Advertising Policy

Third-party banners, badges, contextual advertising, and content created or provided by an Advertiser are all examples of advertising that MDHealthOnline accepts on its website and social media platforms. Collectively, these are referred to as "Advertisements" or "Advertising."

Additionally, the terms "Advertising" and "Advertisements" as they are defined in this policy encompass third-party banners, modules, links, microsites, native advertisements, and other content that is provided by or on behalf of Advertisers. The Advertiser is accountable for the objectivity and accuracy of their advertising. The guidelines below have been established by MDHealthOnline to regulate a variety of aspects of advertising on properties within the MDHealthOnline site (each a "MDHealthOnline Property"). These properties include websites and social media content that are directed at consumers, which we refer to as the "MDHealthOnline Consumer Properties," and websites that are directed at healthcare professionals, which we consider the "MDHealthOnline Professional Properties."

The guidelines provided for in this policy govern the approval of advertisements by MDHealthOnline, the manner in which advertisements are displayed on the MDHealthOnline site, and the removal of advertisements from the MDHealthOnline site. The interpretation and enforcement of this policy, as well as all other matters related to advertising on the MDHealthOnline site, are subject to the sole and absolute discretion of MDHealthOnline. MDHealthOnline reserves the right to modify this policy at any time by posting a revised policy on the relevant MDHealthOnline Property.

1. MDHealthOnline retains the exclusive authority to determine the types of advertising that will be accepted and displayed on the MDHealthOnline site. The acceptance of any advertisement by MDHealthOnline will not be interpreted as an endorsement of the product(s) and/or service(s) advertised or of the company that advertises, manufactures, distributes, or promotes the products or services.


2. MDHealthOnline will not knowingly accept advertising that is not factually accurate and in good taste, in the opinion of our company.


3. MDHealthOnline will not willfully permit certain categories of advertisements on the MDHealthOnline site at any time. The following are included in these categories, but they are not exhaustive:

Products that are illegal, 'objectionable', 'ineffective', and/or 'dangerous' (MDHealthOnline retains the right to determine what is 'objectionable', 'ineffective', and/or 'dangerous')

  • Material that is fraudulent, deceptive, illicit, misleading, or offensive o material that misrepresents, ridicules, discriminates (real or implied), or attacks an individual or group on the basis of age, national origin, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other status deemed inappropriate for the MDHealthOnline.

  • Alcohol o Fireworks, firearms, ammunition, or weaponry

  • Gambling o Pornography or related themes

  • The use of tobacco of any kind o. the simulation of an emergency or news event

  • Media or messages that reference "M" rated video games or content

  • Material that directly advertises products to or is intended to attract children under the age of 13

  • Unreasonable, implausible, or extraordinary product or service claims

  • Media messages or imagery that flash or strobe o media or messages that contain unsubstantiated "miracle" weight loss or other exaggerated claims of cure o advertising units that mimic computer functions or deceptively display a computer or other function that would be reasonable for the average user to assume as a reason to click the unit .


4. MDHealthOnline acknowledges and preserves a clear distinction between its editorial content and advertising. The MDHealthOnline Network will ensure that all advertising is plainly and unambiguously identified. MDHealthOnline will not permit any advertising on the MDHealthOnline Network that is not labeled with "Advertisement," "From Our Advertiser," "Information from Industry," or a similar designation that indicates that the advertising is being provided by or on behalf of an Advertiser.


5. The end user may only be directed to the Advertiser's website or to a relevant sponsored content area on an MDHealthOnline Property by clicking on an advertisement.


6. MDHealthOnline maintains the exclusive right to determine the manner in which any and all search results for specific information by keyword or topic are displayed on an MDHealthOnline site, based on MDHealthOnline-delivered search results. Advertising is identified as such in the search results. Furthermore, MDHealthOnline offers a distinct section on the search results page of specific MDHealthOnline Consumer Properties that exclusively displays advertising.


7. These "Ads by Google" are advertisements that have been purchased by companies that wish to have links to their websites appear adjacent to search results in response to specific terms, as described in the "Ads by Google" hyper link in the Ads by Google section on applicable WebMD Consumer Properties Search pages.

8. MDHealthOnline retains the unilateral authority to determine whether or not to approve, reject, terminate, or remove advertising from the WebMD Network at any time. MDHealthOnline is unable to guarantee that Advertisements will operate flawlessly on all platforms, including mobile applications and websites.


9. The Advertiser is accountable for adhering to all domestic and foreign laws and regulations that are relevant to its advertising within the MDHealthOnline Network, as well as for including all legally required legends, disclosures, and statements in such advertising. This includes, but is not limited to, the current FDA guidelines for Direct to Physician (DTP) and Direct to Consumer (DTC) advertising. Compliance with these laws and regulations will not be monitored by MDHealthOnline. Nevertheless, MDHealthOnline retains the right to review all Advertising for compliance with relevant laws and regulations. If MDHealthOnline becomes aware of any breach or potential breach of any applicable law or regulation or of these guidelines, MDHealthOnline may decide to remove the Advertising from the MDHealthOnline site.


10. No advertising on the MDHealthOnline site shall contain any pixels, tags, flash containers, or any other type of information collection software code (each a "Pixel"), nor shall it place any beacons, cookies, or other information collection devices on the browsers of users of the MDHealthOnline site, unless expressly approved in writing by MDHealthOnline. If MDHealthOnline authorizes the integration of a Pixel into an advertisement, then, unless and only if, such authorization includes an explicit exception, (i) The Advertiser is prohibited from utilizing the Pixel to collect any personally-identifiable information (PII) about any MDHealthOnline user. (ii) The Pixel cannot be flash or object-based. (iii) The Pixel can be blocked and any cookie placed can be deleted by user browser settings. (iv) The Advertiser will not link any non-PII that it collects to any PII that it may have from any other source. (v) The Advertiser will not update any existing profile or create a new profile in its database based on any data collected on the MDHealthOnline site, including the fact that someone is an MDHealthOnline user or any information derived from the information in the referring URL.