Integrating accessibility into telemedicine as a key to breaking down digital barriers and promoting global health equity, according to WHO and ITU guidelines
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have created a toolkit, the ‘Implementation toolkit for accessible telehealth services’, to support governments, policy makers, health professionals, service providers and civil society in integrating accessibility into telemedicine services. The emergency triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the development of telemedicine, prompting governments and strategic partners to invest in the enhancement of these services and to consider their integration with traditional healthcare.
According to the ONU, accessibility in telemedicine services for people with disabilities represents a significant breakthrough in achieving global health goals. Around 1.3 billion people worldwide live with a significant disability, and making telemedicine services accessible to them could radically change the global health landscape.
The WHO report on health equity highlights how inaccessibility of digital services hinders equal access to care for people with disabilities. Technological barriers such as incompatibility with screen readers, lack of subtitles or overly complex interfaces often exclude those who need it most. Already in 2022, WHO and ITU defined a global standard to improve accessibility in telemedicine services, providing guidelines to break down these barriers.
The new WHO and ITU publication, which is based on this standard, focuses on the practical implementation of these recommendations, suggesting how various actors can incorporate accessibility into the development processes of telemedicine services. The proposed approach is not limited to ‘doing more’, but calls for ‘doing better’. As Darryl Barrett, WHO Technical Officer for Disability, points out, integrating accessibility criteria into telemedicine planning strategies from the outset is a key step towards making healthcare more sustainable and inclusive, with tangible short-term benefits for all.
