Independent pharmacies

An independent pharmacy's website is often how regular customers handle routine tasks. They request a refill before running out, check holiday hours, book a flu or other vaccine appointment, look at the weekly flyer, or order products for pickup or delivery. Some customers are managing chronic conditions or use screen readers, magnification or a keyboard instead of a mouse. If the refill form or vaccine booking does not work for them, they have to call, wait or travel, which can be hard for exactly the people who most rely on the pharmacy.

About 27% of Canadians aged 15 and over reported one or more disabilities in 2022 (Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability 2022). Under the Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation, Man. Reg. 47/2022, organizations with one or more employees in Manitoba have been covered since May 1, 2025. Web content that is needed to access an organization's goods or services must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA (s. 7(1) (opens in a new tab)).

Where websites in this sector usually fail

The patterns below come up often on independent pharmacy websites. They are typical issues, not findings about any particular business.

What the regulation requires of a pharmacy

Section 7(2) (opens in a new tab) of Man. Reg. 47/2022 lists exceptions to the WCAG requirement, including product labels and product information. That exception concerns the product information itself. In our view, it does not remove the need for the store's search, cart, checkout, refill forms and booking pages to be accessible. This is general information, not legal advice.

Web applications (s. 8(1) (opens in a new tab))

Online stores and booking systems published or significantly updated after the applicable date fall under s. 8(1) (opens in a new tab). Many pharmacies use a vendor's platform, so it helps to ask about accessibility when selecting or renewing one.

Accessible formats and communication supports (s. 5 (opens in a new tab))

Customers should be told they can request information, such as medication information sheets or receipts, in a format that works for them, for example large print or an accessible electronic file.

Feedback process (s. 9 (opens in a new tab))

Customers need an accessible way to report barriers, such as a web form, email address and phone number, clearly listed.

Training (s. 4 (opens in a new tab))

Counter and phone staff, whoever updates the website and flyers, and whoever chooses store or booking software fall within the training requirement, as soon as reasonably practicable.

What we test first

1. Requesting a prescription refill or transfer
2. Booking a vaccine appointment
3. Finding regular and holiday hours, location and contact details
4. Reading the current flyer
5. Searching for, adding and ordering products in the online store

Each journey is tested with keyboard only, NVDA, VoiceOver, text resized to 200% and content reflowed at 320 CSS px, along with automated scans. See our method.

Fixing without a redesign

These repairs rarely change how the site looks. Labels, instructions and autofill attributes can be added to existing forms. Status messages can be announced to screen readers without any visible change. Contrast can usually be corrected by adjusting a shade within the pharmacy's own colours, and flyers can gain a text version beside the designed one. We work to the principle of least visible change. Read more about our services or see a sample report.

To find out where your pharmacy's website stands, contact us for an audit and a fixed written quote.

Last reviewed October 2026. General information, not legal advice.