Making an ADA-compliant website for your Business
Ensure your digital platforms are accessible to anyone, including persons with disabilities, and comply to the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA.
Does your healthcare website accommodate anyone, including persons with disabilities? Considering the clients covered by businesses in medical and dental practices, it is crucial to ensure customers’ accessibility to your digital business platforms. Websites, for instance, must comply with all ADA regulations. The compliance is to provide a more inclusive digital experience for the clients and satisfy legal requirements. And that helps in avoiding risks of getting sued by the Department of Justice (DoJ). Read on to learn more about making an ADA-compliant website for your business.
That said, what is an ADA-compliant website?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law in the United States that requires healthcare entities to provide complete and equal accessibilities for everyone. That accessibility must be inclusive to persons with disabilities to healthcare services and facilities. This means ADA legally expects the creation of policies, practices, procedures, platforms, and facilities that cater to persons with disabilities. Otherwise, ADA expects the modification thereof for compliance. The law covers Both private and public medical institutions, requiring them to comply with the ADA codes.
The ADA does not explicitly tackle regulations for web and mobile accessibilities. However, DoJ had released statements confirming the inclusion of healthcare providers’ websites offering medical services and other functions per the law. ADA-compliant website design must adhere to the unique needs of persons with disabilities. In addition, they must provide complete and equal to all information, products, services, etc., that are available on the website. Simply put, websites may incorporate features such as 24/7 phone or chat support, subtitles or transcriptions, and other disability-friendly features.
On the other hand, in the healthcare sector, the storage and collection of patients’ personal information follow a strict protocol. The said protocol ensures the absolute confidentiality of all obtained data. In addition to promoting full and equal access for persons with disabilities, ADA also requires all to treat disability-related medical information equally. That applies regardless of how the method in the collection and recording of information. That is, accessible only by authorized personnel entitled to the information in question – through ADA confidentiality requirements.
WCAG Guidelines
In addition to being required by the law, ADA-compliant websites also make your business platform more accessible. By that, it means broadening the reach and audience of your website. Notably, as of 2020, one in four adults in the United States has a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this digital age, setting up disability-friendly websites that comply with ADA regulations can also personally benefit the healthcare agency. Moreover, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, lays out ADA compliance requirements for websites. For emphasis, codes specified by the WCAG serve as the basis for ADA compliance.
Guidelines stated in the WCAG are internationally accredited. Said guidelines have served as the basis of digital accessibility for years. The guidelines are currently in version 2.1 with three levels: A, AA, and AA. Making your website ADA-compliant can be narrowed down to a two-step process. The first is to accomplish a website audit, and the second is to modify our conduct website remediation based on the results of the audit. Thus, to prevent litigation and to be able to make an ADA-compliant website in the United States and Canada, it must conform to the WCAG version 2.1 level AA. On top of that, publishing an accessibility statement is a must to satisfy ADA compliance requirements for websites.
ADA Confidentiality Requirements
On the other hand, ADA also enforces guidelines on treating disability-related medical information by setting out ADA confidentiality requirements. It presents restrictions on the inquiring, obtaining, and handling of disability-related medical information. the ADA confidentiality requirements are highly relevant to employers as ADA sets boundaries for the information an employer may ask from an applicant or an employee. Restrictions on medical inquiries vary in each stage of employment (i.e., pre-screening, pre-employment, post-employment), and all medical information must be kept and treated as separate and confidential files. However, there are exceptions to ADA confidentiality requirements, such as when necessary to provide reasonable accommodation, when there is a need for immediate, and more.
Is your website ADA-compliant?
Upon learning about the nature and purpose of ADA, ADA compliance requirements, and ADA confidentiality requirements, you now know that ADA compliance is both legally important and beneficial to a website. That goes especially in the medical and dental sectors, which hold confidential records. In summary, adhering to ADA results in a decrease of legal risks, maximized reach of your services online, a more robust digital presence, and a better user experience in general. All these may seem overwhelming especially for start-up websites, but a business must not overlook making an ADA-compliant website.
Streamsoft Consulting offers a wide range of services. These services include medical business management and consulting, websites and digital marketing solutions, and technology consulting. Creating an inclusive digital property, such as a website, that can cater to anyone, requires expert assistance. The basis of website remediation is the resulting website audit for your ADA compliance requirements. Streamsoft understands the uniqueness of every business problem thus presents a unique solution, specifically adhering to your needs.
