Disability Resources for Effective Communication

OCR Resources

• OCR signs effective communication Dear Colleague Letter with the Health Resources and Services Administration (08/30/2016)
  • Read the Bulletin
  • Read the Letter 
  • En Español 
• OCR signs effective communication Dear Colleague Letter with the Puerto Rico Hospital Association. (06/09/2015)
  • Read the Bulletin
  • Read the Letter
  • En Español (Spanish)
• Auxiliary Aids and Services for Persons with Disabilities  – Sample policy and procedures for providing effective communication.
• Chart for Sign Language Interpreters Chart – Sample notification list for providing information about staff interpreter and outsider interpreter services. (PDF document)
• Civil Rights Clearance for Medicare Provider Certification – Technical assistance, forms, guidance, and educational materials and resources to assist Medicare Providers and Provider Applicants. 
• HIPAA Privacy Rule FAQs: Medical Privacy and Telecommunications Relay Service, Medical Privacy and Interpreters.
• Improving Patient-Provider Communications YouTube Video: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 – A collaboration between OCR and the Joint Commission to promote language access education. 

Other Federal Resources

• ADA.gov – Information and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Department of Justice)
• ADA Business Brief: Communicating with People Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Hospital Settings (the Department of Justice)
• ADA Tax Incentives Packet for Businesses – Information on federal tax credits and deductions available for businesses to help offset costs of improving accessibility for customers and employees with disabilities. (Department of Justice)
• American Sign Language (ASL) – Information from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (National Institutes of Health)
• Video Relay Service (VRS) – Consumer facts on Telecommunication Relay Service (TRS) for persons with hearing disabilities to communicate with voice telephone users. (Federal Communications Commission)

Other Organizational Resources

External links to other sites are intended to be informational only and do not have the endorsement of HHS and OCR.

• Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, & Patient-and Family-Centered Care (A Joint Commission resource site)
• Data Collection and Use: Disparities Toolkit – A web-based tool to collect race, ethnicity, and primary language data from patients. (The Health Research and Educational Trust)
• The National Association of the Deaf – Resources for communicating with deaf and hard of hearing persons, training programs, captioning agencies, commissions on the deaf and hard of hearing, community services, interpreting agencies, and telecommunications/relay businesses.