Editing WebMD

{{short description|American corporation which provides health information services}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2013}}
{{update|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox website
| name           = WebMD Health Corp.
| logo           = WebMD_logo.svg
| type           = [[Subsidiary]]
| key_people     = {{Unbulleted list|Robert N. Brisco ([[CEO]])<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.morganhealey.com/steven-zatz-joins-webmd-board-of-directors/|title = Steven Zatz Joins WebMD Board of Directors|date = October 30, 2018|access-date = November 4, 2018|publisher = Morgan Healey|archive-date = November 4, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181104211235/http://www.morganhealey.com/steven-zatz-joins-webmd-board-of-directors/|url-status = live}}</ref>}}
| services     = Healthcare information
| num_employees  = 2,060 (2024)<ref>zoominfo.com/c/webmd-llc/41713677}}</ref>
| parent         = [[Internet Brands]]
| foundation     = {{start date and age|1996|6|14}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://whois.domaintools.com/healtheon.com|title=HealthEon.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools|work=[[WHOIS]]|access-date=2016-07-12|archive-date=December 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216061432/http://whois.domaintools.com/healtheon.com|url-status=live}}</ref> (as Healthscape)
| location       = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| homepage       = {{Official URL}}
| revenue        = {{US$|636 million|link=yes}} (2024)
}}

'''WebMD''' is an American corporation which [[Publishing|publishes]] [[Online and offline|online]] news and information about   [[health|human health]] and [[well-being]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = What We Do For Our Users|url = http://www.webmd.com/about-webmd-policies/about-what-we-do-for-our-users|website = WebMD|access-date = 2016-02-02|archive-date = January 31, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160131065556/http://www.webmd.com/about-webmd-policies/about-what-we-do-for-our-users|url-status = live}}</ref> The WebMD website also includes information about drugs and is an important healthcare information website and the most popular consumer-oriented health site.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AHo3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA42 |title=Design for Care: Innovating Healthcare Experience |date=2013-05-01 |publisher=Rosenfeld Media |isbn=978-1-933820-13-2 |language=en}}</ref>

WebMD was started in 1998 by internet entrepreneur [[Jeff Arnold (Internet entrepreneur)|Jeff Arnold]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB927243825183642951 |title=Thanks to WebMD, Atlantan, Only 29, Becomes a Billionaire |last=Carrns |first=Ann |date=1999-05-21 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |issn=0099-9660 |access-date=2019-10-08 |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008123058/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB927243825183642951 |url-status=live }}</ref> In early 1999, it was part of a three-way merger with Sapient Health Network (SHN) and Direct Medical Knowledge (DMK). SHN began in Portland, Oregon, in 1996 by Jim Kean, Bill Kelly, and Kris Nybakken, who worked together at a CD-ROM publishing firm, Creative Multimedia. Later, in 1999, WebMD merged with [[Healtheon]], founded by [[Netscape Communications]] founder [[James H. Clark]].<ref name=":1" />

== History ==
WebMD is best known as a health information services [[website]], which publishes content regarding health and health care topics, including a symptom checklist, pharmacy information, drugs information, and blogs of physicians with specific topics, and provides a place to store personal medical information.<ref name=":0" /> [[URAC]], the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission, has accredited WebMD's operations continuously since 2001 regarding everything from proper disclosures and health content to security and privacy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.urac.org/directory/CompanyView.aspx?cid=C8700007DBE&aid=3367&Type=Accreditnet |title=WebMD Health Services Group, Inc. |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109031148/https://www.urac.org/directory/CompanyView.aspx?cid=C8700007DBE&aid=3367&Type=Accreditnet |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The company reported $705 million in revenue for the year 2016.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/business/dealbook/kkr-webmd-natures-bounty.html |title=K.K.R. to Buy WebMD and Take Majority Stake in Nature's Bounty |last=Bray |first=Chad |date=2017-07-24 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2017-10-20 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020140601/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/business/dealbook/kkr-webmd-natures-bounty.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017, [[Internet Brands]], a company owned by private-equity firm [[Kohlberg Kravis Roberts]] (KKR) agreed to purchase WebMD Health Corporation for approximately $2.8 billion.<ref name=":1" />

In May 2021, WebMD acquired the print magazine and website for patients with [[ADHD]] and parents of children with ADHD, [[ADDitude]].<ref>{{cite web|title=WebMD M&A deepens its informational resources about ADHD|url=https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/webmd-ma-deepens-its-informational-resources-about-adhd|access-date=2023-02-26|date=2021-05-21|website=MobiHealthNews|archive-date=January 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102233952/https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/webmd-ma-deepens-its-informational-resources-about-adhd|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2022, WebMD acquired the leading French medical news site Jim.fr.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim.fr, a French source of medical news and information, is acquired by WebMD |url=https://insiderapps.com/news/jimfr-french-source-medical-news-and-information-acquired-webmd |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=Insider Apps |archive-date=August 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823164036/https://insiderapps.com/news/jimfr-french-source-medical-news-and-information-acquired-webmd |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Company ==
WebMD is financed by advertising, third-party contributions, and sponsors. Some of the sponsors have influence over the content on WebMD.<ref>[http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/702211.html "Web sites for medical information,"] ''News and Observer,'' September 13, 2007 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203184228/http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/702211.html|date=February 3, 2009}}</ref> In 2013, the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' reported that WebMD, "has struggled with a fall in advertising revenue with pharmaceutical companies slashing marketing budgets as several blockbuster drugs go off patent." In response, WebMD began investing in changes to its site in order to entice users who use its site seeking specific information to linger on the site reviewing other material.<ref>{{cite news|title=WebMD CEO Redmond leaving; company reports narrower loss|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/05/07/webmd-ceo-redmond-leaving-company-reports-narrower-loss/|newspaper=y 7, 2013|first1=Pallavi|last1=Ail|first2=Adithya|last2=Venkatesan|access-date=August 30, 2013|archive-date=December 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212023134/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-07/lifestyle/sns-rt-us-webmd-resultsbre94610c-20130507_1_affordable-care-act-health-plan-revenue|url-status=live}}</ref>

