The healthcare industry is all about staying compliant with the rules, regulations, and laws related to medicine. In order to be a reliant healthcare organization, it is necessary to have some level of corporate compliance to operating well. Healthcare organizations are responsible to comply with these healthcare industry standards and regulations to ensure their patients are receiving safe, high-quality care.
It is important that even healthcare practice websites adhere to the various sections of compliance such as ADA and HIPAA compliance.
What is ADA Compliance?
As per the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design, all websites must be accessible to people with disabilities. This includes people who are blind, deaf, or in-mobile. ADA ensures that people with disabilities are fully included in American life, with almost everything being online now. To be ADA-compliant, your website must be perceivable, functional, understandable, and robust.
Importance of ADA
- Having an ADA compliant is extremely important to healthcare websites
- It allows all patients to have an equal opportunity to understand the material presented by your healthcare organization.
- As a healthcare website, you are obligated to comply regardless of the practice’s size or the number of employees.
- Title II of the ADA protects the freedoms of anyone with a disability preventing them from accessing the information.
Ways to Improve ADA compliance
- Color accessibility allows people with visual impairments to have a better user experience.
- Having closed captions on videos for those with hearing impairments.
- Alt text is the HTML attribute that can be added to images to describe the contents of the images. This is important for those who are visually impaired.
Everything you need to know about HIPAA compliance
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) helps to protect an individual’s medical information. As per this law, everyone is allowed to request to see or receive copies of their medical records. HIPAA also enables people to request revisions to their records if any error is made. HIPAA is known to give individuals the right to learn how their information is used and shared.
Importance of HIPAA compliance for healthcare websites
- It is extremely important, especially with growing technological advances.
- As a healthcare website, if you deal with patient information then you are obliged to have a secure website that follows HIPAA requirements.
- This instills a sense of trust in your practice as patients know that their information is safe.
NOTE: If your healthcare organization fails to meet regulations, it could be looking at a fine of up to $1.5 million. To avoid any mishaps, North Rose Healthcare is well-versed in medical regulations. Our website development services include building a secure website that is ADA and HIPAA-compliant.