Our Editorial Approach
Our website
Medicine direct is regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). The aim of our website is to provide factually correct, educational, and informative content relating to a wide range of health conditions, treatments and general health and lifestyle queries.
Medical/healthcare content can be very complicated at the best of times, here at Medicine Direct, we aim to simplify publicly available and factually correct medical information from some of the worlds most trusted medical sources and translate this information in a way that is accurate, reliable, and easy to understand for our users.
The content on our website relating to specific ailments, treatments, and conditions; has been sourced, written, fact checked, and peer reviewed by our team of medical experts.
Authorship
Our authors are made up of a team of experienced health/medical writers and healthcare professionals.
The authorship detailed on every informational page of our website gives credit for research, analysis, accountability, interpretation of medication information, all of which contributes to content displayed on our website.
Our on-page authorship details the individuals who assisted with the research and content creation as well as any other medical experts or writers that were involved in the peer review to assess the validity of the research, creditability of the sources and accuracy and originality of the content.
Peer review
Our peer review process is intended to factually assess the content of the website as well as the creditability of the sources, the accuracy and originality of the content itself.
Our peer review process includes our wider medical professionals/medical writers and is designed to give accountability and recognition to our team of reviewers and editors.
Our peer review process is designed to ensure:
- Content is factually correct
- Medical claims have been researched and cited from trustworthy sources
- Ensure that sources and citations are clearly referenced
- Ensure a trusted form of scientific communication that is clear of errors and easy to understand
- Ensure the content is impartial and does not endorse any particular brand, manufacturer or product
Content Creation
Medicine Direct is committed to producing factually accurate content throughout our website. All content present on Medicine Direct has been appropriately researched using a number of highly trustworthy sources, publications and platforms.
All content has been researched, written, and proofread by our team of medical writers/professionals to ensure accuracy and relevancy.
Before publication, the content is passed through our peer review process before being published by a member of our team with the clinical competence needed to prescribe for the condition/treatment that the content is aimed at.
At the time of publication, all content and information has been researched, fact checked and peer reviewed. We regularly assess the accuracy of our content and actively cross reference a number of sources to ensure our content is relevant and up to date. Where necessary, our content is updated when new prescribing guidelines get published, the date of the content review will be updated to reflect these changes.
Our sources
Our website may link to a number of 3rd party websites, these websites form the basis of our research and content creation and are regarded as highly trustworthy and relevant websites.
Where necessary, our sources will always be included within the body of our content, particularly where medical claims have been made. We will also include 3rd party links to trustworthy websites and information we deem to be highly relevant to a particular medicine, treatment, or our users.
Some treatments are categorised as first and second line treatment options for certain conditions, this means that if a medicine is a second line treatment option for a certain condition, it is likely that there is a better suited treatment option indicated to treat the condition as a first line treatment option.
In the event that there is a more suitable treatment option, where credible and evidence based clinical research has been conducted comparing the two treatment options, this will be documented and cited to provide clinical accuracy and impartiality.
Our sources include, but are not limited to the following:
British National Formulary (BNF)
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Electronic Medicines Compendium (EMC)
Our research
As well as using a number of credible sources to form accurate, trustworthy and reliable content, we also carry out our own research and have launched a number of national campaigns using our own data and analysis which have since been republished by a number of publications.
Although some of our own research may not be of a clinical nature, it is intended to educate and provide information to our users.
Examples of our own research can be found here:
https://www.medicinedirect.co.uk/blog/post/stay-sex-safe
https://www.medicinedirect.co.uk/blog/post/britains-pharmacy-blackspots
Corrections, retractions, and feedback
Rarely, we may publish updates, corrections, or retractions to our published content in line with clinical research or medical guidance.
If clinical guidance for a treatment or condition is changed, this will be reflected on our website.
In the rare event that you spot any inaccuracies of misinformation on our website, please do not hesitate to contact our team detailing the inaccuracies. You can contact our team at hello@medicinedirect.co.uk.