Talk:MedlinePlus

Some proposed changes
MedlinePlus is a health Web site produced by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM). MedlinePlus provides information in English and Spanish on health diseases and conditions. The site also offers health news, a medical encyclopedia, drug and supplement information, a medical dictionary, and links to clinical trials [1]. There are also links to health information in over 40 languages [2]. The information is sourced from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), other U.S. government agencies, and health-related organizations.

Over 400 million unique visitors use MedlinePlus each year. [3] MedlinePlus does not display advertising. The service is free. In 2010, NLM expanded MedlinePlus to create MedlinePlus Connect, a service that links patient portals and electronic health record (EHR) systems to related MedlinePlus health information. [4] MedlinePlus Connect is available at no cost and does not require registration. [5]

History

For over 150 years, NLM has provided programs and services for professional medical scientists and health care providers [6]. By the 1990s it was clear that people could benefit from reliable, non-commercial online health information in a layperson-accessible format.[7][8][9] In October 1998, NLM introduced MedlinePlus. The site initially offered 22 health topics in English. A corresponding site in Spanish was introduced in 2002. The number of topics has since expanded to over 975 health topics in English [10] and over 960 in Spanish [11]. Over the years, MedlinePlus has received several awards. In 2015, the English and the Spanish sites “tied for first place for user satisfaction in the Federal News and Information Website category E-Government Satisfaction Index Report”. [12] MedlinePlus Connect won the HHSinnovates award in 2011. [13]

References

[1]

[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Shinsetsu23 (talk) 16:14, 29 July 2016 (UTC)


 * Hi Shinsetsu23, and thank for your draft. Most of the information in your draft is already covered in the existing article. However, the tone of your draft is slightly promotional whereas the existing article is closer to a neutral tone. For example, your draft emphasizes that MedlinePlus is free&mdash;twice. I updated the number of users and the number of topics, but other than that, can you give a reason why you prefer your draft to the current version of the article? Altamel (talk) 19:00, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

(talk) Altamel Thank you for reviewing my draft. I do have some suggested changes. The line: "There is also a site optimized for display on mobile devices, in both English and Spanish" is incorrect. The MedlinePlus page is responsive, but does not have a separate site for mobile display. Further, the line: "MedlinePlus provides encyclopedic information on health and drug issues, and provides a directory of medical services" is incorrect. The phrase "Encyclopedic information" infers that all content is from an encyclopedia, and "drug issues" is a vague reference to drug monographs. Finally, I don't know what "directory of medical services" is referring to, but MedlinePlus does not have a directory. I would suggest the language above that clarifies any confusion: "MedlinePlus provides information in English and Spanish on health diseases and conditions. The site also offers health news, a medical encyclopedia, drug and supplement information, a medical dictionary, and links to clinical trials [1]." Finally, the line: "MedlinePlus Connect links patients or providers in electronic health record (EHR) systems to related MedlinePlus information on conditions or medications" sounds like the information is either on conditions OR medications. Please revise with an all encompassing "related MedlinePlus Health information." Thank you. Shinsetsu23 (talk) 15:49, 25 October 2016 (UTC)