Universal Healthcare, Universal Access? Digital Barriers in Norway's Health Sector

Digital health services have become central to healthcare delivery in Norway, with nearly nine in ten adults using at least one service annually. This paper presents findings from the Norwegian Authority for Universal Design of ICT's sector supervision of the health sector in 2025-2026, combining a population survey (n=3,177 online; n=500 telephone) with 19 regulatory audits testing compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Among users, 18% encountered at least one barrier, equivalent to around 750,000 residents. The barriers were primarily informational rather than technical: over half of those experiencing difficulties were unsure which service to use. People with disabilities were nearly twice as likely to encounter difficulties, while simultaneously being more likely to use digital services than the general population. Among those who encountered barriers, 27% experienced a delay in receiving healthcare and 20% gave up. No audited service fully met accessibility requirements, with a sector mean compliance score of 67 out of 100. The findings indicate that the challenge is not primarily one of user competence but of service design and coordination.