Health Access for Independent Living (HAIL) Fact Sheet: Working with Your Health Care Provider

Communication Barriers.

Poor communication between a provider and a person with a disability inhibits accurate diagnosis and treatment. (The limited time that doctors spend during visits is also a barrier.) Sometimes the health care provider talks to a person’s aide or caregiver rather than talking directly to the person with the disability. Or maybe the doctor doesn’t communicate in detail because he assumes that a person who has a physical disability is also incapable of making decisions about a course of treatment.