The California Kaiser Permanente Health System: Evolving to meet the needs of people with disabilities

This review documents the history of one large health system's approach to the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, following the settlement of a lawsuit. This paper represents the various activities within the Kaiser Permanente health system from 2001 to the present that were conducted to improve access and remove architectural, attitudinal, and other barriers for people with disabilities, to educate and train providers concerning culturally competent care for people with disabilities, and to develop patient-centered best practices and models of care for people with disabilities. Health systems can improve care for people with disabilities through organized, multifaceted, and ongoing approaches to removal of barriers, provider education and training in culturally competent care, and establishment of patient-centered best practices and models of care.