MedlinePlus Health Topic Metadata API · Live

Pull live MedlinePlus data
in the time it takes
to read this sentence.

Health topic records with ranked search results, drug and supplement monographs from ASHP, genetics summaries, medical test descriptions, and medical encyclopedia entries from the U.S. National Library of Medicine — structured and delivered as clean JSON or XML.

See a Live Response
Free public data no auth required for base access
<3s avg. response time
99.9% uptime SLA
50M+ requests / month served
GET /ws/query
LIVE
// streaming a live health topic search...
Trusted by global businesses pulling MedlinePlus data at scale
HealthMetrics CareBridge MedResearch ClinicalScope HealthAI WellnessWorks
500+
GLOBAL CLIENTS SERVED
300+
PROJECTS DELIVERED
50M+
MONTHLY API CALLS
24/7
DEDICATED SUPPORT
Why Choose Our MedlinePlus API

MedlinePlus is the gold standard for consumer health information — free, authoritative, and built for developers.

MedlinePlus is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health. It offers almost 22,000 links to authoritative health information in English, sourced from about 500 selected organizations. Unlike many health platforms, MedlinePlus already provides a public web service and XML data files for developers. Our infrastructure gives you a clean, reliable layer on top of that free public data — with caching, rate-limit management, and structured output.

01

Authoritative U.S. government data

MedlinePlus is produced by the National Library of Medicine and NIH. There is no advertising, and it does not endorse any companies or products.

02

Already developer-friendly

NLM provides a search-based web service returning health topics in XML, plus XML files for complete topic records. We build on that foundation.

03

Ranked health topic search

Search over 1,000 health topics and get results ranked by relevance, with snippets, summaries, and external links.

04

Rate-limit management built in

NLM limits public requests to 100 per minute per IP and recommends caching for 12–24 hours. We handle that automatically.

MedlinePlus API Features

Everything you need to keep MedlinePlus data flowing.

⚡

Real-time search

Keyword searches return ranked health topics with snippets and summaries in real time.

🧩

Field-limited searching

Restrict searches to title, alt-title, MeSH terms, full-summary, or group fields.

💊

Drug & supplement monographs

Access AHFS Consumer Medication Information covering over 1,500 prescription and OTC drugs.

🧬

Genetics data access

Pull genetic condition, gene, chromosome, and mtDNA summaries from MedlinePlus Genetics.

🔬

Medical test descriptions

Return test descriptions including why the test is ordered, how it feels, and what results mean.

🌐

English & Spanish support

Access content in both English and Spanish with consistent field naming.

What Data Can You Access?

Every public field MedlinePlus offers — topics, drugs, genetics, and tests included.

TopicsHealth topic recordsOver 1,000 diseases, conditions, and wellness topics
TopicsTopic summaries & snippetsBrief and full summary text with search highlighting
TopicsMeSH terms & groupsMedical Subject Headings and topic categorization
DrugsDrug monograph metadataSide effects, dosage, precautions, storage
DrugsSupplement monographsNatural Medicines Comprehensive Database entries
GeneticsGenetic condition summariesOver 1,300 genetic conditions
GeneticsGene & chromosome data1,400 genes plus 23 chromosome pairs and mtDNA
TestsMedical test descriptionsNearly 300 tests with purpose, procedure, and results
EncyclopediaMedical encyclopedia articles4,000+ articles with images and videos
ConnectCode-based lookupSNOMED CT, RxCUI, NDC, LOINC code responses
LanguagesMulti-language resourcesLinks in 50+ languages with English equivalents
SearchRanked search resultsRelevance-ranked topics with snippets and external links
Supported MedlinePlus Categories

Health topics, drugs, genetics, and tests — one integration.

Switch the db parameter to pull data from a specific MedlinePlus database with the same consistent response shape.

🩺

Health Topics

Diseases, conditions, and wellness topics with ranked search.

💊

Drugs & Supplements

Prescription, OTC, and supplement monograph metadata.

🧬

Genetics

Genetic conditions, genes, chromosomes, and mtDNA.

🔬

Medical Tests

Test descriptions with purpose, procedure, and results.

SourceU.S. GovernmentNational Library of Medicine / NIH
PolicyFree & PublicNo advertising, no endorsements
LanguagesMulti-languageEnglish and Spanish content available
MedlinePlus API Endpoints

A small set of endpoints that cover the whole content lifecycle.

Method Endpoint Description Typical use
GET /ws/query Search health topics by keyword, ranked by relevance Topic discovery & lookup
GET /ws/query Search with field limiters (title:, mesh:, etc.) Precise topic retrieval
GET /connect/service Code-based lookup (SNOMED CT, RxCUI, LOINC) EHR / patient portal integration
GET /download/TopicIndex.xml Complete genetics topic index Genetics data harvesting
GET /download/ghr-summaries.xml Compendium of all genetics summaries Bulk genetics content
POST /v1/medlineplus/bulk Submit up to 10,000 topic IDs per batch job Full catalog monitoring
Live API Response Example

This is exactly what comes back. No extra parsing needed.


        

    







    

        

            Popular MedlinePlus API Use Cases
            
Built for the teams that live and die by MedlinePlus data.

        

        

            

                
🤖

                
LLM training data

                
Generate structured consumer health content for fine-tuning medical language models.

