This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
ADA Compliance for Medical and Dental Practices
ADA for Doctors and Surgeons
Many medical practices do not realize that the online content on their websites may be included in the web accessibility guidelines put out by the ADA for offices that qualify as public accommodations. While costs of compliance may represent significant barriers to doing the compliance work, the fact is that building a website with inclusive design is also the right thing to do for doctors, dentists and other healthcare providers.
Close to 5,000 Title III ADA lawsuits were filed in the U.S. federal courts and State courts in the first half of 2018 alone , an astonishing 33% uptick from the same time in 2017. Interestingly, 21% of these cases were website accessibility lawsuits, a large portion of which targeted health care providers, businesses and organizations. It is evident that ADA lawsuits resting on offices that qualify as one of the 15 types of public accommodations will be continued to be filed at a record pace. As each case results in a new court decision, the body of law keeps growing which in turn just produces more ADA compliance lawsuits.
Some history on Accessibility Requirements
Under the umbrella of equal and effective communications, the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) released a set of recommended Web Content Accessibility Guidelines called WCAG 2.1. Though these are not technically regulations or laws, they are often referenced in civil rights based lawsuits as the Program Accessibility standard by which to measure ADA compliance requirements.
Whether a medical office, small clinic or an established network hospital, public or private, it is important to be aware that turning a blind eye to ADA website compliance guidelines is a violation that is being fiercely pursued by State and Local governments.
Don’t fall victim to the misconception that ADA compliance only applies to physical locations and existing facilities that sell goods and services. If you want patients to make appointments to visit your office, you can need to supply equal access so people with screen reader software “see” the same content as someone who is not disabled.
How to make your medical practice website ADA accessible:
- Avoid accessibility problems by having text written and displayed on a page in a way in which someone who is visually impaired can use a screen reader device to convert it into audio.
- If you are a physician for example and you see patients, then include an Accessibility Statement that sets out how your website removes any accessibility barriers. Just create an amazing user experience for all the people that visit your medical practice website.
- Have an assistive technology option for making font size larger or smaller so it’s easier for those who are visually impaired to read. One of the ADA WordPress plugins we recommend is UserWay.
- If you post job positions and/or have an employment application for your practice on the website, the information must be readable, and the application must be able to be completed for someone who is disabled.
- Videos should have closed-caption subtitles and text descriptions with a large enough font size to enable deaf people or those who are only hearing impaired to read along while watching the images.
As a doctor, there is an elevated ethical standard expected, so offering an ADA compliant website with accessible features is extra important, so that patients with disabilities can access your website content with their screen reader devices.
Of course, there are myriad other reasons to ensure your accessible website is ADA compliant. If you aren’t compliant, your practice risks losing contracts, funding, and assistance from municipal, local and federal government agencies.
- It’s good for your practice’s reputation and credibility as a healthcare facility. Scrambling to fix your noncompliance when discovered, as opposes to already having your website compliant can have an adverse effect on how patients and the general public perceive your business.
- You’ll lose customers and patients with a disability, numbering more than 25 million in the US alone. Staying one step ahead of compliance regulations will help you keep costly ADA lawsuits and possible decisions against your practice at bay.
A large part of health practices’ clientele are older people, ages 65 and up. Following the technical requirements for making your website ADA compliant will also make it easier for your aging population of patients.
As the Population Reference Bureau reports, the number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to more than double from 46 million today to over 98 million by 2060. This makes up a lot of potential traffic and every internet-user, regardless of age, has experienced the frustration of trying to read too small text or make sense of a complicated navigation menu.
Accessible design for your practice’s website also helps the temporarily restricted: users who have misplaced their reading glasses, have an arm in cast, or are viewing your website on smaller screens or accessing through a slower internet connection.
Click here to have a conversation with one of our accessibility specialists about making your website ADA compliant for patients and clients and avoid the statutory legal fees and damages that will come with any web accessibility lawsuits.