Is Your Pharmacy ADA Compliant? It Should Be.
Pharmacy Logo
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a pharmacist is a healthcare provider and medication expert. They ensure your medications are safe and appropriate for your needs. Some pharmacists may also provide the following services:
Conduct health and wellness screenings.
Provide immunizations.
Help manage your medications.
Provide advice on leading a healthy lifestyle.
Pharmacists work in a variety of settings including:
Drug stores.
General merchandise stores.
Grocery stores.
Hospitals.
Primary care offices.
Specialty clinics.
Other healthcare facilities.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is meant to ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of life. Almost all types of businesses that serve the public, otherwise known as public accommodations, regardless of their size or the age of their buildings, must follow the ADA.
A pharmacy is considered a place of public accommodation that must comply with the ADA. 28 CFR § 36.104 - [Definitions] Place of public accommodation means a facility operated by a private entity whose operations affect commerce and fall within at least one of 12 categories. Category 6 includes a laundromat, dry-cleaner, bank, barber shop, beauty shop, travel service, shoe repair service, funeral parlor, gas station, office of an accountant or lawyer, pharmacy, insurance office, professional office of a health care provider, hospital, or other service establishment.
Professional office of a health care provider is defined as a location where a person or entity regulated by a State to provide professional services related to the physical or mental health of an individual makes such services available to the public. The facility housing the professional office of a health care provider only includes floor levels housing at least one health care provider, or any floor level designed or intended for use by at least one health care provider.
Title III of the ADA requires public accommodations like pharmacies to comply with the ADA and provide individuals with disabilities with full and equitable access to goods and services. This requirement includes accessible parking, exterior routes, entrances, interior doors and routes, protruding objects, and toilet rooms installed near or in the pharmacy.
A pharmacy is not a medical care facility. A medical care facility provides medical procedures to patients on short or long term basis. A medical care facility may include a pharmacy, but there is a separation of services between the two entities.
Pharmacies Located on the 2nd Floor or Higher
A pharmacy may be located above the ground floor level of a facility. Because a pharmacy is a professional office of a health care provider, a pharmacy must be on an accessible route. Accessible routes do not include stairways, but they can include an elevator.
Implementation Regulation 28 CFR § 36.404, Alterations: Elevator exemption, (a) states, “This section does not require the installation of an elevator in an altered facility that is less than three stories or has less than 3,000 square feet per story, except with respect to any facility that houses a shopping center, a shopping mall, the professional office of a health care provider, a terminal, depot, or other station used for specified public transportation, or an airport passenger terminal.” A similar regulation applies to new construction.
2010 ADA Standard 206.2.3, [Accessible Route, Where Required] Multi-Story Buildings and Facilities, states, “At least one accessible route shall connect each story and mezzanine in multi-story buildings and facilities. EXCEPTION: In private buildings or facilities that are less than three stories or that have less than 3000 square feet (279 m2) per story, an accessible route shall not be required to connect stories provided that the building or facility is not a shopping center, a shopping mall, the professional office of a health care provider, a terminal, depot or other station used for specified public transportation, an airport passenger terminal, or another type of facility as determined by the Attorney General.” The 1991 ADA Standard for this requirement is similar.
In other words, an accessible route is not required to connect stories in a private sector facility (place of public accommodation or commercial facility subject to title III of the ADA) that is either less than 3 stories or that has less than 3,000 square feet per story and is not a professional office of a health care provider.
But a pharmacist is a health care provider located in a professional office of a health care provider, so if a pharmacy is located on the 2nd floor of a facility, it must have an accessible route to the pharmacy, which most likely will be an elevator. The graphic below is representative.
Healthcare Provider on 2nd Floor and Elevator Access