October 16, 2001
Dana-Farber wins Mass. Interactive Media Council's top honor for healthcare web sites
The Massachusetts Interactive Media Council (MIMC) has named the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Web site as the winner of the 2001 MIMC Vertical Award in the healthcare category.
Dana-Farber recently launched its redesigned Web site to provide the public with extensive, up-to-date information about cancer research and treatment, and to make it easier for people to support the development of new therapies at Dana-Farber.
New Tilt and Pandora Systems, two Boston-area interactive agencies, worked in partnership with Dana-Farber staff and patients to design and develop the Web site. New Tilt (http://www.newtilt.com) was responsible for the Web site's implementation as well as the online branding, information architecture, and navigational structure. Pandora Systems (http://www.pandorasystems.com) designed and developed the technical infrastructure and 13 interactive applications for the site.
Presented annually since 1995, the MIMC Awards is New England's largest and most prestigious interactive media awards competition. The MIMC Award is considered to be the highest honor given exclusively to companies and professionals in New England for the creation of Web sites, titles and technologies.
"We are very pleased with this recognition and hope that it will help make more people aware of the extensive, easy to use information about cancer research and cancer care Dana-Farber now offers on its Web site," said Steven R. Singer, senior vice president for communications at Dana-Farber. "Congratulations as well to New Tilt and Pandora Systems, our partners in this project."
Although it contains well over 1,500 pages of information, the Dana-Farber Web site was designed for ease of use. Information is organized by type of cancer and clinical service, and can be quickly found by using a powerful search engine, a site map, or one of a dozen "Quick Links" for common tasks (find a doctor, make an appointment, etc.).
The Dana-Farber Web site provides, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, detailed information on more than 115 adult and pediatric cancers. A user searching for details about breast cancer, for example, could pull together in one place an explanation about the disease and its various stages, an outline of current treatment options, and names and contact information for treatment at Dana-Farber. The same breast cancer page would also include listings of clinical trials underway at Dana-Farber and at institutions throughout the United States; an overview of breast cancer support services; a calendar of upcoming lectures, support group meetings and workshops at Dana-Farber; and a visitor's guide to Dana-Farber.
The Dana-Farber site also contains several interactive features, including an online appointment request form, a searchable directory of Dana-Farber physicians and researchers, a patient-referral form for physicians, and an electronic registration for a free online newsletter highlighting research and patient care at Dana-Farber.
MIMC (http://www.mimc.org) is a non-profit trade association created in 1996 to help support and build the interactive media industry in New England. The MIMC community consists of over 3,000 companies and individuals who provide, design, build and deliver interactive technology products and services. MIMC holds over 75 networking and educational events a year for professionals from all sides of the industry, including two of the most prestigious annual industry awards ceremonies in New England - the MIMC Interactive Leadership Awards and the MIMC Awards.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (http://www.dana-farber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), a comprehensive cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute. Dana-Farber has a long-standing alliance with Children's Hospital Boston, a joint service for children with cancer. In 1996, Dana-Farber and the two founding members of the Partners HealthCare System - Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital - formed Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare DF/PCC), a collaboration in adult cancer care.
