From Clutter to Clarity: Accessibility-First Redesign of MedRec's Patient Portal

Tech · 6 min read

MedRec's portal had accessibility regressions introduced during rapid feature releases: low contrast text, inconsistent focus order, and unlabeled interactive elements. An initial automated audit using Axe and manual keyboard/screen-reader tests uncovered 72 failures across core flows. The product team prioritized issues by impact on task completion: scheduling appointments, viewing lab results, and message exchange with providers.

Design decisions enforced a color system meeting AA contrast, a reworked semantic HTML structure, and explicit focus states with skip links for long pages. Forms were simplified using input grouping, clear inline error messaging, and a single-column layout optimized for screen readers. The team also produced a lightweight pattern library with examples and test cases to prevent regressions during future releases.

Post-launch metrics were substantial: task completion for appointment scheduling rose from 63% to 92% in tests with assistive technologies, and support calls about navigation dropped by 31%. Stakeholder buy-in was secured by pairing fixes with measurable operational cost savings, demonstrating that accessibility-first work can both serve users and reduce organizational friction.