The goal in this piece is to expose future HealthTech product designers to the concept of digital accessibility as well as its significance in the wider context of use and to provide examples of products that are highly accessible digital accessibility.
What is digital Accessibility and why does it matter to HealthTech?
The first thing to be aware of is that HealthTech products are primarily targeted at those suffering from various illnesses or disabilities that keep them from living the normal life. It doesn’t matter if it’s patients with cancer, war veterans who have a sight or hearing impairment, people suffering from mental illness, or just old people who suffer from mobility issues, all benefit from the outcomes of a the development of a healthcare software machine.
Therefore, whether they’re planning an appointment for their next one, obtaining a access to the medication they require, or even something “minor” like menstrual cycle monitoring, Healthtech products can come in quite useful.
The most obvious conclusion is that the service you offer should be properly adapted to the requirements of everyone who uses it. This is exactly the definition of digital accessibility when it comes to being defined in terms that are simple. But an even more precise definition could look like this.
Digital accessibility refers to the way that ensures that digital devices that are related to health are easily accessible to people suffering from various kinds of disabilities.
The concept behind it is an alternative type of equality and social inclusion that stops the discrimination against disabled people and allows them the opportunity to assert their rights.
Digital Accessibility Statistics
To assist in understanding the significance of access to the internet for the HealthTech item, lets review a few numbers.
According to WHO the WHO, more than 2 billion people live with some form of disability. This is about 15 percent of the human population.
There’s been a substantial increase in the number of lawsuits involving digital accessibility throughout the USA more than 3,500 cases are expected to be filed in the USA in 2020 according to UsableNet.
As per the US Department of Commerce, businesses that do not consider the digital accessibility of their websites suffer losses of $6.9 billion annually on a basis when compared with sites of competitors that are accessible to the internet.
Another WHO statistics show that the proportion of people suffering from mild to severe vision impairment will nearly triple by 2050. That’s between 36 and 115 million.
In the year 2000, Census Bureau published concerning numbers of people in the USA suffering from various impairments, the most severe of them being those with cognitive (296,658,45) as well as vision and hearing problems (316,450,569).
These worrying statistics show that regardless of the type of HealthTech product you offer the product must be available digitally to all.
In other words, the product you produce is of no use since no physically or mentally healthy person will be able to reach for it as often as those who are impaired.
How do you test your Product’s accessibility?
Whatever line of products you put on the market There are specific procedures you have to be following. Naturally, everything begins with an idea, then the brainstorming process feasibility studies, brainstorming, and finally, the actual production and design.
But, one thing you shouldn’t skip is testing your product to ensure that it’s performing the function it’s designed to do. For HealthTech products the primary test that you should be focusing on is testing usability and accessibility to digital technology.
To achieve this you must first identify yourself in relation to the criteria for success so that you know what you’re seeking.
The Test WCAG 2.0 Lists of Checklists
Before you take the test the test, these checklists can help you maintain the test course and focusing on the mistakes which need to be corrected.
Digital Accessibility Testing Process
The experience indicates that the best method to evaluate these features is by using the 3-tier method that permits you to test completely access to Your HealthTech product.
To prove the assertion To support the claim, here are three areas of testing which this method is focused on:
Automated testing
Manual testing
Testing of users
Although you may choose to conduct only one of them, the method you choose to use is that the most effective strategy is to incorporate the three to get an accurate picture of the capabilities of your health tech product.
Automatic Testing
The test is performed using several tools, and are often enough available as a free version to check your website’s overall performance.
The principle of operation is scanning your website’s pages one by one and reporting problems as it encounters the. Apart from the process of scanning multiple websites one at one (entering URL) it is possible to choose to scan the most crucial ones, for instance Homepage, Contact, and/or the page that serves as the focal primary focus of your product.
There are many testing tools that you can employ among the tools for testing, here are some of the most widely used.
HTML_CodeSniffer can be used with all major browsers. since it tests the site’s accessibility, it provides detailed information about errors that you must review and rectify manually before making the software available to the market. It also directs you to the correct portions of the 508 and WCAG specifications and provides suggestions on how to correct the problems.
Wave Toolbar Extension for Chrome It functions similarly to the original one but is adapted for Chrome specifically. After it has checked for errors, it also provides a comprehensive report that lists the errors, and instructions of how to fix them.
Manual Testing
This usually involves manual navigation on the site to determine if all pages can be easily accessed. Although it can be lengthy, it will assist you in determining whether there is something wrong.
Here are a few features you can test manually to test if the program works in the way it is supposed to.
Zoom in/Zoom out on the text. Repeat it several times using both keyboard shortcuts and also the icon on the website. Check out what happens and if there is any loss of content.
Expand and shrink the content on the page, to see how the content will fit on smaller screens.
You can access the website using your phone. This way the smaller screen will assist you determine if any information is lost.
You can navigate using only the keyboard. Make sure you have access to all menus as well as interactive items.
The User Test
This is the last step in order to find the reason.
After you have completed the previous two levels and have fixed any problems that you could have run into Users will let you know if your product has served its function. When conducting such tests the most important aspect is having the right people test the product.
The people who will be testing your product should be those who are disabled and/or older. They can assist you by providing directions and suggestions to make your product more user-friendly, i.e. easier to use for them.
Three examples of HealthTech Software Products with a High Accessibility
When we think about undertaking a project it’s normal to look up the competitors and look at how others have gone about it.
In this regard there are three distinct examples to take a look at. They’re all fantastic healthcare products, with software that gives an excellent user-friendliness.
1. FindDoc
This is a fantastic application that assists users in finding the most suitable doctor based on their health overall. It has a large database of MDs who are qualified as well as specialties, costs and the hospitals they work for and hours.
It’s the case that it’s operating exclusively for it’s Hong Kong area specifically, however their accessibility to the internet is upgraded to a higher standard, and they should be viewed.
2. Walk With Path
We have a wearable technology solution made up of an insole for shoes (Path Feel) that aids people with mobility issues maintain their balance while walking.
The insole effectively collects the foot’s vibrations and stores data that can later be analysed by doctors.
Additionally, the software permits physicians to monitor remotely patients remotely.
This is the degree of digital accessibility that one has to aim to achieve.
3. The CareVoice
It was also developed originally in China this is another healthtech product that is extremely accessible.
In addition to allowing users to schedule appointments with doctors, it also lets users to track their medical insurance as well as other medical concerns.
It’s easy to navigate and clear. It also has the comments of other patients. It interacts in this manner that people with disabilities can discern if a particular doctor is suitable for them.
Conclusion
In an age where technology has permeated every aspect in our daily lives it’s difficult for us to think that substantial segment of our population is still a minority.
People who are elderly and those handicapped are struggling with their health care regimens therefore, technology has stepped up to make an increasing number of sites and healthtech services more digitally accessible to these socially vulnerable populations.
You had the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the concept of the digital accessibility of your HealthTech product, and also how to test it prior to allow the device to work.
In addition, a listing of the examples are provided to help point you to directions in the correct direction.
