Accessibility statement for Patients Know Best software

This accessibility statement applies to Patients Know Best. Patients Know Best is a web application accessed by the following domains https://my.patientsknowbest.com/ , https://eu.patientsknowbest.com/ and https://in.patientsknowbest.com/. The website is run by Patients Know Best. On the PKB websites users can:

change colours, contrast levels and fonts
understand text & images even if you are colourblind
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 22 different languages
use PKB on any device, for example narrow-width smartphones to wide desktops

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

Use Chrome extensions to zoom in, change colors, contrast levels and font size.
To find other accessibility extensions for Chrome, visit the Chrome Web Store and search for "accessibility."

When you find an extension you want, add it to Chrome:

In the Chrome Web Store, click the extension you want to install.
At the top right, click Add to Chrome.
When prompted, confirm by clicking Add extension. An icon for the extension will appear to the right of your address bar.

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

How accessible this website is

PKB is working through all our screens to improve accessibility to comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA standards fully.

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 labelling (1.1.1)
Page landmarks are not identified on 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 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/or it's missing proper labelling (2.4.4)
Some components have no clear visual indication of focus (2.4.7)
Some icons do not meet the minimum hit area of 24x24px or the same area with enough space around it. This is a new AA requirement. (2.5.8)
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 like 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 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 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

You can contact us through our support desk.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Patients Know Best is committed to making its website 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 2.2 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 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 December 2024.
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 December 2024.
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 We plan to update this component by December 2024.
Some page functionalities are 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 December 2024.
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 December 2024.
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 December 2024.
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 December 2024.
Some icons do not meet the minimum hit area of 24x24px or the same area with enough space around it. This is a new AA requirement. (2.5.8) We plan to update these components by December 2024.
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 2024.
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 December 2024.
Any new features added from November 2021 to meet all WCAG 2.1 success criteria.
Any new features added from December 2023 to meet all WCAG 2.2 success criteria.

Disproportionate burden

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

We believe that fixing this issue 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 into 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.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working through all our screens to improve accessibility to fully comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA standards. So far:

Our internal UX team has done an accessibility audit of our top 16 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 issues we will ask a third party to complete an official accessibility audit.
All our frontend developers and product team members have been trained in the 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 WCAG 2.2 AA standards

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 11th November 2020. It was last reviewed on 21st November 2023.

Patients Know Best website was last tested on 21st July 2023. The test was carried out by the Patients Know Best product team. To test the accessibility, we took a sample of 16 pages that were accessed most frequently by our users.