MedlinePlus®: The National Library of Medicine® Brings Quality Information to Health Consumers

Abstract

The National Library of Medicine???s (NLM??) MedlinePlus?? is a high-quality
\ngateway to consumer health information from NLM, the National Institutes
\nof Health (NIH), and other authoritative organizations. For decades,
\nNLM has been a leader in indexing, organizing, and distributing health
\ninformation to health professionals. In creating MedlinePlus, NLM uses
\nyears of accumulated expertise and technical knowledge to produce an
\nauthoritative, reliable consumer health Web site. This article describes the
\ndevelopment of MedlinePlus???its quality control processes, the integration
\nof NLM and NIH information, NLM???s relationship to other institutions,
\nthe technical and staffing infrastructures, the use of feedback for quality
\nimprovement, and future plans.