, DEC hosted a live, two-day virtual workshop for disability leaders in healthcare. Members from DEC’s Healthcare Leaders workgroup shared their work managing disability accessibility initiatives across a variety of topics, including working with leadership, implementing accessible medical diagnostic equipment, facilitating effective communication, engaging the disability community, and more.

Attendees can access recordings and course materials until November 8th. An on-demand course will be available soon.

Webinar: Leading Accessible Women's Health Clinics

Join DEC Wednesday, November 4 at 12:00 PM EST for a webinar, “Leading Accessible Women’s Health Clinics”. Dr. John Harris, Director of the UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Center for Women with Disabilities, and Connie Lam, Director of the Initiative for Women with Disabilities at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, will share their experiences leading disability-accessible specialized clinics for reproductive and women’s health services. Read more and register here.↗

DEC’s Healthcare Leaders Workgroup (Leaders) is a group of individuals who work in healthcare organizations and hospitals on disability accessibility initiatives. Leaders meets virtually on the first Friday and third Thursday every month.

Recent topics discussed include:

• Service animal policies and procedures
• Digital accessibility: websites, patient portals, and kiosks
• Documenting patient accommodation needs in electronic health records
• Patient-provider communication with patients who use AAC devices

We are transitioning our Documentation, Research, and Standards & Guidelines workgroups to special interest groups (SIGs). These workgroups were originally created to complete specific projects. Since the completion of these projects, the workgroups have evolved into spaces for DEC community members to connect, share ideas, and further the work to improve disability access in healthcare.

DEC will now host monthly webinars, roughly alternating between these three subject areas. Basecamp will remain an asynchronous space for SIG members to connect and share resources with one another. To learn more about the groups' activities or to join the conversation, please complete this short interest form.↗

Documentation

The Documentation SIG is interested in developing standards for documenting patients’ disability status and accommodation needs in electronic health records. The group was instrumental in developing Chapter 2 of DEC’s Implementation Guide, Documenting Disability Status and Accommodation Needs.↗ Stay tuned for an upcoming webinar announcement.

Research

DEC virtual research presentations engage the intersection of research, policy, practice, and advocacy. In September, Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar presented, “Advancing Cancer Screening Among Americans Who Use Sign Language”. Join the SIG↗ to be the first to hear about future presentations.

Standards & Guidelines

Standards & Guidelines members are interested in developing actionable implementation guidelines for accessibility in healthcare settings. In August, Janet Shouse from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities presented, “The IDD Toolkit: Tools to Enhance Care for Adults with IDD.”

View the recording here!↗

2026 National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD)

The National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD) is an ongoing survey of adults with disabilities collected by the Institute for Health and Disability Policy Studies at the University of Kansas. The survey asks about disability, health status, unmet healthcare needs, health insurance coverage, and more. Complete the survey here.↗

AHA Listening Sessions: Improving Care and Health Outcomes for People with Disabilities

In August, the American Hospital Association (AHA) released a set of recommendations to help hospital leaders identify barriers to care, implement practices that enhance accessibility, and improve experiences and outcomes for patients with disabilities and their families. To collect feedback on these recommended approaches, AHA is hosting listening sessions open to the public. Download the issue brief and register for upcoming listening sessions here.↗

FROM THE FIELD

National Council on Disability Progress Report

This month, the National Council on Disability released National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, 2026. The report evaluates major developments in disability policy across key sectors, including healthcare, and lays out recommendations to address ongoing challenges to the rights of individuals with disabilities. Download the report here.↗

AHA: The Economic Impact of Health Disparities: Leveraging Data-Informed Strategies to Improve Outcomes and Reduce Cost Drivers

In August, the AHA’s Division of Health Outcomes and Care Transformation released a Resource Guide to help hospital and health system leaders build the business case for addressing health disparities by demonstrating their significant macro- and microeconomic impact on communities, patients, and healthcare organizations. Visit this page to download the Guide and register for a webinar featuring a deep dive into its contents.↗

