Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We’ve tried to make using and searching Healthopedia.com as simple and efficient as possible - and we’ll keep refining the features and processes as we find better ways to help you get maximum benefit from the site. Please check the following FAQs for possible answers to your queries. If you don’t find the answer here, or have a site-related suggestion that you’d like us to consider, please send us a mail via Contact Us form

General Questions

• What is Healthopedia.com? Answer
• I'm seeking personal medical advice or online consultation. Can you help me? Answer
• How is Healthopedia.com funded? Answer
• Healthopedia.com does not display pop-up or pop-under advertisements. So why do they occasionally appear when I am browsing the site? Answer

Site Content

• What is the breadth and depth of health information covered here? Answer
• From where does Healthopedia.com get its health and medical content? Answer
• What's the best way to search for health information on a particular health topic? What if I can't find what I am looking for? Answer
• How up-to-date is the content on this site? How often are the different information databases updated? Answer
• I disagree with the advice/tone in a particular piece. What should I do? Answer
• Last week I was making my way through your news/journal archives, but when I came back to finish reading them, some had disappeared from the archives. Can I still access these? Answer
• When I look at "Today's News," I see the same stories I read the last time I visited the site. Why hasn't this been updated? Answer
• Do you plan to add more content in the future? Answer

Technical Questions

• How can I change my home page so that it is (or is not) Healthopedia.com? Answer

Advertising & Linking

• My company is interested in advertising on this site. What's your policy? Answer
• I'd like to link to an article on your site. What's your policy? Answer
• I'd like to link to Healthopedia.com, but only if I can frame it. Why don't you allow this? Answer

Security & Privacy

• How secure is the personal information I submit? What is Healthopedia.com's privacy policy? Answer

Feedback & Contact Us

• How can I contact you if I have further questions or feedback? Answer

Answers

General Questions

• What is Healthopedia.com?
Welcome to Healthopedia.com, a goldmine of good medical and health information containing comprehensive, accurate, unbiased, and reliable database of health articles and reference materials. Consumers and health professionals alike can depend on it for information that is authoritative and up-to-date.

Healthopedia.com has extensive information from trusted sources on over 1,500 health topics including diseases, conditions, tests, symptoms, injuries, surgeries, nutrition, and special topics. There is also focus on family and community health, and contains over 70 focussed health centers. Healthopedia.com provides accurate, unbiased information in patient-friendly language on more than 11,000 drugs and medications.

The content is written, edited, researched, and reviewed by experienced expert healthcare professionals.

Healthopedia.com is updated daily and can be bookmarked at the URL:
http://www.healthopedia.com/

Please visit our About Us section to learn more.

• I'm seeking personal medical advice or online consultation. Can you help me?
Unfortunately, we can't. If you are in need of immediate medical attention, call your doctor.

The information provided on Healthopedia.com is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for a specific medical conditions. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider. If you are experiencing any potential symptoms, we urge you to contact a local healthcare provider as soon as possible.

Please read our Terms and Conditions of Use for our site.

• How is Healthopedia.com funded?
Healthopedia.com has business relationships with companies who pay us to place advertisements or product and service offers on our Web site. We use the revenue from these relationships to help offset the costs of developing quality consumer health information, and to add more content in future, in order to bring you the most complete and up-to-date health resource on the Web.

The Healthopedia.com staff endeavour to source ads that are medically or community-service oriented. All ads must be appropriate for all-age family viewing, and we screen banner ads for family-appropriate content before the ads go live. See our Advertising Policies for more information.

• Healthopedia.com does not display pop-up or pop-under advertisements. So why do some occasionally appear when I am browsing the site?
We do not present our users with pop-up ads of any kind on our site. We find them annoying. If you see or receive one of these items, it is coming from an outside source, either as a result of something you have previously downloaded or as an "exit" pop-up from the site you just visited. It is not coming from our site.

Here are a few possible explanations of why they occasionally appear when you browse our site,

• One possibility is that you visited some other site while surfing, and that site launched pop-up windows in the background. These ads are known in the advertising industry as "pop-unders." Other web pages trigger pop-ups when a user leaves that site. When you came to Healthopedia.com, the windows may have become visible. Again, we do not condone this practice and do not allow it on Healthopedia.com.

• If you have installed some free programs, especially music-sharing programs such as BearShare or AudioGalaxy, you may have installed other programs as well. These tiny "time bombs" can show pop-ups at random intervals or based on anything you type on a web page. A brief description of these programs can be found in these articles:
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-257592.html
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,49960,00.html

If you are experiencing pop-ups generated by one of these malicious programs, you may want to remove the pop-up program from your computer. One program that attempts to detect and to uninstall pop-up programs is available at http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10106-108-63806.html. We have no relationship with the individuals who created this software and cannot vouch for it ourselves.

