5 ms·

I just assumed that ADA requirements made their way into commercial building codes a while ago. And because of that, physicians would rarely bump into that iss

I just assumed that ADA requirements made their way into commercial building codes a while ago. And because of that, physicians would rarely bump into that issue, whether leasing office space or building new space. Am I mistaken?

ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
I believe that you are correct. The doctor's office, as a business, already needs to abide by the ADA. It could be a convenience store, and still have the same requirements.
- fhsm 4y ago
  This is true but really doesn’t capture much of the truth. As a first approximation you can split spaces into licensed and unlicensed spaces. The former are the conventional purview of “private practice”. The latter are the typical purview of “hospitals”. These are in quotes because this is merely a correlation and neither concept has a strict definition. Critically without domain knowledge it’s unlikely you’d be able to tell which a “doctors office” is. An unlicensed space is a business with all the usual obligations and the doctor is a doctor with all the usual obligations. When you move to the practice of medicine to a “hospital” (again as a licensing and finance idea which is separable from a sort of basic idea of building X) all that comes along but now with an additional regulatory overlay. Big picture this doesn’t change much about the Ada except to say that many medical practices are happening in spaces where the Ada is just the beginning.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
Siddarth1977 4y ago
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. ADA requirements are incredibly complex, at times very specific and at times very unclear and open to interpretation. The truth is that almost every building could be found to be in violation, no matter how hard the builders tried to make it ADA compliant. In practice, this rarely matters. 99% of people with disabilities are just trying to get around, not looking for an opportunity to sue. But, the risk is still there, all it takes is one litigious individual to make your life a lot worse.
- rdtwo 4y ago
  Usually it’s the building inspector that gets you because they have a different view of Ada code then you do.

ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago

I believe that you are correct. The doctor's office, as a business, already needs to abide by the ADA. It could be a convenience store, and still have the same requirements.

fhsm 4y ago
This is true but really doesn’t capture much of the truth. As a first approximation you can split spaces into licensed and unlicensed spaces. The former are the conventional purview of “private practice”. The latter are the typical purview of “hospitals”. These are in quotes because this is merely a correlation and neither concept has a strict definition. Critically without domain knowledge it’s unlikely you’d be able to tell which a “doctors office” is. An unlicensed space is a business with all the usual obligations and the doctor is a doctor with all the usual obligations. When you move to the practice of medicine to a “hospital” (again as a licensing and finance idea which is separable from a sort of basic idea of building X) all that comes along but now with an additional regulatory overlay. Big picture this doesn’t change much about the Ada except to say that many medical practices are happening in spaces where the Ada is just the beginning.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

Siddarth1977 4y ago

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. ADA requirements are incredibly complex, at times very specific and at times very unclear and open to interpretation. The truth is that almost every building could be found to be in violation, no matter how hard the builders tried to make it ADA compliant. In practice, this rarely matters. 99% of people with disabilities are just trying to get around, not looking for an opportunity to sue. But, the risk is still there, all it takes is one litigious individual to make your life a lot worse.

rdtwo 4y ago
Usually it’s the building inspector that gets you because they have a different view of Ada code then you do.