Accessibility of drug information on ocular drug product websites in the United States

The internet is a drug information resource for consumers because of its ease of use and convenience; however, accessibility for individuals with visual impairment is often not considered. Previous studies have found that pharmaceutical websites did not meet accessibility standards. This study builds on previous research by evaluating the accessibility of prescription ocular drug product websites using two accessibility checkers. Twenty ocular medications were initially selected and 11 medications were included in the final analysis because a product website was available. AChecker and WAVE tools were used to evaluate accessibility of each drug product homepage then a screen reader was used to verify accessibility of the websites. Descriptive statistics were used to represent the errors and problems identified by the accessibility checkers. All websites had varying number of errors and problems based on the WAVE and AChecker tools. Travatan Z^® had the highest number of errors (n = 117) according to WAVE and Durysta™ had the highest number of problems (n = 42) based on the AChecker tool. Some of the common issues identified by the screen reader included lack of alternative text for images (e.g., graphs), no description for links, and drop-down menus do not expand using the keyboard functions. This study highlights the need for manufacturers to improve accessibility of their product websites. Due to the lack of accessible content on these websites, it is prudent for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to provide education through verbal counseling and auditory resources or recordings of drug information as an alternative format.