CONSUMERS GUIDE TO THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

CONSUMERS GUIDE TO THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) WILL BE A COMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM, USER FRIENDLY AND ADAPTABLE TO COMMONLY AVAILABLE HARDWARE. IT WILL PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE LAW'S MEDICAL AND HEALTH CARE ISSUES. IN PHASE I A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED THAT WILL CONTAIN 1) AN EXTENSIVE DATA BASE THAT CAN BE CONSTANTLY UPDATED, AND 2) AN INTERACTIVE EVALUATION SYSTEM. THE EVALUATION SYSTEM WILL GUIDE THE USER THROUGH THE MAZE OF MEDICAL QUESTIONS AND ASSESSMENTS TO DETERMINE IF AN INDIVIDUAL IS COVERED BY THE LAW AND HOW THEY MAY BENEFIT. THE DATA BASE WILL BE A COMPRESHENSIVE SOURCE OF INFORMATION, RESEARCH AND RESOURCES TO INCREASE THE USERS AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEALTH CARE ASPECTS OF THE ADA. PHASE I WILL CONSIST OF THREE STAGES. STAGE I WILL INVOLVE GATHERING INFORMATION, SELECTING HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE AND ESTABLISHING BASIC SYSTEM DESIGN. STAGE II WILL INVOLVE PROGRAMMING, POPULATION OF THE SYSTEM WITH DATA AND DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOTYPE EVALUATION SYSTEM TO DEFINE DISABILITY. STAGE III WILL INVOLVE ASSESSMENT OF THE SYSTEM'S PERFORMANCE, LIMITED TESTING AND A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT. IN PHASE II A FULL SCALE SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED AND USER TESTED. THIS SYSTEM WILL INTEGRATE AND MAKE READILY ACCESSIBLE MEDICAL INFORMATION TO PROVIDERS FOR THE BENEFIT OF DISABLED INDIVIDUALS.