Editing MedlinePlus (section)

==History==
The National Library of Medicine has long provided programs and services for professional [[healthcare science|medical scientists]] and [[health care provider]]s, including [[MEDLINE]] and the various services that access it, such as [[PubMed]] and [[Entrez]]. By the 1990s, more members of the general public were using these services as [[Internet]] access became widespread.<ref>{{cite journal
 |author=Naomi Miller, M.L.S., Systems Librarian, Eve-Marie Lacroix, M.S., Chief, Public Services Division, and Joyce E. B. Backus, M.S.L.S., Systems Librarian |title=MEDLINEplus: building and maintaining the National Library of Medicine's consumer health Web service
 |journal=Bulletin of the Medical Library Association |date=January 2000 |volume=88 |issue=1 |pages=11–7
 |pmc=35193 |pmid=10658959}}</ref> But nonprofessional users could benefit from reliable health information in a layperson-accessible format.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Marill JL, Miller N, Kitendaugh P | title=The MedlinePlus public user interface: studies of design challenges and opportunities | journal=Journal of the Medical Library Association | date=January 2006 | volume=94
 | issue=1 | pages=30–40 | pmc=1324769 | pmid=16404467}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Miller N, Lacroix EM, Backus J | title=The making of Medlineplus | journal=Public Libraries | date=Mar–Apr 2001 | volume=40 | issue=2 | pages=111–3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/staffpubs/lo/LibraryTrends_fall2004.pdf | vauthors=Miller N, Tyler RJ, Backus JE | title=MedlinePlus: The National Library of Medicine brings quality information to health consumers | journal=Library Trends | date=Fall 2004 | access-date=2009-06-08 | volume=53 | issue=2 | pages=375–88 | archive-date=2019-01-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104163920/https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/staffpubs/lo/LibraryTrends_fall2004.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref> The National Library of Medicine introduced MedlinePlus in October 1998, to provide a non-commercial online service similar, for example, to the commercial [[WebMD]]. In 2010 another NCBI service, PubMed Health, complemented MedlinePlus in offering curated consumer health information; PubMed Health focuses especially on finding information about clinical effectiveness of treatments.<ref name="pmc_3133896">{{Citation |last=Miles |first=Alisha |date=July 2011 |title=PubMed Health |journal= Journal of the Medical Library Association |volume=99 |issue=3 |pages=265–266 |doi=10.3163/1536-5050.99.3.018 |pmc=3133896|postscript=.}}</ref>

MedlinePlus initially provided 22 health topics in English, which expanded to almost 1000 health topics in English and Spanish, plus links to health information in over 40 languages. MedlinePlus was recognized by the [[Medical Library Association]] for its role in providing health information.<ref>{{cite web| title = Thomson Reuters/Frank Bradway Rogers Information Advancement Award| publisher = Medical Library Association| url = http://www.mlanet.org/p/cm/ld/fid=295| access-date = 5 August 2016| archive-date = 10 September 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170910002216/http://www.mlanet.org/p/cm/ld/fid=295| url-status = live}}</ref> The site scored 84 in the [[American Customer Satisfaction Index]] for 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=ACSI Scores for U.S. Federal Government |year=2010 |url=http://www.theacsi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=238:acsi-scores-for-us-federal-government-2010&catid=14&Itemid=298 |publisher=The American Customer Satisfaction Index |access-date=2011-10-04 |archive-date=2021-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202202317/https://www.theacsi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=238%253Aacsi-scores-for-us-federal-government-2010&catid=14&Itemid=298 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2000s, [[A.D.A.M., Inc.|A.D.A.M.]]'s medical encyclopedia  was incorporated into MedlinePlus. The "Animated Dissection of Anatomy for Medicine, Inc." is a NASDAQ-traded public company based in Atlanta, Georgia, that provides consumer health information and benefits technology products to healthcare organizations, employers, consumers, and educational institutions.