WebMD offers services to physicians and private clients. They publish ''WebMD the Magazine'', a patient-directed publication distributed bimonthly free of charge to 85 percent of physician waiting rooms.<ref>[http://www.writenews.com/2005/042205_webmd_magazine.htm "WebMD Corporation Launches Print Magazine,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907025826/http://www.writenews.com/2005/042205_webmd_magazine.htm |date=September 7, 2008 }} ''The Write News'', April 22, 2005</ref> [[Medscape]] is a professional portal for physicians and has training materials, a drug database, and clinical information on 30 medical specialty areas and more than 30 physician discussion boards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.medscape.com/public/about|title=About Medscape|website=www.medscape.com|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111110306/https://www.medscape.com/public/about|url-status=live}}</ref> WebMD Health Services provides private health management programs and benefit decision-support portals to employers and health plans.

The WebMD Health Network operates WebMD Health and other health-related sites including: Medscape, [[MedicineNet]], [[eMedicine]], eMedicineHealth, [[RxList]], OnHealth, and theheart.org. These sites provide similar services to those of WebMD. MedicineNet is an online media publishing company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12510|title=About Us - MedicineNet.com|website=medicinenet.com|access-date=April 6, 2008|archive-date=April 2, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402020526/http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12510|url-status=live}}</ref> Medscape offers up-to-date information for physicians and other healthcare professionals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medscape.com/pages/public/about/about|title=Medscape - About Us<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=medscape.com|access-date=April 6, 2008|archive-date=May 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506205658/http://www.medscape.com/pages/public/about/about|url-status=live}}</ref> RxList offers detailed information about pharmaceutical information on generic and name-brand drugs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=64467|title=About Us - RxList.com|website=rxlist.com|access-date=April 6, 2008|archive-date=April 21, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421011215/http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=64467|url-status=live}}</ref> eMedicineHealth is a consumer site offering similar information to that of WebMD. It was first based on the site created for physicians, dentists and other healthcare professionals called eMedicine.com.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=60176|title=About Us - eMedicineHealth.com|website=emedicinehealth.com|access-date=April 6, 2008|archive-date=April 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412163225/http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=60176|url-status=live}}</ref>

WebMD China is operated by an unaffiliated online publishing group, and is not part of the WebMD Health Network.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webmd.cn/about/|title=About Us - WebMD|website=webmd.cn|access-date=May 3, 2017|archive-date=June 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623141023/http://webmd.cn/about/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://seekingalpha.com/article/4090748-webmd-got-locked-china-market|title=How WebMD Got Locked Out of the China Market|date=July 26, 2017|newspaper=Seeking Alpha}}</ref>

== Criticism ==

Writing in ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' in 2011, [[Virginia Heffernan]] criticized WebMD for biasing readers toward drugs that are sold by the site's pharmaceutical sponsors, even when they are unnecessary.  She wrote that WebMD "has become permeated with pseudo-medicine and subtle misinformation."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Heffernan|first=Virginia|title=A Prescription for Fear|journal=The New York Times Magazine|date=February 6, 2011|page=MM14}}</ref>

[[Julia Belluz]] of [[Vox (website)|Vox]] criticized WebMD in 2016 ("The Truth about WebMD, a Hypochondriac's Nightmare and Big Pharma's Dream") for encouraging [[Hypochondriasis|hypochondria]] and for promoting treatments for which evidence of safety and effectiveness is weak or non-existent, such as [[Green coffee extract#Controversy|green coffee]] supplements for weight loss, [[Vagus nerve stimulation#Society and culture|vagus nerve stimulation]] for depression, and [[Fish oil#Cardiovascular|fish-oil/omega-3]] supplements for high cholesterol.<ref name="Belluz">{{cite news |first=Julia |last=Belluz |title=The Truth about WebMD, a Hypochondriac's Nightmare and Big Pharma's Dream |website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/4/5/11358268/webmd-accuracy-trustworthy |date=April 5, 2016 |access-date=July 7, 2018 |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614165803/https://www.vox.com/2016/4/5/11358268/webmd-accuracy-trustworthy |url-status=live }}</ref>

in 2012, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, MD, Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa and the medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute, wrote an article entitled "Why I Can No Longer Trust Medscape".<ref name="Freedhoff">{{cite web |last1=Freedhoff, MD |first1=Yoni |title=Why I Can No Longer Trust Medscape |url=http://www.weightymatters.ca/2012/04/why-i-can-no-longer-trust-medscape.html |website=Weighty Matters |access-date=14 May 2022 |language=English |date=11 April 2012 |archive-date=November 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101122916/http://www.weightymatters.ca/2012/04/why-i-can-no-longer-trust-medscape.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In it he wrote that Medscape is "putting patients at risk by actively misinforming their physicians."<ref name="Freedhoff" /> He also noted poor vetting of studies that Medscape chooses to publish as his reason for stating this.<ref name="Freedhoff" />

In 2016, a survey of doctors found WebMD and its sister company Medscape to have incomplete medical information lacking depth and also numerous cases of [[misinformation]] on their sites.<ref name="Belluz" /> A study of Medscape and WebMD also found both services to lack neutrality and exhibiting bias potentially based on very high payments (compared to their industry competitors) from the pharmaceutical industry.<ref name="Belluz" />

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}

[[Category:1996 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:American medical websites]]
[[Category:Health care companies established in 1996]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1996]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 1996]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq]]
[[Category:2017 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies]]