SAN FRANCISCO and ARLINGTON, Va., May 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Healthline Networks ( http://www.healthline.com/ ), the leading provider of intelligent health information services, and The HealthCentral Network, Inc. ( http://www.healthcentral.com/), a leading online resource for consumer- oriented health and wellness information, today announced that Healthline's Medically Guided Search and navigation platform will now power search for all of The HealthCentral Network (THCN), a collection of more than thirty general health and condition-specific Web sites, significantly enhancing health information search experience on each site.

"HealthCentral Network's comprehensive condition-specific sites are focused on providing individual health seekers with the resources they need to take control of their health, from clinical information and community tools so that people can inform, share and support each other," said Chris Schroeder, chief executive officer and President of The HealthCentral Network. "Medical information is one of the most complex search categories, and Healthline's medical domain expertise is the key for further enhancement of our health information search. Their technology, focused specifically on health and wellness information, will be a powerful addition to our sites, allowing our users to further customize their experience and find exactly what they need, on their terms."

Healthline will be providing its Medically Guided Search and navigation services through its Healthline Application Program Interface (API), providing search results in XML and allowing each THCN Web site to customize the search results page to match its own look and feel. Health information seekers on any of THCN's web sites will be presented with search results from the HealthWeb, a pre-screened universe of more than 200,000 high-quality consumer health Web sites representing 175 million Web pages.

THCN visitors will also be able to refine the results of their search by using navigation links to broaden or narrow their search, or find related topics, based on Healthline's semantic taxonomy. Developed and maintained by doctors and medical informatics professionals, Healthline's taxonomy -- the world's largest consumer health database, including a medical terminology index of more than 1.3 million medical terms, synonyms and "consumer friendly" names -- and the Healthline HealthWeb, ensure that visitors to THCN Web sites will now be presented with the most comprehensive and contextually relevant health search results.

"Online health information is often fragmented, untrustworthy, or hard to find," said West Shell III, chairman and chief executive officer of Healthline. "By integrating with The HealthCentral Network, we will combine the assets of a leading health and wellness content network with fast, intelligent, and effective web search, giving consumers access to a broad array of high-quality, relevant health information. This is an exciting alliance that will evolve with innovative new products and services providing users with the trusted, comprehensive health resources they need to live a healthier life."

About Healthline

Healthline Networks offers an innovative approach to meeting the needs of today's health information seeker. The company's unique consumer healthcare taxonomy, begun in 1999 in collaboration with 1,100 medical specialists, powers a suite of intelligent health search, navigation and content services. Combining advanced search technology with deep medical expertise, Healthline and its business partners -- a network of trusted destination sites that include publishers, portals, search engines, employers and health plans -- help consumers navigate the complex world of healthcare information, empowering them to make more confident, informed decisions. Headquartered in San Francisco, Healthline is backed by VantagePoint Venture Partners, Reed Elsevier Ventures, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and JHK Investments, LLC.

About The HealthCentral Network

The HealthCentral Network, Inc. ( http://www.healthcentral.com/ ) is a new and unique online offering, comprised of more than 30 health and highly specific condition Web properties. Each site provides timely, interactive, in- depth, and trusted medical information from organizations including Harvard Health Publications among others, and connections to leading experts and thousands of people who share their related experiences and inspiration. The HealthCentral Network was acquired in 2005 by Polaris Ventures, Sequoia Capital, The Carlyle Group and Allen & Company, and has built a management team that combines decades of experience in interactive media and medical, science, and news journalism. The company received top recognition from The International Health and Medical Media Awards with a 2006 FREDDIE Award for http://mydiabetescentral.com/ and the Health Care Standard of Excellence WebAward from the Web Marketing Association.

CONTACT: Victoria Steiner, Manager, Corporate Communications, of
Healthline Networks, Inc., +1-415-281-3110, vsteiner@healthline.com; or
Kristen Carriker, PR & Marketing Manager, of The HealthCentral Network, Inc.,
+1-703-302-1058, carriker@THCN.com

Web site: http://www.thehealthcentralnetwork.com/
http://www.healthline.com/
http://www.healthcentral.com/
http://mydiabetescentral.com/