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The aim of authentication is to ensure that a user will be able to recognise a resource on a partner site as having authority and thus be able to trust the information in the resource. Through HealthInsite and other search engines, a user may reach a resource directly, without the context of navigating from the site's home page. Hence each HTML page, PDF document or other resource must have individual explicit authentication.
One of the benefits of the Internet is the ability to change resources quickly. However, version control is needed to keep track of changes and, for example, to synchronise print versions of documents with Internet versions. It is important to distinguish between changes in content of a resource and changes in presentation. A user will associate a date on a resource with the date for which that resource was current - it is important that this be a realistic assumption.
HealthInsite's success depends on providing current information for consumers. With the wide range of people who visit the site it could be misleading to include rescinded or out-of-date resources prominently. Although such resources may be useful for research purposes, our current approach is to exclude them from HealthInsite. However we encourage partners to maintain online access to archival resources.
Required
- clear publisher identification
- a clear title
- the date of publication or, if the resource content has been updated, the date of last update. If the resource has been fully reviewed and judged to be current, the date of last review is acceptable
- a contact point for requesting further information - this may be a standard feedback link to the site webmaster. The procedure for dealing with enquiries and feedback is entirely the responsibility of the site owner
- clear labelling of any archival material which is retained on a site
- adherence to the copyright restrictions on any material (including images and other media) used in resource preparation
- a discalimer notice. It is recommended that a disclaimer notice be placed on any resource offering health advice or that a link be provided to a site disclaimer notice. It is preferred that this be a simple notice that the resource is of an educational nature rather than a long-winded legalistic disclaimer of all liability.
Recommended (either at site level or resource level as appropriate)
- a full copyright statement (for example, as on print publications) or short copyright statement with a link to the full statement. Generally the site copyright notice should allow for the printing and downloading of resources for personal use.
- a written policy on links to other sites. This may include a disclaimer that links to external sites should not be taken as implying support of an external organisation or endorsement of information on other sites. It may also make special provision for links to commercial/private sector sites where health advice may be combined with advertising.
- details about the ownership, management and sources of funding of the site
- details of who produced each resource (author/creator area)
- the URL of the resource
- avoid code that automatically changes the date displayed whenever the file is changed. Because this is invoked even for trivial presentation changes, such as editing a font size, it can be misleading.
- avoid multiple dates on a page - this can be confusing to users.
Publishing standards for HealthInsite, v5, June 2007
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