Accessibility

Accessibility statement for Patients Know Best software

This accessibility statement applies to the Patients Know Best (PKB) personal health records (PHR) platform. 

Patients Know Best is a web-based application that can be accessed from the following domains: https://my.patientsknowbest.com/ and https://eu.patientsknowbest.com. The website is run by the UK-based social enterprise, Patients Know Best. 

Our aim is for as many people as possible to be able to use the platform which means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
  • change text into 23 different languages.

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Medical records include documents or files provided to us by third parties (e.g. healthcare providers) which may not be accessible. These may include scans of records or handwritten letters.
  • Some of our non-text elements are missing proper labeling (1.1.1)
  • Page landmarks are not identified in all of the pages; some of our tables are not associated with their headers and some input elements are not associated with a label or the label doesn’t clearly identify the input’s purpose (1.1.3, 1.3.6)
  • Some elements have a low contrast ratio, which we detail later in the statement (1.4.3)
  • Some page functionality is not available using the keyboard alone (2.1.1)
  • Some pages don’t have a clear descriptive and informative page title (2.4.2)
  • In some cases, the purpose of a link cannot be determined from the link text alone and it’s missing proper labeling (2.4.4)
  • Some components have no clear visual indication of focus (2.4.7)
  • Some form elements that require a specific format don’t provide this information (3.3.1)
  • In some cases, error messages don’t get focus and are not announced to screen readers (4.1.3).

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact our support team. We aim to respond within a few days. We do not have access to any of the data inside your personal health record, so please contact the person or team that has added data to your record if you require this information in a different format. We show the name of the person or organisation who added the information alongside the date it was added so you know who to contact.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking for ways to improve the accessibility of this website.

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact our support team.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

As we are a remote company, you can contact us through our support desk.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Patients Know Best is committed to making our website application accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non compliances:

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • On some of our pages non-text elements such as buttons or input fields are missing proper labeling. Labels should accurately present the content and function of an image or other non-text element. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1. We plan to update these components by March 2021
  • On some pages the purpose of input fields are not clear. Form labels should clearly describe the function of the associated form control. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1, 1.3.6, 3.3.2
  • On some pages the information structure cannot be programmatically determined. This can introduce reading and navigation issues. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1. We plan to update these components by March 2021
  • Our language selector in the footer doesn’t have an associated label. It might cause confusion for people using a screen reader. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1, 2.4.6 and 3.3.2. We plan to update this component by March 2021
  • Some page elements such as buttons or selected menus have inadequate contrast ratio. Adequate contrast of text is necessary for all users, especially users with low vision. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3. We plan to update these components by March 2021
  • On some pages a link to skip navigation is not provided. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1. We plan to update this component by March 2021
  • On some pages there are empty headers. People using a screen reader often navigate using heading elements. An empty heading will present no information and may introduce confusion. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 and 2.4.6
  • Some page functionality is not available using the keyboard alone therefore people using a screen reader cannot access this content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1. We plan to update these components by March 2021
  • Some pages don’t have a clear descriptive and informative page title. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2. We plan to update these pages by March 2021
  • In some cases the purpose of a link cannot be determined from the link text alone and it’s missing proper labeling. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4. We plan to update these components by March 2021
  • Some components have no clear visual indication of focus. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7. We plan to update these components by March 2021
  • Some form elements that require a specific format don’t provide this information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.1. We plan to update these cases by December 2021
  • In some cases error messages don’t get focus and are not announced to screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.3. We plan to update these cases by March 2021
  • Any new features added from December 2020 will meet all WCAG 2.1 success criterion.

Disproportionate burden

  • Some of the interactive forms are missing a label or an aria-label in languages other than english

We believe that fixing these issues would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations..

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Patients Know Best (PKB) displays files sent in to records from third parties (e.g. healthcare providers) for users in formats such as PDF & video files. As this content is not produced or controlled by PKB, We do not have the ability to decrypt these documents or change their format. and therefore is not within the scope of the accessibility review.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working through all our screens to improve accessibility to fully comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA standards. So far:

  • Our internal UX team has done an accessibility audit of our top 10 most visited pages. The audit includes the findings listed in this statement.
  • We have allocated developer resources to work on fixing accessibility issues
  • Once we have completed fixing the accessibility issue we will ask a third party to complete an official accessibility audit
  • All our frontend developers are being trained in latest accessibility standards
  • Our new design guidelines are accessibility compliant. Specifications for upcoming features have an accessibility section to ensure all new updates meet the guidelines for WCA 2.1 AA standards

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 11th November 2020. It was last reviewed on 20th November 2020.

This website was last tested on 11th November 2020. The test was carried out by the Patients Know Best product team. To test the accessibility, we took a sample of 10 pages that were accessed most frequently by our users.