If you feel you were deceived when you installed a program that creates pop-ups, you may want to take action. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices. To file a complaint, visit: http://www.ftc.gov/ and click on "File a Complaint Online", call 1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to:

Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
Washington, D.C. 20580

If your complaint is against a company in another country, please file it at http://www.econsumer.gov/.

If you follow all these suggestions and still have a "pop-up problem" on Healthopedia.com, feel free to write to us. It will help us if you can right-click on the pop-up window and select "Properties" from the drop down menu. If you write us, include the url address that you see, so we can investigate the source of the pop-ups.

For more information, please read about our editorial integrity, endorsement policies, and the details of our Advertising Policy.

Site Content

• What is the breadth and depth of health information covered here?
Healthopedia.com has extensive information from trusted sources on over 1,500 health topics including diseases, conditions, tests, symptoms, injuries, surgeries, nutrition, and special topics. There is also focus on family and community health, and contains over 70 focussed health centers. Healthopedia.com provides accurate, unbiased information in patient-friendly language on more than 11,000 drugs and medications.

Based on what you're looking for, you can find information in these specific areas.

• Health Centers :-
Browse over 70 focussed health centers covering family and community health, information on frequently requested topics. and topics arranged by body location/system or broad groups.

• Medical Encyclopedia :-
Extensive information on over 1,500 topics arranged in an A-Z order covering diseases, conditions, tests, symptoms, injuries, surgeries, nutrition, and special topics.

• Drugs & Medications :-
Provides comprehensive, accurate, unbiased information in patient-friendly language on more than 11,000 drugs and medications. Browse
- Quick Drug Information (DrugNotes database),
- Detailed Drug Information (USP DI® Volume II: Advice for the Patient®), or
- Combined Index (DrugNotes + USP DI)

• Pictures & Images :-
Browse a collection of 450 medical illustrations and graphic images sorted by category or by alphabet.
• Diseases & Conditions :-
Extensive information on over 800 diseases, conditions, infections, illnesses, and disorders. Covers causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
• Medical Symptoms :-
Covers more than 90 medical symptoms, such as abdominal pain, headaches, or heart palpitations, to allow users to search topics by what they are experiencing.
• Medical Tests & Exams :-
Over 200 medical tests that cover everything from an abdominal CT scan to X-rays. Includes indications, preparation, risks, expectations, normal and abnormal values, and result evaluation.
• Surgery & Procedures :-
Provides detailed patient guides on 150 common surgeries from gastrointestinal conditions to plastic surgery. Includes indications, risks, expectations after surgery, and recovery.
• Injuries & Wounds :-
Profiles over 70 common injuries from animal bites to whiplash. Educates about causes, signs of an emergency, symptoms, first aid, prevention, and treatment.
• Diet & Nutrition :-
Explore more than 70 nutrition topics ranging from vitamins and minerals, to additives in food, school lunches, vegetarianism, and more. Provides overview, dosage recommendations, side effects and food sources.
• Special Topics :-
Explore topics covering over 160 special topics like exercise, smoking cessation, travel tips, anesthesia, sports safety guidelines, stress management, and disabilities.


• From where does Healthopedia.com get its health and medical content?
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.

-- Medical Encyclopedia and Health centers:
Healthopedia.com has licensed medical encyclopedia and health centers content from The Patient Marketing Group, Inc., a Pennington, New Jersey, based award-winning publisher of medical information. Since its formation in 1991, the organization has been widely recognized for its leadership in designing educational programs of value to patients and their physicians.
Read more about The Patient Marketing Group, Inc. and the Medical Encyclopedia.

-- Drug Information Databases:
Healthopedia.com contains two drug information databases:
• DrugNotes (Quick Drug Information)
• USP DI® Volume II: Advice for the Patient® (Detailed Drug Information)
Healthopedia.com has licensed drug information content from Thomson MICROMEDEX, a Greenwood Village, Colorado, based provider of world's most trusted information for healthcare, safety, and the environment.
Read more about Thomson MICROMEDEX and the Drug Databases

-- News Content:
Healthopedia.com has licensed health news content from HealthDay, a division of ScoutNews, LLC, a daily consumer health news service headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. The HealthDay editorial staff combines more than 120 years of editing and reporting for some of the largest media companies with expertise in health and medical journalism.
Read more about HealthDay

• What's the best way to search for health information on a particular health topic? What if I can't find what I am looking for?
If you know what you're looking for, the fastest way to find something is to search for it. You'll see a search box at the top on every page; just enter the keywords, like "Diabetes" in the box and hit the "Enter" key or the "Go" button to the right of the "Search" box. If you get too many results, narrow your search by adding more specific keywords, such as "Diabetes Diet".

