MedlinePlus Turns 10 Years Old
MedlinePlus, the popular, consumer-friendly health Web site produced by the National Library of Medicine, is celebrating 10 years of bringing trusted health information to people across the country and around the world.
Nearly 500 million people in more than 200 countries have turned to MedlinePlus for accurate, up-to-date information since its launch on October 22, 1998. The site, now available in English and Spanish, receives about 12 million visitors each month and is approaching one billion page views a year. MedlinePlus routinely is recognized as one of the best places on the Web to go for health information. It has received numerous mentions in the media, including NBC's "Today Show," Newsweek, and The Wall Street Journal, and it consistently ranks highest among government news sites in the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
"The number of people using MedlinePlus, and the amount of information it contains, has grown exponentially," says Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D., Director of the National Library of Medicine. "The Library tries hard to bring health information to the public. MedlinePlus represents our effort to help patients, doctors, and the public to understand health concepts."
What a difference a decade makes. Since its debut in 1998:
- MedlinePlus has grown from 22 health topics to information on more than 770 health topics.
- A Spanish version, MedlinePlus en español, was launched in 2002 in response to requests from the public and health care community. It is the most comprehensive Spanish language health site in the United States.
- A "Go Local" feature was launched in 2003 when MedlinePlus users expressed the desire for help finding health services in their community.
- A multiple languages collection with information in more than 40 languages and English translations was launched in 2008. It was created to help the millions of people in the United States with limited English, as well as the health care professionals they visit.
In addition to the health topics, MedlinePlus provides information on drugs and supplements, the latest news, a medical dictionary, an extensive encyclopedia, surgery videos, interactive educational material, and links to other helpful sites to locate clinical trials, understand genetic conditions, and find information specifically for older Americans.
The health information on MedlinePlus is professionally selected from reliable sources including the National Institutes of Health, government organizations, medical associations, and more than one thousand other health organizations such as the Mayo Clinic and the Harvard School of Public Health.
Located in Bethesda, Md., the National Library of Medicine is the world's largest library of the health sciences. For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.nlm.nih.gov.