UAB Health System
Standards and Procedures: Internet and World Wide Web
I. Introduction
A. Overview of the Internet
The Internet and its various services, including the World Wide Web, are expanding at an unprecedented pace. With the advent of Web-browsing software, the number of Web Sites and access to them has grown enormously. In addition, it is anticipated that many households in the United States will soon be able to access the Internet through the television in their homes. Given this as background, UAB Health System has developed a dedicated Web Site and is committed to providing current information to the public via the Internet.
UAB Health System has established these Standards and Procedures to guide the creation and use of all "official" UAB Health System Web pages. Each UAB Health System-related Web Site must adhere to these Standards and Procedures.
The purpose of these Standards and Procedures is to allow flexibility for content authors to the UAB Health System Web Site while ensuring that the content of the site reflects a consistent, accessible, professional and easily recognizable visual identity for UAB Health System on the World Wide Web.
B. Vision of UAB Health System Web Site.
Mission
To improve the health and well being of society, particularly the citizens of Alabama, by providing innovative health services of exceptional value, a superior environment for education of health professionals, and support for research that advances medical science.
UAB Health System encourages innovation from all. We must find new and better ways to deliver on the concept of a community-responsive health system dedicated to making each individual and the community as a whole healthier.
Innovation will be achieved through our partnership with the community, and in our approach to technology. We will identify patient information needs and build a Web Site utilizing the latest technology to meet those needs. The content will be relevant to the individual patient's health needs and the health of the community as a whole.
The UAB Health System Web Site will be used to support the vision of a community-responsive health system and the information presented on the Web Site will further ensure the vision of a system dedicated to improving the health and well being of society.
It is this vision that will guide the Web Site development process and the content and information that will be available through the UAB Health System Web Site.
II. Web Site Steering Subcommittee
A. Role of the Health System Web Site Steering Subcommittee of the
UAB Web Center
As a subcommittee of the UAB Web Center Steering Committee, the Health System Web Site Subcommittee will provide guidance on overall policy development, including but not limited to the adoption of new Internet communication technologies, infrastructure issues, and general design of the Health System Web Site in conjunction with the UAB Web Center Steering Committee. The UAB Web Center is a campus-wide (academic, institutional, and clinical) effort coordinated centrally in the Office of Public Relations and Marketing. It is guided by a Steering Committee composed of a core group of representatives from the Office of the Provost, the Faculty Senate, the Office of Public Relations and Marketing, Lister Hill Library, the University Computer Center, and UAB Health System Information Services.
Given the intertwined missions of UAB and the strong link between the academic/institutional site and the present Health System site (more than 80% of current visitors to www.health.uab.edu come from www.uab.edu) and to accommodate the increased visibility of the UAB Health System Web site, the Steering Committee will be expanded to include additional members from the UAB Health System. An additional subcommittee specifically focused on the UAB Health System Web site will be formed.
Through subcommittees of faculty, staff, and student representatives from across all aspects of the UAB campus, the UAB Web Center sets standard for graphics, technology, and content for official web pages. It determines Standards concerning copyright and other legal issues and establishes procedures for creating and approving web sites with the UAB brand. The Web Center offers assistance to schools, departments, divisions and clinics in the creation of web sites by providing consultation, a library of templates, official graphics, content guidelines, programming modules, and other services.
B. Membership of the Health System Web Site Subcommittee
The membership of the Web Site Subcommittee shall consist of the following functions within UAB Health System:
1. UAB Web Center
2. Medical Publications
3. HSIS
4. HS Marketing Communications
5. UAB HealthFinder
6. Media Relations
7. Medical Staff Representative
8. UAB School of Medicine
It is anticipated that the agenda of the Committee will periodically require the invitation of guests to the meetings. These guests may include selected Internet support vendors, department representatives, physicians and other clinical service representatives.
III. Web Team Leaders
A. Designation of Web Team Leaders
Since marketing by electronic medium is similar to marketing through other media and since publication by electronic medium or format is similar to other forms of publication, UAB Health System's Office of Marketing Communications will lead the development and maintenance of the web site in collaboration with the Medical Publications office and the UAB Web Center. Designated staff in these three areas will form the Web Team Leaders responsible for the web site.
