MedlinePlus
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersBethesda, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What MedlinePlus does
MedlinePlus is a free online consumer health information service operated by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world's largest medical library and a component of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Launched in 1998 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the platform serves patients, families, healthcare professionals, educators, and EHR integrators by providing authoritative health information aggregated exclusively from NLM, NIH, and other U.S. federal government agencies. Core content modules include Health Topics, Drugs & Supplements, Genetics, Medical Tests, a Medical Encyclopedia, Healthy Recipes, a Clinical Trials gateway, the NIH MedlinePlus Magazine, and the All of Us Research Program resource, with coverage in English and Spanish plus a Multiple Languages page and Easy-to-Read accessibility features.
MedlinePlus firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MedlinePlus
- Legal name
- National Library of Medicine (NLM)
- Website
- https://medlineplus.gov
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where MedlinePlus is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bethesda
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
MedlinePlus business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
MedlinePlus product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MedlinePlus is a free online consumer health information resource that aggregates authoritative content on health topics, drugs and supplements, genetics, medical tests, a medical encyclopedia, and healthy recipes. It is operated as a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is available in English and Spanish, with developer-facing APIs, XML data files, and RSS feeds that enable EHR and third-party system integration.
Product overview
MedlinePlus is a comprehensive online health information resource operated by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It provides a unified portal offering authoritative health information to patients and their families. The core platform consists of Health Topics, Medical Encyclopedia, Drugs & Supplements, Genetics, Medical Tests, and Healthy Recipes. The platform also includes MedlinePlus Connect, an API for EHR integration, plus web services and downloadable XML data files for developers. Content is available in both English and Spanish, with additional accessibility features including easy-to-read materials and video keyboard shortcuts. RSS feeds enable content subscription.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- MedlinePlus Health Topics Comprehensive health and wellness information covering disorders, conditions, and general health topics for patients and their families.
- Medical Encyclopedia Part of the ongoing MedlinePlus content library. Extensive collection of articles and images covering diseases, symptoms, tests, and treatments.
- Drugs & Supplements Part of the ongoing MedlinePlus content library. Information on prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, herbs, and dietary supplements including comprehensive drug monographs.
- Medical Tests Part of the ongoing MedlinePlus content library. Educational resources explaining why doctors order medical tests and what results may mean for patient health.
- Genetics Part of the ongoing MedlinePlus content library. Genetic condition information, genes, and how genetic variations affect health, with accompanying data files and API access.
- Healthy Recipes Part of the ongoing MedlinePlus content library. Healthy eating recipes demonstrating how to prepare tasty, quick meals as part of a healthy lifestyle.
- MedlinePlus Connect API service enabling EHR systems and patient portals to connect with relevant MedlinePlus health information. API service enabling EHR systems and patient portals to connect directly with relevant MedlinePlus health information at the point of care.
- MedlinePlus Web Service Web service for developers to programmatically retrieve MedlinePlus health topic data. Search-based health topic data available in XML format for programmatic access by developers.
- XML Data Files Downloadable XML records for all English and Spanish health topics. Downloadable XML records for all English and Spanish health topics for developers and integrators.
- MedlinePlus Genetics Data Files & API Programmatic access to genetic data in XML or JSON formats. Programmatic access to genetic data in XML or JSON formats.
- RSS Feeds General and topic-specific RSS feeds for content subscription. Subscription feeds for general updates and topic-specific health information in RSS format.
- MedlinePlus en Español Spanish-language version of MedlinePlus providing health information. Spanish-language version of MedlinePlus providing health information to Spanish-speaking users.
- NIH MedlinePlus Magazine Publication from the National Institutes of Health featuring health information and research updates. Publication from the National Institutes of Health featuring health information and research updates for the general public.
- Easy-to-Read Health Information Simplified health content written for users with lower health literacy levels. Simplified health content written for users with lower health literacy levels.
Companies that use MedlinePlus
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
MedlinePlus technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature7 records
MedlinePlus partnerships and signals
Strategic signalExpansion highlights5 records
MedlinePlus competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Medline (PubMed): PubMed is NLM's biomedical literature citation database serving researchers and clinicians. It is a sister NLM resource to MedlinePlus and overlaps as a federally operated, authoritative health/biomedical information platform, though it targets professional rather than consumer audiences.
