Practical Ideas for Delivering Digital Accessibility in Healthcare
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What is digital accessibility in healthcare?
Digital accessibility in healthcare is the inclusive practice of removing the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from interacting with healthcare websites and digital applications.
In a practical sense, digital accessibility in healthcare simply means that websites, apps, and documents used by healthcare providers should be designed and programmed in a manner that provides avenues for accessible technology to access their associated content. It means conforming to the requirements established toward attaining 508 compliance certification for digital healthcare services.
Pivoting for Section 508 compliance accessible digital healthcare services
COVID-19 significantly catalysed change in healthcare provision and brought in new ways of thinking about the common, everyday occurrences that hinder access to primary and preventive healthcare. It embedded Section 508’s goal of treating everyone seeking medical services the same so that some users of healthcare services are not discriminated against in terms of service provision.
Section 508 compliance is a mandatory requirement for any federally funded program. That includes healthcare and anything that is to be submitted or filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Compliance is designed to promote equal access to healthcare services for people with disabilities and was introduced with the amendment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Consequently, if you run a digital health program that is federally funded or is consumed by employees of federal or federally funded organizations, you need to make digital accessibility part of your core strategy.
Here are some practical ideas for delivering Section 508 compliance accessible digital healthcare services:
- Plan and get organized for the digital accessibility endeavour
Having a 508 compliance accessible digital healthcare program requires planning. To do that, you need to work with an experienced 508 compliance professional like ADACP to map out the key steps and navigate through them. That will include appointing a digital accessibility coordinator for the healthcare program and providing a clear digital accessibility statement on your sites and apps.
Planning and getting organized for digital accessibility also involves considering working with an accessibility professional about adopting or editing your corporate accessibility policies and procedures so as to include the digital space as well as the legal provisions you need to conform to toward attaining 508 compliance certification and conforming to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Planning and getting organized for digital accessibility is a practical ideal for delivering digital accessibility in healthcare because it can help reduce the risk of litigation and potential damages to your healthcare brand.
- Be proactive
If you have sites and apps that are in the design stage, get proactive by integrating digital accessibility with the help ofthe enormous healthcare accessibility expertise at ADACP. That will help you catch accessibility issues before they are coded. Being proactive prevents you from incurring costly corrections that may have been done if you were not proactive in the first place.
- Section 508 compliance testing and remediation
Ensure that your Section 508 compliance testing incorporates certified live-user testing as a critical 508-compliance certification approach. Indeed, you will find many automated scanning tools available on the market for that kind of testing, but you should keep in mind that these tools are only able to catch a small percentage of the accessibility issues in a website or app.
It is also important to keep in mind what the General Services Administration (GSA) has advised about the use of automated tools for performing Section 508 compliance testing of your healthcare site or app. GSA advises that automated scanning tools cannot apply human subjectivity and therefore either produce excessive positives or, when configured to eliminate false positives, test for only a small portion of the requirement. It is therefore important to work with a digital accessibility professional who understands how the tools easily flag false-positives in a way that could easily cause you to waste development time.
- Updating your processes
One of the practical ideas for delivering digital accessibility in healthcare provision is updating your processes, especially those relating to procurement. It is common knowledge that much of what gets flagged during 508 compliance certification auditing is often content from third parties. This content is frequently something the healthcare provider does not have direct control over but has implications for the accessibility of the healthcare service.
It therefore makes practical sense to make accessibility a key consideration in procurement processes involving the software and digital services used or offered on a healthcare site or app. It is advisable to work with an experienced accessibility professional who can advise you on how to put pressure on your existing vendors to become 508 compliant.
As part of your steps toward updating your procurement processes, it is important for you to frequently review your contracts with all your digital vendors so that you require live-user Section 508 compliance testing of their services and the latest 508 compliance certification from each.
- Mainstream accessibility into your overall healthcare strategy
Purpose to mainstream a culture of accessibility into your healthcare services by integrating it into your overall strategy. Let all your employees and contractors understand the commitment you have to protecting your current healthcare investment through digital accessibility and continuing to be compliant into the future.
It is also important to keep in mind that your healthcare site and apps should not stand still. They should be constantly updated. Ensure that every change made to them considers the accessibility issues associated with it. This doesn’t need to be overly costly because you can train the members of staff that monitor your digital properties to be vigilant about them. You can also ensure proper quality assurance processes are put in place to review any associated accessibility issues during releases of newer versions of your digital properties.
Most essentially, if your website is not constructed to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) success criteria, your healthcare enterprise is exposed to several risks, including legal actions, user experience issues, and losing traffic. Meeting the 508 compliance requirements is simply the right thing to do for your digital healthcare services.
Let us help you make your healthcare digitally accessible
ADACP is a leading healthcare digital accessibility service provider and has partnered with major healthcare brands to deliver 508 compliance to their digital properties. We are excited to help you make your healthcare digitally accessible or enhance its accessibility. For more information about practical ideas for delivering digital accessibility in your healthcare enterprise, call us at (626) 486-2201 today to schedule aconsultation.