B. Responsibilities of the Web Team Leaders
Regulations pertaining to the visual appearance of official UAB Health System Web Site information are the responsibility of the Web Team Leaders and must be followed by all electronic publications, as they are followed for other forms of publication.
The Web Team Leaders shall provide appropriate mechanisms and procedures to ensure that the information placed on the Web is accurate, up-to-date, and in conformance with all applicable System Standards and regulations. The Web Team Leaders will utilize the current review and approval procedures used for printed publications in developing and approving electronic publications.
The Web Team Leaders (WTL) are responsible for ensuring that all electronic publications on the Web Site conform to the Standards and procedures that govern electronic publications, and that creators of Web materials do not violate intellectual property rights and other applicable federal, state and local laws.
Content will be generated in the three ways
- Purchased: WTL will review and recommend purchase of content as needed.
- UAB Produced: WTL will oversee the creation of content for the Web site written for other UAB publications or written special for the Web site
- Contributed: WTL will oversee the management of the system whereby departments, centers and service-line units contribute content.
The Web Team Leaders are responsible for all computer and technical aspects of the official UAB Health System Web Site. This includes maintaining the ability to service and update the Web server, monitoring and assessing the viability of new developing technologies, fluency in HTML and other markup languages, and understanding the principles of good Web design.
The Web Team Leaders will periodically check links, create and edit pictures, carry out basic Web browser functions and assist in developing structured Web content, including but not limited to database applications for the Web Site.
IV. Preparation and Submission of Official UAB Health System Web Material and Information
A. Definition of Official UAB Health System Material, Information, Web Server and Universal Resource Locator (URL).
UAB Health System, through its various Affiliates, departments, clinical services, education, research and other units, creates and maintains Web material and information for the purpose of service to the community, education, research, and administrative operations. This material and information is considered "official" when produced by an employee of UAB Health System and is, thereby, subject to the Standards and procedures herein.
UAB Health System will establish and maintain an official Web server and will have one official URL. All official UAB Health System information must be placed on the UAB Health System server. (See policy on Linkages)
B. Purpose of Internet Material and Information
The Internet is intended for communication of information with broad appeal to the general public, UAB Health System patients and other health care consumers. Information specifically targeted to internal departments, physicians, or clinical services should be posted on an Intranet.
Authors of official UAB Health System content for the Web Site should work with the Web Team Leaders to develop a Statement of Purpose that contains the following:
1. How this document supports the Vision of UAB Health System Web Site
2. The goals of the proposed Web document
3. The principal target audience
4. How accomplishing the goals is to be measured
C. Department Responsibility for Preparation of Material for the Internet
Each Department and each Affiliate is responsible for preparing and updating, in conjunction with the Web Team Leaders, all of the materials that the Department and Affiliate wishes to post on the Internet. All materials should be prepared in accordance with the Style Guidelines contained in Section V of these Standards and procedures. If UAB Health System Web Site content is determined as outdated or inaccurate due to age, which is the sole prerogative of the Web Team Leaders, the Web pages containing this information will be taken off of the Web Site and classified as inactive.
The Web Team Leaders will provide limited assistance in the development of this material and/or provide a list of approved outside consultants that Departments can contact if additional assistance is needed in the development of materials. If a non-approved consultant is desired, the Department should contact the Web Team Leaders for review and approval of the vendor. Consultant fees and other costs related to the development and
Maintenance of materials and information for the Internet must be approved by the Department's Administrator / Chair and paid for by the Department.
D. Submission and approval of Materials for Posting on the Internet
A Statement of Purpose and all materials developed for the Internet must be submitted to the Web Team Leaders for review and approval prior to posting on the UAB Health System Web Site. In addition to the material to be reviewed, the following information should also be provided:
1. A contact person within the Department to coordinate questions and revisions.
2. A list of all links outside the UAB Health System Web Site and the reason for including each link.
3. The source of the information and each graphic, photograph or artwork to be posted. The Department must obtain and submit written permission from the copyright holder to post on the Web Site any information or graphic material that was not originally developed by the Department.
Assurance that content has been viewed from multiple Internet browsers for quality of presentation. Specifically, the following browsers should be tested: America Online, Netscape, Microsoft Explorer, WebTV, etc.