- UpToDate: UpToDate is an evidence-based clinical decision support resource used by physicians and healthcare professionals. It overlaps with MedlinePlus's professional-grade content layer (drug monographs, condition overviews) but is positioned for clinician use at the point of care rather than direct patient education.
Direct peers
- Healthline Media: Healthline provides medically reviewed consumer health content across conditions, medications, nutrition, and wellness. It competes directly with MedlinePlus for organic search-driven patient traffic on the same topic categories and serves a near-identical audience of patients and caregivers.
- Drugs.com: Drugs.com provides consumer-facing prescription drug, OTC medication, and supplement information in a format directly comparable to MedlinePlus's Drugs & Supplements module. It serves the same patient education use case around medication safety, interactions, and side effects.
- Mayo Clinic Patient Library: Mayo Clinic publishes authoritative patient education content covering diseases, symptoms, drugs, and healthy living through its public website. It overlaps directly with MedlinePlus on consumer-facing, clinically vetted health topic content and shares MedlinePlus's brand-equity positioning as a trusted, non-commercial information source.
- Cleveland Clinic Health Library: Cleveland Clinic operates a public-facing health library covering conditions, treatments, drugs, and wellness content for patients. It is comparable to MedlinePlus as an institutionally backed, physician-authored patient education resource targeting the same patient and family audience.
- WebMD: WebMD is a leading consumer health information portal offering condition, drug, and wellness content to patients and families. It is the closest commercial analog to MedlinePlus in terms of audience (patients seeking authoritative health information) and content categories (conditions, drugs, tests), though it is ad-supported rather than government-funded.
Emerging players
- Krames (StayWell): Krames delivers patient education content and care instruction tools integrated into EHR and care management platforms. It is comparable to MedlinePlus Connect in targeting EHR-mediated delivery of patient education at the point of care and serves overlapping health system customers.
- Healthwise: Healthwise is a nonprofit patient education and health content vendor that supplies EHR-embedded patient education materials to health systems. It overlaps with MedlinePlus Connect's EHR integration use case and competes for the same point-of-care patient education slot inside clinical workflows.
Regional players
- NHS Health A-Z: NHS.uk's Health A-Z is a government-operated consumer health information service for UK residents, mirroring MedlinePlus's model of publicly funded, clinically vetted condition and treatment content. It is functionally a national-government analog rather than a direct commercial competitor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
MedlinePlus social profiles
Digital presenceMedlinePlus compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
MedlinePlus financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MedlinePlus leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
MedlinePlus funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MedlinePlus M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MedlinePlus
What does MedlinePlus do?
MedlinePlus is a free online consumer health information resource that aggregates authoritative content on health topics, drugs and supplements, genetics, medical tests, a medical encyclopedia, and healthy recipes. It is operated as a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is available in English and Spanish, with developer-facing APIs, XML data files, and RSS feeds that enable EHR and third-party system integration.
Is MedlinePlus a public or private company?
MedlinePlus is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was MedlinePlus founded?
MedlinePlus was founded in 1998.
Where is MedlinePlus based?
MedlinePlus is headquartered in Bethesda, United States, in the North America region.
Who are MedlinePlus's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Medline (PubMed) and UpToDate. Direct peers are Healthline Media, Drugs.com, Mayo Clinic Patient Library, Cleveland Clinic Health Library and WebMD. Emerging players are Krames (StayWell) and Healthwise. NHS Health A-Z is listed as a regional player.
Does MedlinePlus have an API?
Yes. MedlinePlus offers multiple APIs: 1) MedlinePlus Connect API for use with Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and patient portals - allows linking patient records to relevant MedlinePlus health information. 2) Web Service providing search-based health topic data in XML format. 3) MedlinePlus Genetics Data Files & API to retrieve genetic information data in XML or JSON formats. 4) XML data files downloadable for all English and Spanish health topics. 5) RSS feeds for general and topic-specific content updates. Developer documentation is at medlineplus.gov/about/developers/webservices.