The Growing Importance of Digital Accessibility in Medicine
Your website is more than a place to list office hours. Patients depend on it for everyday tasks like booking appointments, paying bills, checking results, and filling out forms. When that site isn’t accessible to people with disabilities, it creates barriers to care and leaves your practice exposed to legal risk.
A Signal from the DOJ
In 2024, the Department of Justice set new rules requiring state and local government websites to meet digital accessibility standards. Private medical practices are not included in this rule, but the takeaway is hard to ignore. Accessibility is quickly shifting from a “nice to have” to an expectation.
The Lawsuits Are Already Here
By the end of 2024, more than 4,100 ADA website accessibility lawsuits had been filed across the country. Healthcare is consistently among the industries most affected. Florida, in particular, ranks near the top for the number of cases.
For practices in Northwest Florida, this isn’t an issue happening somewhere else. It’s happening here, and it’s reshaping how patients connect with care and how providers are held accountable.
Quick Summary: ADA Compliance for Websites in Healthcare
Pressed for time? Here’s the short version:
- ADA compliance for websites means meeting digital accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 Level AA).
- New DOJ rules apply to government websites by 2026/2027, but private practices face lawsuits now.
- Healthcare websites are high-risk because they serve many patients with disabilities.
- Accessibility helps everyone: better patient care, stronger reputation, and improved SEO.
- Start with an accessibility audit to find and fix issues before they become liabilities.
The Real Risks of Ignoring Website Accessibility
For medical practices, the risks of overlooking website accessibility show up in three major ways: patient care, legal exposure, and reputation.
Barriers to Patient Care
Accessibility in healthcare isn’t just about ramps and doorways. Your website is part of the patient experience too. If someone can’t book an appointment, read a form, or check results because of a vision, hearing, or mobility challenge, that’s a barrier to care.
ADA compliance for websites makes sure every patient can interact with your practice online. At the end of the day, it isn’t just about rules. It’s about providing good care to everyone who walks through your (digital) front door.
Legal and Financial Risks
ADA website lawsuits are very real, and they are hitting healthcare practices more often than most realize. And these cases aren’t cheap. Defending or settling a single lawsuit can cost far more than investing in accessibility upfront. For smaller practices, especially, the cost of a single lawsuit can be devastating.
Your Reputation on the Line
Your reputation matters just as much as your bottom line. If patients feel excluded because your website doesn’t work for them, that doesn’t reflect well on your practice.
On the flip side, being proactive about accessibility sends a clear message: we care about every patient. That kind of trust and goodwill can pay dividends in patient loyalty and referrals.
What Website Accessibility Really Means
When we talk about ADA compliance for websites, we’re really talking about following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These are the measurable standards the Department of Justice and courts point to when evaluating whether a site is accessible. WCAG lays out clear requirements so that people with different abilities can use a site without barriers. Here’s how those standards play out across different needs:
For Patients with Vision Impairments
- Alt text for images so screen readers can describe visuals (WCAG 1.1.1)
- Sufficient color contrast between text and background (WCAG 1.4.3)
- Resizable text without breaking the layout (WCAG 1.4.4)
For Patients with Hearing Impairments
- Captions for videos and transcripts for audio content (WCAG 1.2.2, 1.2.3)
- Visual indicators in place of sound-only alerts (WCAG 1.4.1)
For Patients with Mobility Impairments
- Keyboard accessibility for all functionality (WCAG 2.1.1)
- Larger, well-spaced controls for easier clicking and tapping (WCAG 2.5.5)
For Patients with Cognitive or Learning Differences
- Consistent navigation across pages (WCAG 3.2.3)
- Clear labels on forms and buttons (WCAG 3.3.2)
- Readable text without unnecessary jargon or clutter (WCAG 3.1.5, 3.2.4)
How to Tell if Your Healthcare Website Is ADA Compliant
Quick Self-Checks
There are free accessibility checkers online that can scan your site and flag obvious problems like missing alt text or low color contrast. These tools can be useful as a first glance, but they only scratch the surface. They won’t catch issues with PDFs, forms, or how a real patient with assistive technology might experience your site.
Full Accessibility Audit
A professional accessibility audit goes deeper. It tests your website against the full WCAG standards, identifies what really needs fixing, and prioritizes the issues so you know where to start. For healthcare practices, this is the clearest way to get a true baseline and an action plan that actually reduces your risk.
Steps to Start Improving Website Accessibility
If you’re feeling like all of this sounds complicated, you’re not alone. Many practices don’t know where to start, and that’s okay. The good news is you don’t have to tackle everything at once. Breaking it down into manageable steps makes the process much easier.
Here’s a simple roadmap to get you moving in the right direction:
- Begin with an accessibility audit to get a clear picture of where your site stands today.
- Tackle the biggest barriers first, like forms, PDFs, or navigation menus that block patients from using your site.
- Bring your team on board by training staff in accessibility basics, so new content meets standards from the start.
- Work accessibility into your process so it becomes part of routine updates instead of a one-time project.
- Keep checking in regularly to make sure your site stays compliant as it evolves.
Don’t Wait for the Rule to Apply to You
The DOJ’s latest rule may not cover private medical practices yet, but waiting until it does is a risky strategy. Accessibility lawsuits are already here, and practices that serve patients with disabilities are easy targets.
Getting compliant now is almost always cheaper and less disruptive than scrambling after a legal threat. Building accessibility into your website today helps you avoid costly surprises tomorrow and positions your practice as a leader in patient care.
Partner with Experts to Simplify Compliance
Making your website accessible comes down to two things: understanding the standards and putting them into practice. That’s where having the right support makes all the difference.
The team at Curiosity Marketing Group helps healthcare practices identify accessibility gaps, fix what matters most, and stay on track with compliance over time. The outcome is simple: fewer risks for your practice and a smoother online experience for every patient.
Want clarity on where your website stands today?
