PATIENT DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS

To promote safe and accessible care for patients with disabilities; further,

To advocate for research to enhance capabilities in meeting the needs of patients with disabilities; further,

To advocate caring for patients with disabilities in college of pharmacy and pharmacy technician program curricula and in postgraduate residencies; further,

To support pharmacy workforce training to improve awareness of the barriers patients with disabilities face and ensure high quality care.

Rationale

Current statistics indicate that 20–30% of Americans have some type of disability Many of these patients, regardless of whether their disability is physical or mental, would benefit from the creation and adoption of technology and communication tools that improve how pharmacists and other providers interact with them. Because there is such a broad spectrum of potential patient needs, additional research on appropriate and safe implementation of technology and the creation of new solutions, is needed and should be supported by federal, state, and private funding. Further, pharmacy schools and other pharmacy workforce training programs should integrate education on serving patients with disability into their established curricula.