Dr. James Sheller, left, and Dr. Jackson Roberts II will conduct the study. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Visitors to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center web site should have noticed a change last week as the new design debuted.
The home page is designed to do three important things. First, it asks visitors to tell the information they are seeking — information for patients, referring physicians, students or academic colleagues. Second, it provides news at a glance for the staff of the Medical Center and for visitors to the site. Third, it introduces the user to the tools for navigation and graphic frame that will be used throughout the site to promote easy browsing and a sense of place for the user.
According to Terry Smith, web director for VUMC Communications, the graphics for the new web site launched last week are designed to be consistent throughout the medical center site including navigational tools, position of buttons and adherence to brand image standards.
The Vanderbilt Physician Referral Directory debuted last week also. It is a searchable data base that will help community physicians and patients find a Vanderbilt doctor by name, by department and by area of interest.
The Eskind Biomedical Library (EBL) and Communications web teams have been working on the new VUMC site for several months. Jason Coles has been the lead designer. The EBL web team consists of the Annette Williams, web master, and programmers Jerry Zhao and John Clark.
“The new web site is a combined effort of several departments that will push the medical centers web presence to the next level,” Smith said. “Tools like the Physician Referral Directory are the next generation of resources for consumers.”
The web site address is http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/.