How to Check Who Wrote a Medical Page
Before you act on a health page, find three things: who wrote it, whether anyone with health expertise reviewed it, and when it was last written, reviewed, or updated. MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, says content pages should show when the information was written, reviewed, or updated, and suggests checking a site's “About Us” page for its writers' qualifications and review process. If you can't find who runs a site, MedlinePlus says the site “may not be trustworthy.”
By PiedmontPrimaryCare.com Wellness Team | Updated September 24, 2026
This guide gives you a quick process, plain-language answers to the questions that come up, and a checklist you can print. It won't tell you whether a treatment is right for you. That's a conversation for your own clinician.
If you have symptoms that feel urgent right now, stop reading and call 911 or your local emergency number. Checking a web page can wait.
The Decision in Front of You
You found a health page. Maybe it explains a symptom, a lab test, a supplement, or a medicine. Now you have to decide how much weight to give it. Should you trust it enough to bring it to your next appointment, or move on?
You don't need medical training to make that call. You need to know where to look and what counts as a missing piece.
A Five-Step Process Map
- Find the owner. Look for an “About Us” page. Who runs the site?
- Find the author. Look for a byline (the line naming who wrote the page) near the top or bottom of the page.
- Find the review process. Check whether the site describes an editorial board or a review process, and whether this page names a reviewer.
- Find the date. Look for when the page was written, reviewed, or updated.
- Find the sources and the money. Look for links to the page's sources, labels on any ads, and a statement about how the site makes money.
If a step turns up nothing, write down “can't find.” A missing piece is information too.
Question by Question: What You're Looking For
Who runs this website?
MedlinePlus suggests starting here. It gives federal government agencies, medical schools, and large professional or nonprofit organizations as examples of trustworthy sources. It also says trustworthy sites give you a way to contact the owners with questions or feedback.
Practical tip: A site's name or web address doesn't tell you who runs it. A domain can change hands. Read the About page instead of guessing from the name.
Who wrote this page, and what are their qualifications?
MedlinePlus suggests checking whether the site gives information about its writers' qualifications. A byline might name a person, a team, or nobody at all.
- A named person with stated credentials: You can look them up. A credential is a qualification, such as a license or degree.
- A team or staff byline: Check the About page or editorial policy to see who the team is and what they do and don't claim.
- No byline: Treat this as a gap. You don't know who is responsible for the information.
Practical tip: Watch for pages that suggest medical authority, like “a doctor's perspective” in the title, without naming a doctor. A title isn't a credential. If no qualified person is named, don't assume one was involved.
Did anyone review it, and how?
MedlinePlus suggests checking the About page for an editorial board of health experts, a content review process, and a policy for how content is chosen. An editorial board is a group that oversees what a site publishes. A medical reviewer is a qualified person, separate from the writer, who checks a page for accuracy.
Practical tip: “Reviewed by” should come with a name. If a page says it was “medically reviewed” but doesn't say by whom, you can't check it.
When was it written, reviewed, or updated?
MedlinePlus asks, “Is the information up to date?” It says content pages should include dates when the information was written, reviewed, or updated.
Practical tip (our interpretation, not from the sources): These dates can mean different things.
- Written or published date: When the page first went up.
- Reviewed date: When someone last checked it. That doesn't always mean anything changed.
- Updated date: When the content was last changed.
A recent date doesn't prove a page is accurate. An old date doesn't prove it's wrong. The date tells you what to ask about.
Where did the information come from?
MedlinePlus says content pages should have links or references to the sources of the information. If a page makes a specific claim, you should be able to see where it came from.
What is the site for, and who pays for it?
MedlinePlus asks what a site's purpose is: to inform the public, to sell products or services, or to promote the opinions of a person or group. It says that if a site is funded by ads, they should be clearly marked as advertisements, and it warns readers to watch out for ads designed to look like neutral health information. It also notes that if a business pays for the site, the health information may favor that business and its products.
Does the page sound too good to be true?
MedlinePlus says to beware of dramatic writing, promises of cures, and claims that sound too good to be true. It says these could be signs of a health fraud scam.
What happens to your personal information?
MedlinePlus suggests finding the site's privacy policy to see how it uses your personal information.
Printable Checklist: Author, Reviewer, and Update Date
Mark each line Yes, No, or Can't find.
Page title: ______________________________
Website: ______________________________
Date you checked: ______________
- I can tell who runs the site from its About page.
- The site gives a way to contact the owners.
- The page has a byline (a named person or team).
- The site explains the writers' qualifications, or clearly says what they don't have.
- The site describes an editorial board or a review process.
- If the page says it was reviewed, the reviewer is named.
- The page shows a date it was written, reviewed, or updated.
- The page links to or cites its sources.
- Any ads are clearly marked as advertisements.
- I can tell whether the site's purpose is to inform, to sell, or to promote an opinion.
- The page avoids promises of cures and too-good-to-be-true claims.
- The site has a privacy policy.
What I still want to ask my clinician:
______________________________
______________________________
How to read your results: This checklist doesn't give you a score. It helps you see what you know and what's missing. Several “Can't find” answers are a reason to be careful and to bring your questions to a professional.
Turning What You Found Into Questions for Your Visit
A page can pass every check and still not fit your situation. That's why the next step is a conversation. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) publishes a list of questions patients can ask. These fit well when a page raised a question about a test or treatment:
- What is the test for?
- Why do I need this treatment?
- Are there any alternatives?
- Are there any side effects?
- Will this medicine interact with medicines that I'm already taking?
Bring the page, or write down its title and web address, so your clinician knows what you read. If you're not sure what kind of question you have, our guide to sorting a primary care question into symptoms, prevention, or follow-up can help. If you plan to send it through a patient portal, see how to write a clear non-emergency portal message.
Applying the Checklist to This Page
Here's how this page does on the same checks:
- Who runs the site: PiedmontPrimaryCare.com is an independent wellness information website. It isn't a medical practice, and it isn't affiliated with any medical practice that uses or used the Piedmont Primary Care name. See our About page.
- Author: PiedmontPrimaryCare.com Wellness Team. We aren't doctors.
- Reviewer: No clinician reviewed this page.
- Date: Updated September 24, 2026.
- Sources: Listed at the end of this page.
- Money: Some other pages on this site include affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. This page has none. Our How We Work page explains how the site makes money and how we handle corrections.
What This Guide Can and Can't Do
This checklist helps you judge where information comes from. It can't tell you whether a claim is medically correct for you, and it doesn't replace advice from a qualified health professional.
This article is for general education only and is not medical advice. It doesn't diagnose conditions or recommend treatments. Talk with a qualified clinician before making any health decision, and don't start, stop, or change any medicine based on something you read online. In an emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Sources
- MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. Evaluating Health Information. Last updated February 26, 2024.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The 10 Questions You Should Know. Page last reviewed November 2020.