If you're not sure how to spell what you're looking for, all our articles are indexed in a "A-Z" list in our "Medical Encyclopedia," another area listed in the left-hand navigation bar on every page.

If you're browsing for general information, we've grouped most of our content into topic pages. Just click on one of the categories (such as Diseases & Conditions) on the left-hand navigation bar on any page, and "drill down" by following links until you find what you're looking for.

If you are still having trouble finding a topic, please let us know via the Contact Us form, and we will try our best to connect you to the information.

• How up-to-date is the content on this site? How often are the different information databases updated?
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.
• Some 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.

• I disagree with the advice/tone in a particular piece. What should I do?
We make available thousands of articles on health and medicine. Our content partners have extensive measures of creating and updating the content. We understand that you're bound to take issue with some of what you find here, but we think the benefits of offering free access to so many publications outweigh an occasional offensive article. If you spot a factual error, though, please let us know

• Last week I was making my way through your news/journal archives, but when I came back to finish reading them, some had disappeared from the archives. Can I still access these?
Yes. We periodically snip articles from our archives to make room for more current material, but this doesn't necessarily mean they're lost forever. They're usually still in our database; try searching the site.

• When I look at "Today's News," I see the same stories I read the last time I visited the site. Why hasn't this been updated?
You're probably seeing an old page. We update the news every day, but you might be viewing a "cached" (stored) copy of the home page. Try holding down the shift key and clicking the "reload" or "refresh" button on your browser. If that doesn't work, close your browser and then reopen it. You should now see fresh stories.

• Do you plan to add more content in the future?
Definitely. We're constantly working on new features and other content in order to bring you the most complete and up-to-date health resource on the Web. Few things in the works are
- Message boards & forums
- Newsletter

Do visit us again to check out what we have added on the site. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

Technical Questions

• How can I change my home page so that it is (or is not) Healthopedia.com?
To make Healthopedia.com your home page, just click on the "Set HomePage" link at the top of every page.

To change the default home page for Internet Explorer follow these steps:
- In your browser, go to the page that you want as your home page.
- At the top of your browser, click TOOLS.
- Click INTERNET OPTIONS.
- Ensure that you're on the GENERAL page of Internet Options (see tabs at top).
- Click "USE CURRENT" to set the open page as your new HOME PAGE. Alternatively, in the "Address" box, type the web address for the website that you would like to see when you open Internet Explorer. Type http://www.healthopedia.com/ if you would like to use Healthopedia.com for your homepage

To change the default homepage for Netscape Communicator 4.x or higher, use the following instructions:
- Click "Edit" on the menu bar at the top of the window.
- Select "Preferences..." from the bottom of the pull-down menu.
- Select "Navigator" from the left hand pane.
- Click on the circle next to "Home Page" in the top box titled "Navigator starts with".
- In the "Home Page" box, type the web address for the website that you would like to see when you open Netscape Navigator. Type http://www.healthopedia.com/ if you would like to use Healthopedia.com for your homepage.

Advertising & Linking

• My company is interested in advertising on this site. What's your policy?
Thanks for inquiring; Please see the link "Our Advertising Policies," and then "Contact Us" for details.

• I'd like to link to an article on your site. What's your policy?
Thanks for your interest. Feel free to refer your friends to us or link to Healthopedia.com from your own site. We only ask that you follow some basic "Netiquette:" Please don't copy any material outright. See "Link to us" for more information and html codes.

• I'd like to link to Healthopedia.com, but only if I can frame it. Why don't you allow this?
Healthopedia.com contains licensed content from authoritative sources such The Patient Marketing Group, Inc., Thomson MICROMEDEX, and HealthDay. Our license agreements do not permit framing of their content from our site. In addition, we have experienced "malicious" framing and for safety and privacy of our users we have blocked all framing. We encourage you to open Healthopedia.com in a new window. Users have found that approach easy to navigate, and they remain on your site. Please see our "Link to us" page for further information.

Security & Privacy

• How secure is the personal information I submit? What is Healthopedia.com's privacy policy?
Healthopedia.com is committed to safeguarding your privacy online. Any personal information you provide to Healthopedia.com is kept strictly confidential. Please refer our Privacy Policy for more details.

Feedback & Contact Us

• How can I contact you if I have further questions or feedback?
If you have feedback or general questions about the site, please use the Contact Us form. Don't hesitate to let us know what we're doing right and wrong. Your comments will help us improve this site for you and everyone else looking for health and wellness resources on the Web.

Please note that we can't provide specific medical advice to you or offer a diagnosis. If you have a problem that requires medical attention, please contact your doctor or another healthcare provider right away.