326 - Rethinking Rehabilitation Measures: A focus on Clinical Access Needs

-Review the current literature for articles pertaining to accessibility, disability and accommodations. 

-Analyze trends in the data based on demographics, type of need, and outcome measures used. 

-Based on the data from this literature review, we formulated a survey using selected elements from validated disability evaluations that assess patients’ access needs that can be adapted to any healthcare setting.

-Use this data to inform systematic changes that can streamline workflows and improve accessibility of healthcare services.

Design: A systematic literature review was conducted through PubMed. Initial searches using keywords related to "accessibility," "disability," and "accommodations" yielded 5,540 results. After screening 200 abstracts for relevance and applying specific Medical Subject Headings terms, 65 articles were identified. These were further refined to 24 studies based on our inclusion criteria. Findings from this analysis informed the development of a 2-page survey implemented at an outpatient pain/PM&R clinic.

Results: Our review revealed that barriers to accessing healthcare such as physical, financial, and digital challenges appeared frequently. While tools like the Functional Independence Measure and Short Form Health Survey provide useful insights, they do not comprehensively address specific barriers to access.Eventually, such data about disability status and accommodations may be collected as part of any patient’s electronic health record alongside other demographic data like race and preferred pronouns. This will form an inclusive database that can be queried for trends in disability-related needs and outcomes, like access to accommodations and specialty services.

Conclusions: Our review demonstrates the need for a standardized assessment tool that measures clinical accommodations to improve access to equitable healthcare.