Overview

• Researchers audited 300 subspecialty clinics in four metro areas using secret‑shopper calls for a hypothetical 465‑pound patient.
• Fifty-two percent lacked essential accommodations such as high‑capacity exam tables, appropriate seating, sufficiently wide access points or gowns that fit.
• Forty-one percent declined to schedule the visit, leaving only 39% of practices fully accessible.
• Otolaryngology had the lowest scheduling rate at 48.3%, while endocrinology was most accommodating.
• Sixteen percent proposed substandard workarounds and some staff made stigmatizing comments, and the authors say the problem is likely underestimated and worse outside major cities.