What is digital accessibility in healthcare?
Digital accessibility in healthcare is the inclusive practice of removing the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from interacting with healthcare websites and digital applications.
In a practical sense, digital accessibility in healthcare simply means that websites, apps, and documents used by healthcare providers should be designed and programmed in a manner that provides avenues for accessible technology to access their associated content. It means conforming to the requirements established toward attaining 508 compliance certification for digital healthcare services.
Pivoting for Section 508 compliance accessible digital healthcare services
COVID-19 significantly catalysed change in healthcare provision and brought in new ways of thinking about the common, everyday occurrences that hinder access to primary and preventive healthcare. It embedded Section 508’s goal of treating everyone seeking medical services the same so that some users of healthcare services are not discriminated against in terms of service provision.
Section 508 compliance is a mandatory requirement for any federally funded program. That includes healthcare and anything that is to be submitted or filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Compliance is designed to promote equal access to healthcare services for people with disabilities and was introduced with the amendment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Consequently, if you run a digital health program that is federally funded or is consumed by employees of federal or federally funded organizations, you need to make digital accessibility part of your core strategy.
Here are some practical ideas for delivering Section 508 compliance accessible digital healthcare services:
- Plan and get organized for the digital accessibility endeavour
Having a 508 compliance accessible digital healthcare program requires planning. To do that, you need to work with an experienced 508 compliance professional like ADACP to map out the key steps and navigate through them. That will include appointing a digital accessibility coordinator for the healthcare program and providing a clear digital accessibility statement on your sites and apps.
Planning and getting organized for digital accessibility also involves considering working with an accessibility professional about adopting or editing your corporate accessibility policies and procedures so as to include the digital space as well as the legal provisions you need to conform to toward attaining 508 compliance certification and conforming to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Planning and getting organized for digital accessibility is a practical ideal for delivering digital accessibility in healthcare because it can help reduce the risk of litigation and potential damages to your healthcare brand.
- Be proactive
If you have sites and apps that are in the design stage, get proactive by integrating digital accessibility with the help ofthe enormous healthcare accessibility expertise at ADACP. That will help you catch accessibility issues before they are coded. Being proactive prevents you from incurring costly corrections that may have been done if you were not proactive in the first place.
- Section 508 compliance testing and remediation
Ensure that your Section 508 compliance testing incorporates certified live-user testing as a critical 508-compliance certification approach. Indeed, you will find many automated scanning tools available on the market for that kind of testing, but you should keep in mind that these tools are only able to catch a small percentage of the accessibility issues in a website or app.
It is also important to keep in mind what the General Services Administration (GSA) has advised about the use of automated tools for performing Section 508 compliance testing of your healthcare site or app. GSA advises that automated scanning tools cannot apply human subjectivity and therefore either produce excessive positives or, when configured to eliminate false positives, test for only a small portion of the requirement. It is therefore important to work with a digital accessibility professional who understands how the tools easily flag false-positives in a way that could easily cause you to waste development time.
- Updating your processes
One of the practical ideas for delivering digital accessibility in healthcare provision is updating your processes, especially those relating to procurement. It is common knowledge that much of what gets flagged during 508 compliance certification auditing is often content from third parties. This content is frequently something the healthcare provider does not have direct control over but has implications for the accessibility of the healthcare service.
It therefore makes practical sense to make accessibility a key consideration in procurement processes involving the software and digital services used or offered on a healthcare site or app. It is advisable to work with an experienced accessibility professional who can advise you on how to put pressure on your existing vendors to become 508 compliant.
As part of your steps toward updating your procurement processes, it is important for you to frequently review your contracts with all your digital vendors so that you require live-user Section 508 compliance testing of their services and the latest 508 compliance certification from each.
- Mainstream accessibility into your overall healthcare strategy
Purpose to mainstream a culture of accessibility into your healthcare services by integrating it into your overall strategy. Let all your employees and contractors understand the commitment you have to protecting your current healthcare investment through digital accessibility and continuing to be compliant into the future.
It is also important to keep in mind that your healthcare site and apps should not stand still. They should be constantly updated. Ensure that every change made to them considers the accessibility issues associated with it. This doesn’t need to be overly costly because you can train the members of staff that monitor your digital properties to be vigilant about them. You can also ensure proper quality assurance processes are put in place to review any associated accessibility issues during releases of newer versions of your digital properties.
Most essentially, if your website is not constructed to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) success criteria, your healthcare enterprise is exposed to several risks, including legal actions, user experience issues, and losing traffic. Meeting the 508 compliance requirements is simply the right thing to do for your digital healthcare services.
Let us help you make your healthcare digitally accessible
ADACP is a leading healthcare digital accessibility service provider and has partnered with major healthcare brands to deliver 508 compliance to their digital properties. We are excited to help you make your healthcare digitally accessible or enhance its accessibility. For more information about practical ideas for delivering digital accessibility in your healthcare enterprise, call us at (626) 486-2201 today to schedule aconsultation.
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