Advertising policy
This advertising policy explains how we handle advertising and sponsored content and distinguish it from editorial content and how you may contact us to ask questions or comment on our Web sites.
Web Sites Covered
Reference to "theheart.org" or "We" means Medscape, LLC., including any company that we control (for example a subsidiary that we own). theheart.org, Inc. is a subsidiary of Medscape, LLC. Reference to "Web Site" means our internet website, theheart.org.com. We have a corporate site where you can read more about our company, obtain investor information, and find out how to contact us at www.wbmd.com.
Advertising Policy Changes
As our advertising policy change in significant ways, we will make every effort to notify you of the changes. Minor changes to the policy may occur that will not affect the overall goals this policy is designed to achieve. When the policy changes in a way that significantly affects the way we handle editorial matters, we will clearly draw the attention of our users to the change. We will post policy changes on our Web sites in a timely manner.
Advertising Policy
At theheart.org, we have always clearly separated the editorial content and process from advertising. Advertising spaces such as banners and badges are clearly marked. Likewise, any content provided by an advertising sponsor is clearly marked as such, and is physically separated from editorial content. We are also selective in the advertising we accept. Our advertising policies are as follows:
- We will clearly distinguish advertising from health information content, using identifying words, design, or placement. We will design theheart.org.com to avoid confusion between advertising and health information content.
- It is the responsibility of the advertiser to comply with the laws and regulations of the United States of America, the country in which the site is based. This includes pharmaceutical advertising to physicians that must be in compliance with FDA guidelines for Direct to Physician (DTP) advertising. In addition, CME programs must be labeled in accordance with the guidelines of the Accrediting Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and any other relevant accrediting bodies. We reserve the right to review all Advertising for compliance with applicable laws and regulations and, if we become aware of any breach or potential breach of any applicable law or regulation or of these guidelines, we may remove the advertising.
- We will have sole and absolute discretion with respect to interpretation and enforcement of this policy and all other issues associated with advertising on theheart.org.com. We may change this policy at any time in its sole discretion by posting a revised policy to theheart.org.com.
- Under no circumstances will our acceptance of an advertisement be considered an endorsement of the product(s) and/or service(s) advertised or the company that manufactures, distributed, or promotes such product(s) and/or service(s).
- We reserve the right to reject, cancel, or remove at any time any advertising from theheart.org.com for any reason and will provide prompt notice to the advertiser upon rejection, cancellation, or removal of any advertising, together with an explanation following the rejection, cancellation, or removal. We will not accept advertising that, in our opinion, makes unsubstantiated claims of therapeutic benefit for particular products or contains false or misleading information. In addition, we will not accept advertising that, in our opinion, is not factually accurate and in good taste.
- We will not permit at any time the placement of any advertising for illegal or objectionable products. Advertising must not contain fraudulent, deceptive, or offensive material, including material that misrepresents, ridicules, or attacks an individual or group on the basis of age, color, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or handicap. Advertising must not be related to any of the following: alcohol, firearms, ammunition, fireworks, gambling, pornography, or tobacco.
- Advertisers must respect the terms of our privacy policy, and may not attempt to individually identify any users of theheart.org.com or obtain inappropriate access through other technological means to personally identifiable information.
- Advertisers will not influence the way any search results for specific information by keyword or topic are displayed on theheart.org.com. We will post all of the variables used to determine relevance ranking and the order of search results presented to theheart.org.com readers. We reserves the right to feature original theheart.org material or content within search results, and any such hierarchy of search results will be free of any influence from advertisers. However, we will target advertising or sponsored health information content to users based on information about them or their use of theheart.org.com, including searches they conduct. In addition, we provide a separate area on the search results page in which sponsors and advertisers may purchase space to list their content or advertising.
- No advertising shall be permitted which may injure the good name or reputation of theheart.org or theheart.org.com.
We welcome any comments, questions, or complaints you have about this editorial and advertising policy or our Web sites. Please feel free to contact us by sending an email to editor2@medscapeinc.com.
Revision date: This policy was last updated on May 13, 2008.
