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MedlinePlus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MedlinePlus is an online information service produced by the United States National Library of Medicine. The service provides curated consumer health information in English and Spanish with select content in additional languages.[1][2] The site brings together information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), other U.S. government agencies, and health-related organizations. There is also a site optimized for display on mobile devices, in both English and Spanish. In 2015, about 400 million people from around the world used MedlinePlus.[3] The service is funded by the NLM and is free to users.

MedlinePlus provides encyclopedic information on health and drug issues, and provides a directory of medical services. MedlinePlus Connect links patients or providers in electronic health record (EHR) systems to related MedlinePlus information on conditions or medications.

PubMed Health was another NLM site that offered consumer health information, in addition to information for health professionals. However, "PubMed Health, a portal for systematic reviews as well as consumer health information, was discontinued on October 31, 2018. The same or similar content is being provided through other NLM resources, namely PubMed and Bookshelf (for systematic review content), and MedlinePlus (for consumer health information)."[4]

History

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The National Library of Medicine has long provided programs and services for professional medical scientists and health care providers, including MEDLINE and the various services that access it, such as PubMed and Entrez. By the 1990s, more members of the general public were using these services as Internet access became widespread.[5] But nonprofessional users could benefit from reliable health information in a layperson-accessible format.[6][7][8] The National Library of Medicine introduced MedlinePlus in October 1998, to provide a non-commercial online service similar, for example, to the commercial WebMD. In 2010 another NCBI service, PubMed Health, complemented MedlinePlus in offering curated consumer health information; PubMed Health focuses especially on finding information about clinical effectiveness of treatments.[9]

MedlinePlus initially provided 22 health topics in English, which expanded to almost 1000 health topics in English and Spanish, plus links to health information in over 40 languages. MedlinePlus was recognized by the Medical Library Association for its role in providing health information.[10] The site scored 84 in the American Customer Satisfaction Index for 2010.[11]

In 2000s, A.D.A.M.'s medical encyclopedia was incorporated into MedlinePlus. The "Animated Dissection of Anatomy for Medicine, Inc." is a NASDAQ-traded public company based in Atlanta, Georgia, that provides consumer health information and benefits technology products to healthcare organizations, employers, consumers, and educational institutions.

Key features

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The MedlinePlus website provides information in text-based webpages as well as in videos and tools.[12][13] Other ways to access to access MedlinePlus content include MedlinePlus Mobile, which is a point-of-care tool for clinicians, and MedlinePlus Connect,[14] which connects to Electronic Health Records (EHRs).[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Medlineplus.gov en español" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  2. ^ "Health Information in Multiple Languages: MedlinePlus". medlineplus.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  3. ^ "MedlinePlus Statistics". National Institutes of Health. Archived from the original on 2016-06-05. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
  4. ^ National Library of Medicine, PubMed Health, archived from the original on 2018-10-18, retrieved 2017-09-04.
  5. ^ Naomi Miller, M.L.S., Systems Librarian, Eve-Marie Lacroix, M.S., Chief, Public Services Division, and Joyce E. B. Backus, M.S.L.S., Systems Librarian (January 2000). "MEDLINEplus: building and maintaining the National Library of Medicine's consumer health Web service". Bulletin of the Medical Library Association (BMLA). 88 (1): 11–7. PMC 35193. PMID 10658959.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Marill JL, Miller N, Kitendaugh P (January 2006). "The MedlinePlus public user interface: studies of design challenges and opportunities". Journal of the Medical Library Association. 94 (1): 30–40. PMC 1324769. PMID 16404467.
  7. ^ Miller N, Lacroix EM, Backus J (Mar–Apr 2001). "The making of Medlineplus". Public Libraries. 40 (2): 111–3.
  8. ^ Miller N, Tyler RJ, Backus JE (Fall 2004). "MedlinePlus: The National Library of Medicine brings quality information to health consumers" (PDF). Library Trends. 53 (2): 375–88. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  9. ^ Miles, Alisha (July 2011), "PubMed Health", Journal of the Medical Library Association, 99 (3): 265–266, doi:10.3163/1536-5050.99.3.018, PMC 3133896.
  10. ^ "Thomson Reuters/Frank Bradway Rogers Information Advancement Award". Medical Library Association. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  11. ^ "ACSI Scores for U.S. Federal Government". The American Customer Satisfaction Index. 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-12-02. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  12. ^ a b Schnall, Janet G.; Fowler, Susan (September 2013). "MedlinePlus.gov: quality health information for your patients". The American Journal of Nursing. 113 (9): 64–65. doi:10.1097/01.NAJ.0000434180.83352.f0. ISSN 1538-7488. PMID 23985609.
  13. ^ "Videos & Tools: MedlinePlus". medlineplus.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  14. ^ "MedlinePlus Connect: Linking Patient Portals and Electronic Health Records to Health Information". medlineplus.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
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