Incidence of Accommodations for Patients With Significant Vision Limitations in Physicians’ Offices in the US
JAMA Opthalmology
Dec 2, 2021
Authors Lisa I. Iezzoni, MD, MSc; Sowmya R. Rao, PhD; Julie Ressalam, MPH; Dragana Bolcic-Jankovic, PhD, and Eric G. Campbell, PhD surveyed 1,400 physicians across 7 specialties (family medicine, general internal medicine, rheumatology, neurology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, and obstetrics-gynecology) about their use of basic accommodations when caring for patients with significant vision limitations. They found that less than one-tenth of physicians practicing in the US who care for patients with significant vision limitations usually or always describe clinic spaces or provide large-font materials, and less than one-third of ophthalmologists do so. Read article>>
In an invited commentary, Jacqueline Ramke, MPH, PhD, believes that unique barriers that people with vision impairment face have been ignored in health care settings, which translates to broader health inequities. Ramke calls for creation of accessible health care environments which are neccessary for equity, autonomy, and the rights of people with vision impairment. Read commentary>>