Regardless of the format, our products are the result of a standardized process for research, design and development. The product development team collects and reacts to ideas from a variety of sources. Content and product managers prioritize development of new content based on user and business needs. The environment at Mayo Clinic is rich with educational opportunities that keep our doctors and our content and product managers current with the latest developments.
Our editors keep an eye on breaking medical news worldwide, reading broadly and gathering periodically for product planning meetings. Our editorial research department monitors medical publications, databases and online resources for ideas and trends. We also conduct regular user research to determine the needs of our target audiences.
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Editorial research. After the team agrees on the topic of a content piece, our health writers, assisted by editorial researchers, search medical journals and medical texts to gather source information for the topic. Our health writers may also interview Mayo Clinic doctors and scientists who have a special interest and expertise in the subject for source material. Often these individuals are authorities in their fields.
The team follows a standardized procedure for selecting, documenting and verifying specific content, and storing references. Specific content verified includes statistics, certain recommendations, and changes in prevailing thought or standard practice.
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Medical review. Under the direction of the product development team, Mayo Clinic medical experts contribute to and review for medical accuracy all original information published on our site. Each year more than 400 Mayo Clinic medical specialists participate in reviewing content, serving as sources and contributing the valuable perspective of practicing medical professionals.
At least three doctors or other subject matter experts review all new content for medical accuracy. By the time content reaches the final draft stage, it reflects the contributions of writers, editors and medical editors. Final drafts represent a consensus of Mayo Clinic knowledge and opinion and do not carry the attribution of a single author. Editor's note is an exception. Because it reflects the opinion of its author, we attribute it to the author.
Medical editors make final judgments on issues of medical content. When there are legitimate differing points of view or there is not enough quality information to make a sound recommendation, we tell users this and guide them through the issues.
We also carefully qualify information because no one set of instructions or recommendations will apply to every person. Interactive tools that allow us to gather basic information about an individual enable us to tailor the delivery of content based on the information gathered. We avoid a prescriptive, personal recommendation that can only be made by a health care professional who is caring for the person.
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Continuous review and updates. To help ensure the accuracy and reliability of our content, we adhere to a continuous review policy. This means that the product development team systematically monitors developments in the content categories in which we publish. Our senior team of editors regularly reviews the medical literature, the health news and other media for developments in angle or scope. The medical editors help identify medical developments and work with health writers and editors to prioritize the updates.
As we identify significant changes or advances, we reflect them in an updated version of the content as soon as possible. Scheduled updates of our original content occur at least every two years. Exceptions to this biennial review include personal stories and healthy recipes. We review personal stories every two years for medical relevance to ensure the usefulness of the health information. However, we don't update the personal profile. We review healthy recipes as necessary in response to user feedback and on a scheduled rotation cycle.
- Content production. After content is final and has been edited and proofed, it moves to production, where it is converted to Extensible Markup Language (XML) and published to the site.
- Design of interactive products and services. Interactive tools follow a user-centered design process, which includes research and analysis, specification of content and functional requirements, design, usability-testing technical development, quality assurance testing, and release.