Communication Access
Better Health Starts with Effective Communication
People with communication disabilities often find it hard to get the information and communication supports they need to fully access health services and programs. This can lead to less than ideal outcomes for everyone involved. As a health professional, learn how you can support effective communication access to promote equitable care and better health.
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THE SCENARIO You're examining a new patient. He's telling you about his medicines, but you can't understand him. You turn to ask his daughter instead, leaving him frustrated since she doesn't know anything about them. |
THE QUESTION This situation is common for people with hearing, speech, language, voice, or cognitive difficulties—and maybe for you as a provider. What could you do differently? |
THE ACTION Ask patients about their communication needs FIRST. This can improve health care interactions and outcomes for everyone. |
How Can ACCESS Improve Effective Communication?
ACCESS is a framework of six core principles to help lessen communication barriers. Always check your patient's communication needs before starting care.
Ask about communication preferences, strategies, and accommodations before care begins.
Communicate directly with the person unless specified otherwise.
Confirm understanding of information given and received.
Eliminate environmental distractions—and give your full attention.
Slow down to allow time for processing information and responding.
Support interactions using different communication methods—like gestures, writing, drawing, pictures, communication boards, videos, or assistive technology.
What is Communication Access?
What is Effective Communication?
Why is Communication Access Important?
Effective communication is a basic human right. Making it accessible is especially important for people with hearing, communication, and/or cognitive difficulties, who often face barriers to health care. When individuals don't have the information and communication supports they need, it can lead to:
Why Support Communication Access?
When health professionals understand and meet individual communication needs, it can:
- Improve diagnostic accuracy
- Help patients understand treatment options
- Ensure informed consent
- Support decision-making
- Increase adherence to care recommendations
- Enhance patients’ autonomy and participation in care
For the health care system, this can lead to:
- Lower hospital readmission rates
- Cost savings
- Improved safety and compliance
- Higher patient-provider satisfaction
How Can You Make a Difference?
Consider all the times you interact with patients or clients in your setting. Make sure you know how to meet their communication access needs when:
- Making appointments
- Checking in and filling out forms
- Interacting directly with patients, health care providers, and staff
- Reviewing exam results, treatment recommendations, prescriptions, patient education, and referrals
- Sharing billing and other documentation
Consult with audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) for education and training on using ACCESS. They can also inform you about different communication disabilities, assistive technologies, and how to find or use other communication aids and services. Such partnerships may provide you:
- Techniques for supporting conversations
- Compensatory tools and strategies
- Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices and hearing assistive technologies
- Help determining, getting, or implementing accommodations that best match each person’s needs
- Suggestions for modifying signage, forms, and any distractions in the communication environment
Audiologists and SLPs also can work directly with people with communication disabilities to help them advocate for their own communication access and health needs by:
- Selecting and training use of hearing devices, communication technologies and related strategies
- Setting up low tech or high tech communication aids (AAC), social stories, and scripts for managing health
- Practicing how to ask for and use needed accommodations in health settings
- Discussing health-related terms
- Reviewing useful questions to ask health professionals
- Helping with informed decision-making supports
- Creating communication access plans or health passports to share medical history and care needs
Need Help?
For more information about communication disabilities and effective communication access, contact ASHA-certified audiologists and speech-language pathologists. To find a communication professional near you, visit ASHA's ProFind or call ASHA from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, at 800-638-8255.
Learn More
View ASHA's Special Collection on Communication Access in Health Services, a curated list of articles from across all ASHA publications.