E. Use of Clinical Material on the UAB Health System Web Site
All clinical material should be prepared in a format suitable for general health care consumers. Clinical material should be educational and timely in nature and highlight the services available at UAB Health System. Specific diagnostic and treatment advice should generally not be included. All clinical material must be reviewed by the appropriate medical staff department prior to posting on the Web Site.
V. General Design and Style Guidelines for Official Material and Information
A. Use of the UAB Health System Logo on the Web
If the UAB Health System is included on any Web material, it must be the official logos, with the correct design and color. Copies of the official logos are available on-line for use in the creation of Web materials.
B. Required Information on All Official UAB Health System Material
All official UAB Health System material must include the following elements, at least once on the hub page (see information regarding hub and branch pages for guidance in placement of required elements), in a clear and obvious form:
- Identification that the materials are being provided by UAB Health System.
- The name of the individual or department responsible producing the material and information.
- The e-mail address of the responsible Webmaster, i.e. cancer coordinator, pediatric coordinator, etc.
The date when the material was last updated.
C. Linkages to "Higher-Level" Web Material and Information to Facilitate Navigation
All official Web materials must include links to "higher-level" Web material to facilitate navigation, so that users who go directly to the materials can easily reach other UAB Health System information or return to the UAB Health System home page.
D. Guidelines Pertaining to the Visual Appearance of Official Material and Information
All materials should conform to the UAB Web Style Guide unless otherwise approved by the Web Team Leaders. The official UAB Health System colors should be used to accent material.
E. Guidelines Pertaining to the Size and Layout of Official Material.
The UAB Health System Web Site is designed primarily to communicate with health care consumers. Therefore, the file size and layout of Web pages should be optimized for consumers using home based, dial-up connections and personal computers in conformance with the UAB Web Style Guide.
F. Guidelines for Hub and Branch Web Pages
There are two types of pages for the UAB Health System Web Site: 1) hub pages, and 2) branch pages.
1. Hub pages primarily contain pointers to other pages. While these pages may contain some information, their primary function is to serve as a table of contents or index.
2. Branch pages primarily contain information and do not function solely or mainly as pointers to other pages.
VI. Right to Privacy Policy for Visitors to the UAB Health System Web Site
A Web Site page that is programmed to gather information about individual users must provide a clear statement to that effect. Such a statement is not required if the page collects and preserves only general information, such as the number of visitors or the universal resource locator and does not identify/collect individual information, such as name, address, health information, financial information, etc.
VII. Notice on Links to Non-UAB Health System Web Sites
The disclaimer statement for the UAB Health System Web Site must include a notice regarding any non-official sites to which the official UAB Health System materials are linked. The purpose of the notice is to indicate that, even though links exist for the user's convenience, the other sites are not managed by the UAB Health System and therefore, UAB Health System does not review, control or take responsibility for their content. The notice should read:
Warning: Some Web Sites to which these pages are linked for the convenience of users are not managed by UAB Health System. Please note that UAB Health System does not review, control or take responsibility for the content of these sites.
VIII. Reference to Official/Final Source
When the Web Site includes specific information that is "officially" maintained elsewhere (i.e., such as job opportunities, accepted health care insurance, fees for services, etc.), a notice must be included reminding the user that the final, official, legal version of the information is maintained elsewhere, and that the user should refer to the other version as the ultimate authority. The recommend notice is as follows:
Although every effort is made to ensure that this material is accurate and up-to-date, it is provided for the convenience of the user and should not be considered official. The user is advised to refer to and rely upon the official version of this information when making significant decisions or judgments. The official version of this information is available at uab.health.uab.edu
IX. Utilization of electronic mail and the accompanying responsibilities
The utilization of electronic mail on the UAB Health System Web Site to foster communications and relationship development is encouraged. The following guidelines, however, should be used by content authors that wish to use e-mail:
(1) Immediate Acknowledgement when receiving e-mail through the UAB Health System Web Site, an immediate automatic acknowledgment message should be sent.
(2) Two Business Day Response: whenever feasible, requests received through Web Site e-mail should be answered within two business days of receipt.
(3) Delays: If e-mail requests can not be fulfilled within two business days, a message should be sent explaining the delay and establishing a target response date.
For more information on these policies, contact: Debbie Hunter-Snow, Marketing Communications, 934-7763, dehunter@uab.edu.