Why Healthcare Faces Higher Accessibility Stakes
Healthcare organizations operate under a unique regulatory landscape. Unlike a typical business website where inaccessibility might mean a lost sale, an inaccessible healthcare portal can mean a patient can't schedule a critical appointment, access their medical records, or understand their treatment options.
The consequences are serious: patients with disabilities face barriers to care, healthcare providers face significant legal exposure, and trust erodes. In 2025, healthcare organizations were among the most frequently targeted industries for ADA website lawsuits—and for good reason.
⚠️ Healthcare Accessibility Risk Profile
High
Lawsuit Risk
Multiple
Regulatory Bodies
Critical
Impact on Patients
Understanding the Regulatory Landscape
Healthcare providers must navigate multiple overlapping regulations. Here's how they fit together:
1ADA Title III: Places of Public Accommodation
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires "places of public accommodation" to be accessible to people with disabilities. Courts have consistently ruled that this includes websites—and hospitals, clinics, and medical practices are explicitly listed as covered entities.
What This Means:
- •Your website, patient portal, and mobile apps must be accessible
- •WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the de facto technical standard
- •Private lawsuits can be filed without DOJ involvement
2Section 504: Federal Funding Recipients
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act applies to any organization receiving federal financial assistance—which includes virtually all hospitals and most medical practices (through Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal programs).
Key Requirements:
- •Requires "effective communication" with individuals with disabilities
- •Explicit requirement for accessible electronic and information technology
- •HHS enforces compliance; violations can result in loss of federal funding
3HIPAA: Privacy, Security, and Accessibility
While HIPAA primarily focuses on privacy and security, there's an important intersection with accessibility. HIPAA requires that patients have access to their health information—but if your patient portal isn't accessible, patients with disabilities can't exercise that right.
⚠️ The HIPAA-Accessibility Connection:
An inaccessible patient portal may violate HIPAA's right of access provisions, as it effectively denies patients with disabilities their right to access their own health information. This creates a compliance risk beyond standard ADA requirements.
4Section 1557: ACA Nondiscrimination
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination in healthcare programs receiving federal funding, including on the basis of disability. The 2024 final rule explicitly addresses digital accessibility, requiring covered entities to ensure that their websites, mobile apps, and patient portals are accessible.
Healthcare-Specific Accessibility Requirements
Beyond general WCAG compliance, healthcare websites have unique accessibility considerations based on the types of content and functionality they provide.
🏥 Patient Portal Accessibility
Patient portals are where accessibility really matters—they're the gateway to scheduling appointments, viewing test results, managing medications, and communicating with providers.
- ✓Authentication flows must be keyboard-accessible and work with password managers
- ✓Appointment scheduling calendars and date pickers need full keyboard support
- ✓Test results and lab values must be announced properly to screen readers
- ✓Secure messaging forms need clear labels and accessible CAPTCHA alternatives
- ✓Medication lists should use proper table markup with headers
📋 Medical Content Accessibility
Medical content often includes complex elements that require special attention:
- ✓Medical imagery (X-rays, diagrams) need detailed alt text describing findings
- ✓PDF documents (consent forms, instructions) must be tagged and accessible
- ✓Health education videos need accurate captions and transcripts
- ✓Interactive symptom checkers must be fully keyboard navigable
🚨 Alerts and Status Messages
Healthcare websites often display critical information that patients must not miss. Per WCAG 4.1.3 Status Messages:
- ✓Appointment confirmations should use
role="status" - ✓Error messages on intake forms must be announced immediately
- ✓Critical health alerts should use
role="alert"for immediate attention
Most Common Healthcare Website Failures
Based on our scans of healthcare websites, these issues appear most frequently:
Inaccessible PDFs
Intake forms, consent documents, and patient instructions posted as scanned images without OCR or tagging. Fix: Provide accessible alternatives
Complex Forms Without Labels
Patient intake and registration forms with dozens of unlabeled fields. Fix: Associate labels properly
Date Picker Issues
Appointment scheduling calendars that can't be operated with a keyboard. Fix: Ensure keyboard operability
Low Contrast on Critical Information
Light gray dosage instructions, appointment times, or warning text. Fix: Meet 4.5:1 contrast ratio
Missing Language Declarations
Multi-language content without proper lang attributes. Fix: Declare page language
Healthcare Accessibility Compliance Checklist
Use this checklist to evaluate your healthcare website's accessibility:
Public Website
- Provider search and location finders are keyboard accessible
- Service descriptions have proper heading hierarchy
- Contact information is accessible (not just in images)
- Emergency information is prominently accessible
Patient Portal
- Login works with screen readers and password managers
- MFA/2FA is accessible (not image-based CAPTCHA only)
- Appointment scheduling works with keyboard only
- Test results are announced properly to screen readers
- Medication refill forms have proper labels
- Session timeout warnings are announced
Documents & Media
- All PDFs are tagged and searchable (not scanned images)
- Alternative formats (HTML, Word) are available for complex forms
- Patient education videos have accurate captions
- Medical images have descriptive alt text
Taking Action
Healthcare organizations should take a proactive approach to accessibility:
- 1Audit your current state — Run a free accessibility scan on your website and patient portal
- 2Prioritize critical paths — Focus on appointment scheduling, patient portal access, and emergency information first
- 3Evaluate vendor accessibility — If you use third-party EHR/EMR systems, request their VPATs (Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates)
- 4Train your team — Content editors and web developers need accessibility training
- 5Publish an accessibility statement — Include contact information for accessibility accommodations
Healthcare Accessibility
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