Perhaps more so than those operating in any other industry, healthcare companies and providers need to invest heavily in ensuring they are fully accessible.
And, while some prominent healthcare organizations have taken action to ensure their digital environments welcome all existing and potential customers, including those with disabilities, many still have not.
Many of the most frequented healthcare websites in the United States suffer from accessibility issues.
If your website presents digital hurdles to members of the disability communities, you will need to take action.
Luckily, with the right tools and methods, you can fight this trend and become fully inclusive and accessible. This will result in you appealing to the widest possible audience, and see you fulfill your legal obligations under accessibility laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In this blog:
- We will showcase why healthcare providers and companies should invest in ensuring their websites and web-based environments are accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities
- We will explain how implementing accessibility measures will not only see you complying with the ADA (and other legislation you may be beholden to), but also present you with significant business results
A quick introduction to web accessibility
It is crucial that individuals with disabilities are given equal access to digital spaces. Currently, a majority of websites and online applications pose considerable barriers for members of various disability communities, often obstructing or completely denying their ability to purchase goods and services online.
Business and website owners aiming to create a more inclusive and welcoming online presence, as well as comply with relevant web accessibility laws (which will be explained shortly), must ensure their websites align with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), WCAG is the most prominent and accepted set of web accessibility standards, and it underpins numerous international web accessibility regulations.
At their core, WCAG is based upon four guiding principles:
- Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presented in a way that users can perceive
- Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable via keyboard and other accessible means
- Understandable: Information and operation of the user interface must be understandable
- Robust: Content must be robust enough to work with current and future technologies
To be considered accessible, websites need to conform to WCAG.
WCAG has a deciding impact on web accessibility. Therefore, gaining a better grasp of its sections, versions, and conformance levels is key for retail businesses aiming to properly tackle this issue. We recommend you check out these articles for further information on this topic:
Why should healthcare companies invest in accessibility in 2025?
Web accessibility is a legal requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Enacted to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities across the United States, the ADA applies to businesses and organizations considered ‘public accommodations’, a category into which most healthcare companies fall into.
Originally applied to businesses’ physical domains, the ADA is now widely applied by many U.S. courts to the digital realm.
Therefore, to comply with the ADA, healthcare companies need to ensure their websites are accessible.
Acting on the recommendation of the Department of Justice (DOJ), many U.S. courts reference the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as the standard websites should conform to under the law.
It is generally accepted that to be considered accessible, a website should adhere to WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 at Level AA.
To learn more about testing your website for WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance, as well as adjusting it so that it meets that level of adherence, we recommend that you check out the following guides:
The consequences of not complying with the ADA
Because the ADA is a federal law, businesses that do not comply face serious consequences. If your website remains inaccessible, you run the risk of receiving a demand letter outlining the specific accessibility issues and setting a deadline for remediation.
Even without a demand letter, non-compliance with the ADA can result in ADA website compliance lawsuits.
Legal actions under the ADA have been steadily increasing, with projections indicating over 4,000 cases will reach federal court by the end of 2024.
Importantly, healthcare is the fourth most targeted industry, with a number of notable cases involving prominent brands and providers including WellPoint, HCA Holdings, Tenet Healthcare, and CAC Florida Medical Centers.
In addition to the legal risk, neglecting ADA compliance can have a severe impact on your brand’s reputation.
Failing to provide people with disabilities with an accessible digital experience—a right they are entitled to—can be seen as a form of discrimination. As we’ll explore later, modern consumers care deeply about a brand’s values, expecting high standards of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Bottom line: As public-facing businesses, healthcare companies need to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and present an accessible website. Failure to comply with the law, and not conforming with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), can result in significant legal issues. These include receiving demand letters and facing lawsuits.
2. Web accessibility is smart business
The healthcare industry is experiencing rapid growth, with thousands of new companies sprouting out to address the evolving demands for digital health solutions, telemedicine, and personalized care.
In such a fiercely competitive environment, companies cannot afford to ignore a consumer group which consists of upwards of 28% of the adult American population.
It goes without saying that extending equal access to online treatment and services to all customers and patients should be standard practice for all organizations, within any industry. This is especially true for those operating within the healthcare ecosystem, as members of the various disability communities often encounter significant barriers when pursuing healthcare services and treatment.
When treated with the respect they deserve, people with disabilities are able to spend their hard earned income on your products and services. Given that members of the various disability communities command more than $13 trillion in expendable income, there is much to be gained by creating accessible digital environments.
Bottom line: Members of the various disability communities wield immense spending power. When healthcare companies ensure their websites and digital environments accommodate people with disabilities, they allow them to spend their hard earned income on their treatments, services, and goods.
3. Consumers today expect the brands they support to be inclusive and accessible
Recent research from Harvard Business School offers meaningful insights into the priorities of today’s consumers.
No longer guided purely by price, people now carefully choose the brands they support and are more inclined to change loyalties if they feel their values are misaligned with a company’s.
The study reveals that 72% of consumers believe companies need to exhibit a high level of social responsibility.A majority of respondents (66%) also stated their preference of supporting socially-conscious brands.
When you ensure people with disabilities can access your website (as well as other digital assets), you clearly showcase a high level of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Healthcare companies should be aware that their industry suffers from less than ideal reputation. As recently as a year ago, more than 70% of Americans felt that current health care systems had failed them. Sentiment surrounding major retailers in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry is similarly less than positive.
Investing in accessibility can go a long way in combating these prevailing notions, and help position your company so that it appeals to modern consumers.
Bottom line: Investing in accessibility underscores your commitment to CSR. As consumers increasingly show loyalty to brands with strong CSR values, an accessible website can help attract new audiences and retain socially-conscious customers and clients.
Take the next step
Web accessibility requires tackling specific areas of your website and web-based applications, using a variety of tools and approaches.
Healthcare companies often have complex websites; the kind that feature dynamic content which requires significant tweaking and remediation.
You are therefore best-suited to rely on dynamic accessibility solutions built with your use-case in mind.
Solutions like accessiBe offer a number of tools and services designed to solve problems within individual stages of the accessibility journey, as well as various digital platforms and assets (e.g., online document remediation and mobile adaptation).
If you’re interested in learning more about the ways in which accessiBe can help you on your journey toward accessibility, press here.
