4 Elements to Ensure Your Uber-like App is Accessible for Disability Needs

Advancements in technology do not merely mean crazy new technologies associated with artificial intelligence or augmented reality. Advancements also must coincide with accessibility needs. Being disabled in today’s society, should no longer be deemed a struggle, as the world is developing more and more technologies to assist those in need.

When it comes to commuting and using popular apps like Uber, accessibility for the disabled must be a top priority. This should not extend to just wheelchair accessible options, but also sight and/or hearing-impaired accessibility. When building an app like Uber for instance, you must ensure you have a wide scope of needs that are able to be fulfilled. 

4 Ways to Develop an Accessible App: 

1. Voice Assistant 

This is a feature that is crucial for the blind population. Traveling should not be any more strenuous than it already is, thus Uber-like services must integrate easy access to bring down the stress. 

It is integral to implement an easy way to use such apps and to be able to easily book rides. The best way to do so is a feature like voice assistance to speak into the app where they wish to go and receive voice responses back confirming rides and arrival times. 

This would not solely benefit the blind population, but anyone with difficulty in operating a smartphone. 

2. Special Requests

Special requests must be handled appropriately with those who have a disability, as often there will be certain requirements for the ride. For example, wheelchair needs must be fulfilled; there should be numerous vehicles which are able to accommodate this.

Sometimes things like cushions are also required to make the ride as comfortable as possible. Having a disability should not be an inability for the rest of the world, adjust and evolve towards those who need it. 

3. Discounts 

Unfortunately, having a disability has caused discrimination in the workplace, or some are not able to work at all. Meaning relying on low income or government aid to live, but living also requires moving around from place to place; this is where these uber-like apps come in. 

Offering discounts to those with a disability is not only a convenience, but also a necessity oftentimes. Discounts would allow these riders to travel comfortably and independently, and of course continuously use your service - any form of great customer service is always a positive. 

Affordability should be a must in this industry. 

4. Safe and Supportive Measures 

Safety is always important, whether for disability needs or not, it should be the service’s top priority always. Features like location sharing should be implemented so the rider can feel safe while being driven by a stranger because they’re able to share real-time location with those they trust. 

An emergency feature like direct calling to 911 should also be integrated into your ride-sharing application. Supporting disability needs is crucial in today’s world. Make your app stand out and be the one to make those who need extra, feel safe. 

Ready to take the next step? 

These key aspects will not only benefit those with a disability, but anyone in general considering using your app. If you need assistance developing such an app, ISU Corp is ready to help you take your next step! Contact us today for the best custom software development. 

4 Types of Healthcare Software That Changed the Industry

There are various healthcare information systems tools that exist today and are integral for data collection, whether that be for symptoms, management, planning, diagnosing, and so forth. Without these tools, the healthcare systems would be backtracking, instead of moving forward in a technological sense. 

Here are the main types of softwares used to enhance the daily lives of not only healthcare workers, but also patients:

1. Management 

This type of software is great for daily tasks that need to be completed for various positions within the sector.

Examples:

• Patient appointments

• Payments and billing procedures

• Insurance claims

• Appointment reminders

• Patient records 

The best way to implement this form of software is through a SaaS solution. 

2. Health Records - but make them electronic 

Evidently, this software keeps track of patient health records. The data is stored on a secure server software and is able to be accessed throughout varying platforms meant for healthcare institutions. 

Examples:

• Medical history

• Ultrasound and radiology scans

• Personal information (e.g. age) 

• Allergy information 

• Lab results 

Making this task electronic not only saves trees, but also time! It is also much more secure than paper - you don’t have to ever worry about losing another lab result again! 

3. Patient Platform 

This is a form of software developed for patients to be able to access their health information and make appointments or varying inquiries. 

Examples:

• Allergies

• Appointments

• Lab results (e.g. blood results)

• Prescriptions 

• Documents 

• Payments 

These platforms are easy to use and highly beneficial to save time from constantly calling in. 

4. Prescriptions 

This type of software reduces a doctor’s everyday tasks by giving patients information about prescriptions and the actual prescriptions themselves. The software is able to generate the medication information and inform the patient on its availability depending on the pharmacy. 

Examples:

• Informs doctor on patient allergies

• Organizes a list of medications, or dosages for the patient prescription

• Generates and sends prescription to a pharmacist of the patient’s choosing 

Custom Software 

We have only brushed the surface of how custom software solutions are available to reduce the workflows and wait times in the healthcare industry.

Here at ISU Corp, we provide custom software to benefit you and fulfill your everyday needs. Get in touch today to save lives tomorrow. 

Why Accessibility is Important for SEO

With everything becoming digitized brings the question: will it be available for everyone to use individually or will it require assistance for those who need it?  

There’s much to learn, however, we have tried to utilize a similar approach to how SEO can be used when making enhancements for a website to be accessible.

Here is a better explanation:

Search Engines will search the web using a “bot” – Google will use the Googlebot; the purpose of this bot has two main components.

1. Ensuring that every link on the page has been included on the obtain list

2. Categorize and ensure that the words have been indexed

The bots are able to look for text, but aren’t able to look for images or sounds.

When depending on the accessibility guidelines, the ability for the bot to visualize items on the page becomes much more thorough without missing any information. Especially when using the accessibility procedures.

A sample of one of the features, would be using a couple detailed words for an image, such as an “ALT” attribute, which helps with making the images seen by the bots, since the text is integrated into the search for the image.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” before, however when thinking about SEO, most often a thousand words is not the best. Since the majority of the known search engines will rate each website by quality and not quantity. 

Having a good number of keywords is beneficial, just make sure you don’t add too many, otherwise your ratings will go down. It is common to think you have to avoid using images on your website pages, well you don’t have to avoid it, just make sure they don’t interfere with the information.

Quality over quantity is the key to making your site easy to maintain and be accessible!

If you have more questions or are interested in learning more, reach out to us today!