Digital Accessibility and Healthcare

The State of Digital Accessibility in Healthcare

Disabilities cost $400 billion per year in healthcare expenditures. Healthcare systems must make their digital environments fully accessible to attract and retain patients with disabilities. This white paper outlines best practices for digital accessibility so that you can enhance patients’ experiences and remove their barriers to quality healthcare.

Section 1557: What Does It Mean for Your Health Organization?

The World Health Organization is one of several agencies demonstrating that people with disabilities generally have a greater need for healthcare than people without disabilities, and yet are less likely to access health services due to barriers. A CDC survey of adults with health insurance found that those who had disabilities were almost three times more likely to put off or go without medical care – even though they had coverage! Even when individuals with disabilities can afford healthcare, a frustrating mix of physical, technological, logistical, systemic and attitudinal barriers can continue to block their path to better health.

Merck & Co.

Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Through their prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, they work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. They also demonstrate their commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships.

Learn more about the innovative solution Merck implemented to improve accessibility of all digital properties.

An Innovative Solution

eSSENTIAL Accessibility has developed a comprehensive accessibility solution to help healthcare organizations conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and achieve and maintain compliance with standards and regulations. Our solution features:

Assistive Technology

Feature assistive technology communication supports for patients who have trouble typing, moving a mouse, gesturing or reading a screen.

Web and Mobile App Evaluation and Remediation

Automated, technical and functional tests with be completed on the user interface of your digital properties to identify barriers faced by people with disabilities.

Ongoing Monitoring

Regularly assessing your organization’s digital accessibility status, resolving web accessibility issues and tracking progress towards compliance.

PDF Remediation

Evaluating, repairing and enhancing the accessibility of PDF files for assistive technology software and devices such as screen readers, text-to-speech software and alternative input devices among others.

Multimedia Accessibility

Providing captions, transcripts and audio descriptions for online audio and video recordings.

Training

Conducting technical training for web developers, quality assurance personnel and content authors on digital accessibility. The training is available on site or remotely.