The purpose of this policy is to set guidelines for the use of links from the main Medical School website ( www.medicine.dal.ca ) to other websites, with the goals of 1) minimizing redundancy, the need for maintenance, and broken links, 2) maximizing the ability of site visitors to find what they need, 3) avoiding the appearance of sponsorship or partnership where such a relationship does not exist, and 4) adhering to the widely-recognized HON Code of Conduct ( www.hon.ch ).

1. Links to "internal" websites should in most cases be given precedence to "external" ones, in order to provide mutual support and to enhance internal cohesiveness and communication. By "internal" we mean a) departments or divisions of the Medical School itself, b) faculties, departments, or divisions of Dalhousie University, c) departments or divisions of the teaching hospitals associated with the Medical School, and d) medical or educational organizations or associations directly related to the Medical School.

2. There should be no general "Related Links" page on the site; rather, links should in almost all cases be placed in the specific section(s) of the site they are relevant to. For example, a link to the website of NSERC would go in the Research section of the site, whereas a link to the CaRMS site would go in the Student Information section. Duplication (the same link in two or more places) should be avoided, but where it is impossible to avoid, a comment should be placed in the HTML page pointing out the location of the other links so that they can be changed or deleted all at the same time.

3. The only exception to item 2 will be a "Related Organizations" page located in the "Med School at a Glance" section, containing links to major non-profit organizations, companies, and committees for which the Medical School is a major member, partner, or stakeholder. The final authority on which organizations are to be included on this page will be the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

4. As much as possible, existing collections of external links that are being maintained by other areas of the Faculty of Medicine should not be duplicated. Specifically, the Kellogg Library website ( www.library.dal.ca/kellogg ) contains extensive listings of links to primary medical reference materials, from databases to journals to directories; students and faculty should be referred to this site wherever possible. In a similar fashion, Research Services maintains a list ( research.medicine.dal.ca/relatedagencies.cfm ) of links to research and funding organizations which is regularly maintained, and extensive. And finally, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) maintains a very well-structured Canada-focussed links section called WebMed , which could be linked to rather than building our own similar collection.

5. The site should contain almost no links to commercial organizations, including pharmaceutical companies (Merck, Pfizer, etc.), technology companies (Compaq, Microsoft, etc.) or consumer-focussed health websites (WebMD, MedicineNet.com, etc.), except a) in the context of news stories or media releases concerning them, b) where they have provided us with significant sponsorship or research funding, or c) where information provided on these sites is deemed to be of significant benefit for Medical School students or faculty.

6. Wherever links to commercial, for-profit organizations do appear, a disclaimer should also appear stating either a) that the Medical School is not affiliated with or sponsored by the company and that no money was paid for the placement of the link, or b) the exact relationship between the company and the Medical School, if one does exist.

7. Departments, divisions, and other units related to the Medical School are free to create lists of links on their own websites, providing they follow the guideline specified in item number 6, above.

May 2000