Is ADA Compliance Mandatory For Healthcare Websites?

Answer is Yes.

ADA compliance is mandatory for healthcare websites because healthcare is a public accommodation under the law. Websites for hospitals, clinics, and other medical practices must be accessible to people with disabilities, or they risk lawsuits, fines, and damage to their reputation. 

QUESTION: Does ADA have “compliance” certification for websites?

No, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) does not have a formal “compliance certification” program for websites.

Why healthcare websites must be ADA compliant

• Healthcare is a public accommodation: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) explicitly lists hospitals and professional offices of healthcare providers as public accommodations, meaning they are required to be accessible to the public.
• Legal and financial risk: Non-compliance can lead to lawsuits, financial penalties, and loss of patient trust and revenue.
• Reach and engagement: An inaccessible website can prevent patients with disabilities from accessing essential information and services, limiting a practice’s ability to reach and serve them.
• In-person vs. online: Just as a physical healthcare office must have accommodations for people with disabilities, so too must its online presence, its website, which is often a primary point of contact for new and existing patients. 

What ADA compliance means for doctors and dental practices websites

While the ADA doesn’t have specific website regulations, courts have generally agreed that the principles apply. Compliance typically involves following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which include: 

• Providing text alternatives for non-text content, such as alt text for images.
• Ensuring all functionality is available from a keyboard.
• Providing captions for audio content and transcripts for videos.
• Ensuring all content can be read by screen readers, which requires proper use of headings, and accessible navigation. 

Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA. of 1990

ADA Compliance For Medical Websites and Doctors
ADA Accommodations For Medical Websites and Doctors
WCAG provides guidelines for web content more accessible to people with disabilities.

Read directly about ADA and website content guidelines
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
https://archive.ada.gov/taman3.html

QUESTION: Does ADA have “compliance” certification for websites?

No, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) does not have a formal “compliance certification” program for websites.

While there is no official certification, the generally accepted guidelines for web accessibility are outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines are often used as a standard for assessing web accessibility.

Technically, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III, which concerns public businesses, does not specifically address websites, however there have been lawsuits filed. Most of them are from same person who is filling lawsuits in a specific area. Majority of them are resolved by agreeing to pay some amount to the plaintiff.
Local and state government websites must be accessible under Title II of the ADA and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

1) ADA does not have “compliance” certification for websites
2) There are guidelines and accommodations that a website site provider must provide for certain patients who need extra support per. https://www.afb.org. Legally blind people use screen readers (https://www.afb.org/) – These screen readers are software. And all screen readers do not work on all websites. So healthcare providers should provide “reasonable” accommodations.