Medical and chiropractic clinic website accessibility

Patients with disabilities are more likely than average to need your clinic, so they're also more likely to hit barriers on your website. Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act already asks many health-care providers to make their services accessible. This guide covers the common technical fixes.

1. New-patient forms

Replace downloadable PDF intake forms with accessible online forms where you can, or offer a tagged PDF and a phone option. Every field needs a label, and grouped questions (yes/no, checkboxes) need a fieldset and legend.

<fieldset><legend>Do you have any allergies?</legend>
<input type="radio" id="ay" name="allergy"><label for="ay">Yes</label>
<input type="radio" id="an" name="allergy"><label for="an">No</label></fieldset>

2. Appointment booking and patient portals

These are usually third-party tools. Test them with the keyboard, ask the vendor for their accessibility conformance report (often called a VPAT), and offer a phone alternative.

3. Provider photos and bios

Alt text can be the provider's name and role: "Dr. Lee, chiropractor". Keep credentials in text, not only in images.

4. Hours, location and parking

Put this in text on every page footer, including accessible entrance and parking details if you have them.

5. Videos and exercise demos

Caption videos and describe the key steps in text so patients who can't see or hear the video can follow.

See also the dental practice guide. This is general technical guidance, not legal advice.

Related guides

• How to fix Lighthouse and WAVE accessibility errors (plain-English)
• Website accessibility remediation services for small businesses: options and prices
• WCAG 2.2 explained for small-business websites
• Squarespace accessibility fixes: alt text, contrast, forms and more

All guides

This guide is general technical information, not legal advice. Following it does not certify ADA or any legal compliance. Automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.