Consumer Health Minute: What’s New “About MedlinePlus”

Posted by Carolyn Martin on December 9th, 2019 Posted in: Health Literacy, News from NLM, News from NNLM
Tags: consumer health, MedlinePlus

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As many of you know, MedlinePlus is the comprehensive consumer health information resource from the National Library of Medicine. It made its debut in 1998 with 22 health topics and had 116,000 hits by the end of its first month.  Take a look at more recent statistics:

• In 2018, 277 million users viewed MedlinePlus more than 700 million times
• Information sourced from over 1,600 selected organizations
• 40,000 links to authoritative health information in English
• 18,000 links to authoritative health information in Spanish
• Links to resources in more than 60 languages (documents, audio, video)

MedlinePlus has gone through a number of changes over the years. Recently, its “About MedlinePlus” web page has been expanded and updated to help librarians, community organizations, health professionals, and the public to be more knowledgeable about the resource and better utilize it. Highlights include:

• New pages for general information about MedlinePlus, using MedlinePlus, and information for web developers.
• A message from NLM Director Dr. Patricia Flatley Brennan
• A new overview of MedlinePlus
• New citation format examples
• Updated guidelines for selection of links for MedlinePlus
• Updated resources for trainers and librarians including links to webinars and a printable brochure
• Expanded guidelines for linking to and using content from MedlinePlus
• More information about how content on MedlinePlus is reviewed and updated

MedlinePlus is a reliable health resource to provide quality health information to your patrons, your patients, and the communities you serve. The new “About MedlinePlus” provides the additional information you need to know this is an authoritative and trusted online resource.