Osteoporosis Screening Practice Considerations for Patients with Disabilities

In July, MCD Global Health published a resource on barriers, accommodation needs, and strategies to support accessible osteoporosis screening for patients with mobility disabilities, sensory disabilities, and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The resource is intended for both the healthcare provider who orders osteoporosis screening and the imaging center staff responsible for conducting the screening. Check out the Guide here!↗

WHAT WE'RE READING

Implementation of Communication Disability Documentation and Accommodations in Primary Care: A Pragmatic Type III Hybrid Implementation-Effectiveness Trial Protocol↗

This paper describes the study protocol for the “Documentation of Communication Disability Collection and Accommodations in Primary Care Settings” (DECA) study, a pragmatic Type III hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial evaluating an implementation guide and practice facilitation on the documentation of patients’ communication disability status. The study is led by Dr. Megan Morris, DEC’s Director.

From Policy to Practice: A Speech-Language Pathologist’s Guide to Advancing Communication Access Through Accommodations↗

This clinical focus article highlights how SLPs can utilize their unique knowledge to prepare both patients and healthcare team members to support the successful provision of disability accommodations. The paper is led by DEC’s Dr. Jen Oshita and Dr. Morris.

Providing Equitable Care for Patients with Disabilities: Current State, System Gaps, and Improvement Priorities↗

This narrative review synthesizes current knowledge regarding healthcare quality and safety for PWD. This review highlights eight domains within healthcare that need improvement, including communication, physical accessibility, workforce competency, diagnostic accuracy, care coordination and care transitions, data & measurement, scheduling, and patient & family engagement. The paper provides a roadmap for health systems and healthcare education leaders seeking to advance disability-inclusive care.

Promoting High-Quality, Accessible Cancer Care for People With Disabilities↗

This paper provides a narrative review of the barriers to oncology care faced by people with disabilities, organized around the following primary topics: (1) biases faced from healthcare professionals, (2) screening, (3) diagnosis, (4) treatment, (5) survivorship, and (6) historical exclusion from oncology research.

Accessing Cancer Screening As A Person With Quadriplegia↗

In this paper, Sharifa Abu-Hamda shares her experience receiving a mammogram, making the case that care coordinators, proper accommodations, and funding can make cancer screenings more accessible to people with physical disabilities.

Best Practices in Obstetrics for Patients Who Are Nonspeaking↗

This paper aims to increase understanding of how to support individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in obstetric and gynecologic care. The paper highlights protocols and responsibilities that might be encountered through the course of care, identifies processes to integrate into practice, and provides resources, tools, and strategies that can support effective communication.

Prenatal care for women with physical disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act: patient experiences and gaps in access↗

This study highlights the understanding of the prenatal care experiences of patients with physical disabilities. This paper provides insight into these experiences, their relation to ADA standards, and potential areas of intervention to ameliorate the experience of prenatal care for this patient population.

Abstract: “I Have to be Mentally Ready to Fight for My Very Existence”: Experiences of People With Disabilities in Chicago Emergency Departments↗

This study sought to characterize experiences of emergency care among people with disabilities and identify opportunities to improve care delivery. Findings highlight how gaps in communication, accommodation, and disability-informed training may contribute to negative experiences and delayed care-seeking.

Inequities in Preventive Care for Adults with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disability in the USA: A Narrative Review↗

In this narrative review, researchers examined disparities in preventive care utilization for U.S. adults with IDD and describe barriers on the patient, clinician, and system levels. They also explore potential strategies to expand access, including alternative screening modalities and models of care delivery.

Engaging Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities as “Citizen Scientists” to Transform Health Care Accessibility↗

This study used the evidence-based Our Voice citizen science approach to engage adults with IDD in identifying barriers and facilitators to primary care access and generating actionable solutions. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of engaging adults with IDD in structured, clinic-based accessibility assessments and suggest a participatory framework that may inform research and QI initiatives aimed at promoting disability-inclusive healthcare.