Healthline

Healthline Media, Inc. is an American website and provider of health information headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1999, relaunched in 2006, and established as a standalone entity in January 2016.

For the bus rapid transit line in Cleveland, see HealthLine.

Healthline Media
Type of site
Private
Founded1999 (1999)[1] (as YourDoctor.com)
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California & New York, New York, United States
OwnerHealthline Media (Red Ventures)
ProductsHealth information services
Employees279 (2018)
URLwww.healthline.com

Accuracy

There are questions about the quality and neutrality of their content. One critic noted that a Healthline article about a new medication used promotional language, copied from the drug-maker's press release, neglected to cite side effects, and framed the drug's claimed benefits in misleading language not correctly representing the evidence in a peer-reviewed medical journal.[2][3]

Other critics have noted:

  • headlines that exaggerate the substance of the article;[4]
  • inadequate journalistic and scientific skepticism when reporting "news";[5]
  • failure to balance quotes from vested interests with quotes from interviews of independent sources;[5]
  • reported medical "news" that had not yet been validated by publication in a peer-reviewed journal;[6]
  • implied clinical applicability for developments not yet scientifically validated;[6]
  • failure to balance reports of claimed theoretical benefits of a new treatment, with a corresponding report of the associated cost or required frequency of treatment;[5]
  • failure to cite sources;[6]
  • failure to link to source of studies cited in the article.[6]

In a 2019 interview with AdExchanger.com, Healthline Media CEO David Kopp claimed that his site had received, out of 40,000 comments, "a few hundred" critiques from consumers – triggering changes to "several hundred articles" on Healthline.[7] He further noted that Healthline provided advertisers with ads matched to "content... relevant to the product."[7]

History

Healthline Media was founded in 1999 as YourDoctor.com, by endocrine specialist James Norman.[8] In 2006, the company was re-launched as Healthline Networks.[9]

In 2011, Healthline was losing money as it was licensing its content from others. In response, the company invested $1 million in developing its own content.[7]

By 2013, it had over $21 million in revenue and 105 employees, with offices in New York City and San Francisco.[9] Deloitte ranked Healthline Media as one of the top 500 fastest-growing technology companies in North America from 2010 to 2013.[10]

In January 2016, Healthline raised $95 million in growth equity financing through Summit Partners.[11][7] Under the terms of the agreement, Healthline's media business was established as a standalone entity with David Kopp as CEO. The firm acquired the health news website Medical News Today and reference website MediLexicon in May 2016.[12]

In July 2019, Healthline was acquired by Red Ventures. In August 2020, Healthline acquired Psych Central.[13]

Healthline.com

Healthline Media's website publishes health and wellness information.[14] In 2010, Healthline Media signed an agreement to provide medical and health-related content to Yahoo! Health.[15] Other partners have included AARP.com, The Dr. Oz Show web site,[8] and Aetna.[16]

References
  1. "YourDoctor.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools". WHOIS. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  2. Victory, Joy (March 28, 2018). "When 'fact-checked' health news doesn't tell the whole story". HealthNewsReview.org. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020.
  3. Schwitzer, Gary (September 19, 2019). "Why fact-checking alone often fails us on health care topics". Center for Health Journalism. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021.
  4. Lomangino, Kevin; Stone, Kathlyn (October 9, 2015). "'Real-life gaydar'? A news release sparks headlines that get ahead of the evidence". HealthNewsReview.org. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020.
  5. Schwitzer, Gary (June 5, 2014). "Words of caution about 'simple tests could save lives and money' story". HealthNewsReview.org. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021.
  6. Manouchehri, Kimya; Schmid, Julia (February 26, 2020). "Healthline uses multiple perspectives to illuminate findings related to neurological influences on depressive disorders". SciFeye. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021.
  7. Sluis, Sarah: "How A Focus On Quality And Discipline Revived Healthline Media," April 17, 2019, AdExchanger.com, retrieved November 15, 2020.
  8. Roush, Wade. "Healthline Battles WebMD With Personalized Medical Search Tools, Body Maps". Xconomy. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  9. "Healthline Networks, Inc". InsideView. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  10. "Technology Fast 500". Deloitte. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013.
  11. Healthline Media Raises Growth Financing from Summit Partners http://www.summitpartners.com/news/healthline-media-raises-growth-financing-from-summit-partners
  12. Healthline Media Grows Digital Reach with Acquisition of #1 Website for Medical News Information http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/04/prweb13368746.htm
  13. "Healthline Media Acquires PsychCentral, Bolstering Healthline's Role as the Top Digital Health Publisher". Businesswire. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  14. Tedeschi, Bob (January 23, 2006). "This Site Knows a Cold Isn't a Rock Band". The New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2006.
  15. Helft, Miguel (April 1, 2010). "Yahoo Teams Up with Healthline". Bits (blog). The New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  16. Kolbasuk McGee, Marianne. "Aetna Taps Healthline for Patient Portal". Information Week. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
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