Industry Compliance

Healthcare Accessibility Compliance

Healthcare websites handle some of the most critical user interactions — appointment scheduling, prescription management, and health information access. When these are inaccessible, patients with disabilities are denied essential services. Healthcare faces both ADA and Section 508 obligations, making accessibility compliance doubly important.

Applicable regulations

ADA Title II & III

Hospitals and healthcare providers must ensure their digital services are accessible. Patient portals, telehealth platforms, and appointment booking systems all fall under ADA requirements.

Section 508

Federally funded healthcare organizations (Medicare/Medicaid providers) must meet Section 508 standards for all digital systems.

HIPAA + Accessibility

While HIPAA covers data privacy, inaccessible patient portals can force patients to share health information verbally to get help — creating a privacy concern alongside an accessibility one.

Common healthcare accessibility violations

Patient portal forms without labels

Registration, intake, and appointment forms often use placeholder text instead of proper labels, making them unusable for screen readers.

critical

Medical document PDFs not tagged for accessibility

Lab results, discharge instructions, and medical records shared as PDF are often scanned images without text alternatives.

serious

Telehealth interfaces lacking keyboard support

Video consultation tools may require mouse interaction for camera/mic controls, chat, and screen sharing features.

serious

Appointment schedulers with time-based barriers

Calendar widgets that auto-advance or time out sessions can prevent users who need more time to navigate and select appointments.

moderate

Legal landscape

Healthcare organizations face growing legal pressure. The HHS has issued guidance specifically requiring healthcare websites to be accessible under the ADA. Multiple hospital systems have been sued for inaccessible patient portals.

Ensure your patient portal is accessible

Get a full WCAG 2.2 compliance report with every violation, affected elements, and fix instructions — delivered as a professional PDF in 60 seconds.

Get Full Report — $19