Editorial Policies & Guidelines

Our mission is to bring you objective, trustworthy, and timely health information. Read our Editorial Policy.

• Medical Information, Not Personal Professional Advice
• Quality Health Information
• Our Partners And Content Sources
• Source Identifications
• Attribution & Justifiability
• Links To External Web Sites
• Editorial Independence
• Current Information

Medical Information, Not Personal Professional Advice

Healthopedia.com makes this site available for the sole purposes of providing general educational information on health-related issues and providing access to health-related resources.

This site and its health-related information and resources are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or for the care that patients receive from their physicians. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or call 911 or your local emergency response number immediately.

Nothing in this site is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician before beginning any new treatment or if you have any questions regarding a medical condition. You should not disregard medical advice, or delay seeking medical advice, because of something you read on this site.

This site and its health-related information and resources are not intended, and must not be taken, to be the rendering of medical, nursing, or professional health care advice or services, or the practice of medicine, nursing, or professional health care, in any jurisdiction.

The use of our site is subject to our disclaimer and terms and conditions.

Quality Health Information

We go to great lengths to attain our goal of providing accurate, current and useful health information. To do this, we primarily rely on the expertise of our content partners The Patient Marketing Group, Inc., Thomson MICROMEDEX, and HealthDay. Our site also contains material created by news services, government agencies (such as the National Institutes of Health), non-profit organizations, and other content partners.

Our Partners And Content Sources

Healthopedia.com partners with the best, most credible companies in the health-care industry to provide its users with current, comprehensive, and up-to-date information. Please see our Content Partners page for company descriptions, content review board, medical staff, editorial policies, and awards.

Source Identifications

We want you to know the source of the material you are viewing on our site. You can find this source information on all material. These are the types of source identifications you will see, either at the top or the bottom of the material:

Attribution & Justifiability

Where appropriate, information contained on the site is supported by clear references to source data and, where possible, have specific HTML links to that data. The date when a clinical page was last modified is clearly displayed at the bottom of the page under the heading "Review Date".

Any claims relating to the benefits/performance of a specific treatment, commercial product, or service is supported by appropriate, balanced evidence and attribution.

Links To External Web Sites

Healthopedia.com provides links to many other federal agencies and some private organizations and sites that we feel may be of benefit to our site users. We review all of the sites to determine whether or not these sites, to the best of their knowledge, produce quality, accurate, and unbiased information. These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement.

Editorial Independence

As stated in the Advertising and Sponsorship Policy, neither advertising nor sponsorship will influence this Web site's news, information content, or editorial positions.

Healthopedia.com maintains complete editorial independence and does not permit advertisers or third-party sponsors to change content, influence, or to introduce biased content into Healthopedia.com sections.

Our editorial independence and reliance on credible companies in the health-care industry for our content is our single most important asset.

Current Information

We strive to update the medical content and tools on our site. The date of the most recent review or update is noted at the top or bottom of each article or tool.

• The medical news on our site are updated on a daily basis.

• The information in the licensed databases is updated on a quarterly basis, or as warranted by the content provider.

• The content is updated immediately whenever urgent new information renders existing articles out of date. Such information may include:
- Major drug and supplement recalls and alerts
- Changes in federal guidelines for disease management
- Major medical studies with the potential to affect treatment guidelines

• Government agencies and non-profit organizations often mark material with the date it was created and keep that date as long as the material remains current. We check with these agencies and organizations that material dated over two years ago remains current. The original date remains on the material, but we add a line — "Current as of ..." — to indicate the last date we checked with the source that the material remains current.