            

            

                
📱

                
Health app development

                
Integrate authoritative topic data for patient education and triage apps.

            

            

                
🏥

                
EHR / patient portal integration

                
Use MedlinePlus Connect to link diagnosis, drug, and test codes to patient-friendly info.

            

            

                
📊

                
Content freshness auditing

                
Track topic updates and content changes across health conditions.

            

            

                
💊

                
Pharmacy platform enrichment

                
Map drug monographs, side effects, and interactions to enrich product catalogues.

            

            

                
🧬

                
Genetics research data

                
Generate labeled genetic condition and gene datasets for research and ML.

            

            

                
📈

                
Medical trend monitoring

                
Track emerging health topics and consumer information updates over time.

            

            

                
🔗

                
Clinical decision support

                
Surface relevant MedlinePlus links within clinical workflows at the point of care.

            

        

    







    

        

            How the MedlinePlus API Works
            
From API key to structured data in five steps.

        

        

            

            

                
1

                
Get your API key

                
Sign up and generate a key from your dashboard in under two minutes.

            

            

                
2

                
Choose an endpoint

                
Pick /ws/query, /connect/service, or genetics data files depending on what you need.

            

            

                
3

                
Send the request

                
Call the endpoint with a search term, code, or topic ID.

            

            

                
4

                
We handle the hard part

                
Caching, rate-limit management, and parsing all happen behind the scenes.

            

            

                
5

                
Receive structured data

                
Get clean JSON or XML back in seconds, ready to drop into your pipeline.

            

        

    







    

        

            Developer-Friendly Integration
            
Built by people who read the docs too.

            
One consistent JSON schema across every category and every endpoint. No SDK lock-in — plain REST calls work from any language or platform.

            

                

                    
→

                    

                        
Predictable REST design

                        
Standard HTTP verbs, query params, and status codes — nothing proprietary to learn.

                    

                

                

                    
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JSON, CSV, or webhook delivery

                        
Get results inline, as a downloadable file, or pushed to your endpoint when a batch job finishes.

                    

                

                

                    
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Sandbox & test keys

                        
Free sandbox environment with sample topic IDs so you can build before you pay.

                    

                

                

                    
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Postman collection & SDK snippets

                        
Import a ready-made collection or copy request snippets for Python, Node.js, and cURL.

                    

                

            

        

        

            

                
                Quickstart
            

            

                
                
                
            

            

        

    







    

        

            API Performance & Reliability
            
Numbers we publish because we track them daily.

        

        

            

                
99.9%

                
Uptime SLA

                

                    

                

            

            

                
<3s

                
Avg. response time

                

                    

                

            

            

                
99.3%

                
Successful extraction rate

                

                    

                

            

            

                
10K+

                
Concurrent requests supported

                

                    

                

            

        

    







    

        

            Security & Compliance
            
Public health information with clear, responsible boundaries.

        

        

            

                
🚫

                
No personal health data

                
We never collect patient data, symptom-checker inputs, or any personal health information. Output is public health topic metadata only.

            

            

                
📄

                
Public domain content

                
MedlinePlus content is produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is publicly available. We return structured metadata and links.

            

            

                
⚕️

                
Informational use only

                
Returned data is not medical advice. MedlinePlus itself advises consulting a qualified physician for diagnosis.

            

        

        

            
                ✓ISO 9001:2015 Certified
            
            
                ✓ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Certified
            
            
                ✓IAF Multilateral Recognition
            
            
                ✓GDPR-aligned workflows
            
        

    







    

        

            API Documentation & Resources
            
Everything to go from key to production.

        

        

            

                Guide
                
Quickstart Guide

                
Get your first API response back in under five minutes.

                Read guide →
            

            

                Reference
                
Full API Reference

                
Every endpoint, parameter, and response field documented in detail.

                View reference →
            

            

                Tool
                
Postman Collection

                
Import ready-made requests for every MedlinePlus API endpoint.

                Download →
            

            

                Code
                
SDKs & Code Samples

                
Python, Node.js, PHP, and Ruby snippets for every use case.

                Browse samples →
            

        

    







    

        

            Frequently Asked Questions
            
Still deciding? Here's what most teams ask first.

        

        

            

                
                

                    
Yes. MedlinePlus provides a public web service for searching health topics in XML, plus MedlinePlus Connect for code-based lookups. There are also XML data files for complete topic records. Our infrastructure provides a clean, cached layer on top of this free public data.

                

            

            

                
                

                    
MedlinePlus is a free public service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. There is no advertising, and it does not endorse any companies or products.

                

            

            

                
                

                    
NLM requires that users of MedlinePlus Connect send no more than 100 requests per minute per IP address and recommends caching results for 12–24 hours. Our infrastructure handles this automatically.

                

            

            

                
                

                    
Yes. MedlinePlus Connect conforms to the HL7 Infobutton standard and supports code lookups for diagnoses (SNOMED CT), medications (RxCUI, NDC), lab tests (LOINC), and procedures.

                

            

            

                
                

                    
Our infrastructure retries automatically across a rotating proxy pool. You're only billed for successfully returned responses.

                

            

            

                
                

                    
Yes, every account starts with a free sandbox key and sample credits so you can test all endpoints before committing to a plan.

                

            

        

    








    

        

        
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