In short
If you believe something on this site is wrong, report it through the report an error form. Every report is logged and ends with one of four outcomes, and the outcome is always shown. Safety reports are looked at first.
Mistakes can happen on any medical website, including this one. When one is found, it is dealt with openly. This page explains how to report something you believe is wrong, what happens to your report, and where you can see the outcome.
How to report something
What to do
Use the form on the report an error page.
Before you write
- Which article, and which sentence.
- What you believe is wrong.
- A source for what you believe is correct, if you have one. It helps, but you do not need one.
You also do not need to be a doctor, and you do not need to be sure.
Giving your email is optional. Leave it only if you want to be told the outcome.
What not to send
Please do not include symptoms, test results or other personal medical details. The form is only for errors on the site, and sending a report does not start a consultation.
To ask about your own care or a family member’s:
Safety reports come first
If you think an article could lead someone to harm, for example by making something urgent sound like it can wait, mark your report as a safety concern. Safety reports are looked at before any other report.
What happens to your report
- Your report is logged, even if it turns out to need no change.
- The article is checked again against the sources it was written from.
- Louie Leonides M. Gayao, MD decides the outcome.
The four outcomes
Each report ends with one of these:
- Corrected. Something was wrong, and it has been fixed.
- Clarified. The information was right, but the wording could be misread, so it has been rewritten.
- Upheld. The article was checked, and the text stands as written.
- Withdrawn. The article can no longer be supported, so it has been withdrawn.
Every outcome comes with a short note. For a correction or a clarification, the note says what changed. When the text is upheld, the note says why it stands.
Where you can see the outcome
The outcome is always shown:
- On the article. Each article has a corrections log, and every report about that article appears there with its outcome, its note and the date.
- By email. If you left your email, the outcome and its note are also sent to you.
When an article is withdrawn
A withdrawn article is not quietly deleted. It stays at the same address and says plainly that it has been withdrawn, with a note explaining why. Anyone who saved or shared the link will see that, instead of finding a missing page.
After a correction
A corrected or clarified article goes back to Louie Leonides M. Gayao, MD for review before the change is published. Its review date changes only when he has approved it again. How articles are written and checked in the first place is explained in the editorial policy.
If you have symptoms now
If it might be an emergency
Do not wait for a reply to a report. Magpatingin: see a physician, or go to the nearest hospital emergency room if it cannot wait.
