Using MEDLINEplus

What is MEDLINEplus? | Getting Started with MEDLINEplus

What is MEDLINEplus?

MEDLINEplus is a free, public online source provided by the National Library of Medicine. MEDLINEplus offers health information in non-technical, understandable language. You do not need to be a health professional to use it productively, although it is used by many health providers.

MEDLINEplus contains carefully selected links to online health information resources. In addition, links to pre-formulated searches of the MEDLINE database via PubMed allow you to find references to the most recent articles on a topic. MEDLINEplus also contains two drug resources, the USP DI Advice for the Patient and MedMaster.

In our case studies, Rob is interested in finding general information about allergies, particularly about drug treatments. MEDLINEplus is an excellent resource for Rob to explore because he will find non-technical articles and websites about this topic.

Getting Started

Find MEDLINEplus at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/.

You can also get to MEDLINEplus from the Health Sciences Library
Selected Web Sites page.

The main categories of MEDLINEplus information appear on the left side of the screen (Health Topics, Drug Information, Dictionaries, Directories, and Other Resources). Health Topics and Drug Information are good sources for quickly finding information by topic or by drug name.

Searching MEDLINEplus Health Topics

Clicking on Health Topics allows you to find health topics by letter or by broad group. (Note: you could also use the Search box, but it is much more effective to use Health Topics.)

For example, Rob is interested in information about allergies, so he clicks“A” to see the MEDLINEplus topics that start with that letter:

Health Topics

Rob scrolls through the alphabetical list of topics until he finds Allergy. Clicking the topic link opens a page of links to information about the topic, including overviews, symptoms, treatment, and ongoing research.

Note: Each time you click a link it will open a new window.

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Searching MEDLINEplus Drug Information

Clicking on Drug Information (either on the MEDLINEplus main page menu or on the tab) allows you to search two different drug resources, the USP DI Advice for the Patient and MedMaster.

Searching for drugs is very similar to searching for health topics. Select the appropriate letter range for the drug in which you are interested, then scroll through the list until you find it.

For instance, Rob may be interested in the allergy drug Flonase. He would first click “F”, then scroll through to find Flonase. There are three entries for Flonase – one in MedMaster and two in the USP DI.

Rob would probably want to read all three entries for Flonase, as they will have different information. Each entry has basic information about the drug, including indications of when and how the drug should or should not be used, how to store it, and what side effects may be caused by the drug.

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