New ACP Papers Say Health Care Must Be More Accessible and Inclusive for Patients and Physicians with Disabilities

PHILADELPHIA, March 9, 2026-Two new papers from the American College of Physicians (ACP) address barriers to health care for people with disabilities and offer policy recommendations to make health care and medical education more inclusive and accessible for physicians, medical students and patients. In the papers, ACP says that disability as an aspect of diversity should be considered when making policy decisions, and that implementing the recommendations would improve care for patients with disabilities and ensure a diverse physician workforce reflective of American society. In order to comprehensively address the issue, ACP released companion papers, "Improving the Health of and Access to Health Care for People with Disabilities: A Position Paper from the American College of Physicians" and "Fostering Support and Inclusion for Physicians, Post-Graduate Trainees, and Medical Students with Disabilities: A Position Paper from the American College of Physicians" today in Annals of Internal Medicine, which are respectively dedicated to health disparities that are experienced by patients with disabilities and barriers to a career experienced by physicians with disabilities.

"The underrepresentation of people with disabilities in medical education and health care has led to pervasive issues. Patients with disabilities face more barriers to health care than abled patients and have lower life expectancy, higher rates of chronic illness, and difficulty accessing preventive care," said Jason M. Goldman, MD, MACP, President of ACP. "These barriers, including inaccessible health care facilities, exclusion from clinical research, and institutional discrimination, threaten the health of people with disabilities and actively contribute to increasing health disparities."

ACP conceptualizes disability similar to the World Health Organization, which defines disability as a result of the interaction between individuals with various health conditions and environmental factors, such as negative attitudes, inaccessible public spaces and limited social supports. "Improving the Health of and Access to Health Care for People with Disabilities: A Position Paper from the American College of Physicians," addresses health disparities among US adults with disabilities and focuses on improving their access to health care. It offers recommendations to improve access to and quality of health care for patients with disabilities through policy changes in areas such as health insurance coverage, accessibility of care facilities, health professional education, research participation and data collection.

The paper suggests ways to improve disability education and ensure medical school curriculum is not based on stereotypes about disability. ACP supports an inclusive medical education curriculum that actively combats biases about disability, with the goal of ensuring physicians are equipped to provide culturally appropriate, individualized care for people with disabilities. ACP also calls for health care facilities to be evaluated and updated to increase accessibility for people with disabilities, including through the availability of accessible medical equipment, interpreters, braille signage, and wheelchair accessible routes.

People with disabilities have historically been excluded from clinical research, which hinders the receipt of preventive or therapeutic advances that are not otherwise available and threatens the generalizability and relevance of research findings. ACP says clinical trials should be inclusive of all populations and urges more comprehensive data collection on disability to better inform policymaking

"Fostering Support and Inclusion for Physicians, Post-Graduate Trainees, and Medical Students with Disabilities: A Position Paper from the American College of Physicians" offers policy recommendations to improve the accessibility of medical schools, training programs and the practice of medicine. The paper says that a physician workforce that reflects patient diversity, inclusive of disability, is a key component of improving equity and reducing disparities in health and medicine.

ACP recommends hospitals and health systems implement policies that combat ableism and support accessibility accommodations to cultivate a workplace environment that attracts, supports and retains physicians with disabilities. Such policies include ensuring language and content in medical education are respectful to students with disabilities and maintaining transparent, confidential and timely processes for requesting disability-related accommodations. To support a disability-inclusive physician workforce, health systems and physicians' practices should provide effective disability accommodations across multiple settings in the clinical environment for all medical staff, trainees and patients.

"ACP calls on policymakers, health systems, and educational institutions to implement systematic policy changes that improve access to comprehensive, evidence-based care for people with disabilities," concluded Dr. Goldman.

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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 172 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 163,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our new RSS feed.

Contact: Jacquelyn Blaser, [email protected], 202-261-4572