HONcode certificate: respect of the 8 HONcode principles by the health website

| | | | | | |

Certificate of compliance with the Code of Conduct HONcode

The health Website
National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus
is in compliance with the HONcode

Title of the site: National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus
Web address: http://www.medlineplus.gov/
HONcode PIN number : HONConduct166259
Date of initial review: 06 Sep 1999
Validity of certificate 09 Mar 2011 - Mar 2013
Date of last visit 31 Mar 2011

This certificate confirms the revision of the site by the HONcode Team at the above date.
It respects and pledges to honor the 8 principles of the HON Code of Conduct (HONcode).

* 1. Authoritative 2. Complementarity 3. Privacy 4. Attribution 5. Justifiability 6. Transparency
7. Financial disclosure 8. Advertising policy

Speed access of ethical health information online is critical.

Help us in our mission:

Do you think the site is not respecting the HONcode?

The Health on the Net (HON) certificate serves as a guarantee that this website, at the date of its certification, complies with and pledges to honor the 8 principles of the HON Code of Conduct as drawn up by the HON foundation.

The responsible of the certified site commits to keep the site in compliance with the HON code principles for the duration of the certification.

Although measures such as a complaint mechanism, the periodical review and the automatic surveillance mechanisms are put in place to guarantee the compliance of the certified website with the ethical principles of HON as much as possible, incidental inaccuracies cannot be completely excluded. In no event the HON foundation and/or its partner(s) can be held liable for any damages resulting from the use or inability to use HON certified websites nor can the HON foundation and/or its partner(s) be held liable for the content of these certified websites, including, but not limited to the information of third-parties or hyperlinks accessible via HON certified websites.

The certified website is responsible for the content of its website, unless otherwise provided by law.

>>

You will find below the elements identified by the HONcode team at a precise date to justify the respect of the 8 ethical principles.

The content of this certificate has been collected and written by the Health On the Net Foundation (HON) and should not be used without previous permission granted by HON. A request for permission can be sent to: HON.

1. Information must be authoritative

National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus Advisory Group

Marin P. Allen, Ph.D.
Deputy Associate Director, Communications and Public Liaison
Director of Public Information
National Institutes of Health

Joyce Backus, Ex-Officio
Deputy Chief, Public Services Division
National Library of Medicine

For more information please follow the link...
(09 Mar 2011) -

2. Presentation of the site
Mission:

MedlinePlus is designed to help you find appropriate, authoritative health information.

(09 Mar 2011) -

Audience: The website is intended for the general public

(09 Mar 2011) -

Purpose of the website

Medical Information: It is not the intention of NLM to provide specific medical advice, but rather to provide users with information to better understand their health and their diagnosed disorders. Specific medical advice will not be provided, and NLM urges you to consult with a qualified physician for diagnosis and for answers to your personal questions.

(09 Mar 2011) -

3. Confidentiality

The type of information collected and cookies are presented on the page
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/privacy.html

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides this Web site as a public service. We do not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) about you when you visit our Web sites unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do collect some data about your visit to our Web site to help us better understand how the public uses the site and how to make it more helpful. NLM never collects information for commercial marketing or any purpose unrelated to NLM's functions.
(09 Mar 2011) -

4. Information must be documented: Referenced and dated

Only data for one sample are displayed among those selected.

Drugs, Herbs and Supplements

Prescription and over-the-counter medication information is from AHFS® Consumer Medication Information, copyrighted by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Inc., Bethesda, Maryland; Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Information on herbs and supplements is from Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Consumer Version. Copyright ©1995 – 2011. Therapeutic Research Faculty, publishers of Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, Prescriber's Letter, Pharmacist's Letter. All rights reserved.
(09 Mar 2011) -

Health Topics
Page last updated on 27 April 2010
(09 Mar 2011) -

5. Justification of claims

The information is balanced, clear and well writhed

Hepatitis B Vaccine
(09 Mar 2011) -

6. User support and adequation

Contact form
If your browser does not work with forms, you can send your email directly to
(09 Mar 2011) -

7. Disclosure of funding sources

A service of the U.S. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE and the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

(09 Mar 2011) -

8. Advertising policy

There is no advertising on this site, nor does MedlinePlus endorse any company or product

(09 Mar 2011) -

You have your own website ?

Automatic verification of the certification status of health/medical websites.