The OHCUP: A Tool to Improve Outpatient Access

Is your doctor's office fully accessible? You can help your healthcare providers identify problems and implement solutions by using the Outpatient Health Care Usability Profile (OHCUP).

The OHCUP is an easy-to-use checklist that is less complex than ADA guidelines. It measures how usable clinics are for people with specific disabilities: physical, vision or hearing, and learning. Individuals with disabilities can give the OHCUP to their health providers to encourage them to improve accessibility.

This tool to help medical offices and clinics improve their accessibility was developed as part of the Community Engagement Evaluation Project, a research project of the RTC on Measurement and Interdependence in Community Living.

Resources for healthcare providers from the RTC/IL

• How to Make Your Medical Practice More Accessible to People with Disabilities (PDF)
  - Getting tax incentives for adjustable-height exam tables, accessible scales and facility improvements (webpage)
  - Ways to improve access for people who have sensory (vision and hearing) disabilities (webpage)
  - Notes on disability etiquette (webpage)
  
  
• IRS Tax Form 8826 for "Disabled Access Credit" (PDF)
  
  
• Outstanding Programs to Replicate to Promote the Health of People with Disabilities (PDF)
  This fact sheet identifies successful programs for training consumers, training medical professionals and paraprofessionals, and removing barriers.
  

• Cancer Prevention for People with Disabilities (PDF)
  This resource guide lists informational websites, continuing education courses and research articles.

Online Trainings

• Healthcare Access for Persons with Disabilities (on Kansas TRAIN)
  One CME/CNE is offered for $10.
  This course provides tips for delivering culturally sensitive, high quality care to adults and children with physical and sensory disabilities, along with solutions to common problems in serving patients with disabilities.
  
  - The course is free to providers nationwide. One CME/CNE is available for $10.
  - To enroll, go to https://ks.train.org if you’re in Kansas. All others, go to www.train.org. (First-time users create a login name and password.)
  - Search for “Healthcare Access for Persons with Disabilities,” course number 1025624.
  


• Healthcare Access for Persons with Disabilities- approved for continuing education by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These trainings are expanded versions of the course listed above on the Kansas TRAIN system.
  
  
  • Part I: Persons with Physical and Sensory Disabilities
  • Part II: Persons with Developmental Disabilities
    
    
  Please contact Steve Rosensweig with technical questions and problems, steven.rosensweig@osumc.edu.
  

Resources available from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment

• Removing Barriers to Health Care: A Guide for Health Professionals (from the Center for Universal Design) - Includes recommended Universal Design features, selected Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for health care providers and communication tips for specific disabilities.
  
  
• Federal Tax Incentives for Improving Accessibility (from Harris Family Center for Disability and Health Policy) - The "Disabled Access Tax Credit" is a tax credit for access expenditures that are incurred in order to comply with the ADA. This enables an eligible small business to elect a nonrefundable tax credit equal to half of the expenditures for eligible accommodations that are above $250. The maximum credit a business can elect for any tax year is $5,000 for eligible expenditures of $10,250 or more.
  
  
• Resources for Making an Office or Clinic More Accessible (from Harris Family Center for Disability and Health Policy)
  • Accessible exam tables, chairs and scales
  • Improving accessibility with limited resources
  • Providing Information in Alternative Formats