Health sciences assignments lean heavily on government reports and clinical guidelines: public health statistics, national guidance documents and agency fact sheets. These don't fit the familiar journal-article template, and students often format them inconsistently. Here's how AMA style (11th edition) handles the most common types.
The general pattern
Most government and organisational documents published online follow this order:
*Author (person or agency). Title of Report. Publisher; year. Report number if any. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL
Key points:
- The agency can be the author. If no individual is named, use the agency's full name as the author.
- Titles of stand-alone reports are italic, like book titles, and in title case.
- The publisher is often the agency itself or its parent department. AMA abbreviates "Department" to "Dept" in this position.
- Online documents need an access date and URL. Place "Accessed" before the URL, and don't add a full stop after the URL.
Example: a government report
Format:
Agency Name. Title of the Report in Title Case. Parent Department; 2023. Accessed March 3, 2025. URL
If a person is named as the author, their name goes first (Surname Initials) and the agency moves to the publisher position.
Example: a report with a number
Many agencies number their publications. Put the number after the year:
Agency Name. Title of the Report. Publisher; 2022. Publication No. 22-1234. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL
Include the number exactly as it appears on the cover or title page, because it's often the fastest way for a reader to find the document.
Getting the details right
Agency names, department abbreviations and report numbers are where most errors happen. I use this generator to produce a consistently punctuated first draft, then check every element against the document's title page or "cite this page" box. For unusual document types, the NLM's free guide Citing Medicine has detailed examples. AMA style is based on similar principles, though the punctuation differs in places.
Clinical guidelines
How you cite a guideline depends on where it was published:
- Published in a journal: cite it as a journal article, with the guideline authors or the writing group as authors.
- Published on an organisation's website (for example, a national guideline body): cite it like an online report, with the organisation as author, the guideline title in italics, the guideline number if there is one, the publication date, any update date, the access date and the URL.
Guidelines are updated regularly, so the date matters. If the page shows "Last updated", include it so readers know which version you used.
Fact sheets and web pages
Short agency web pages that aren't formal reports are cited as websites: author or agency, page title, website name, published or updated date, access date and URL. The title of a web page isn't italicised.
A worked example
Suppose you need to cite a NICE guideline on hypertension in adults. NICE is the author, the guideline has a number (NG136), it was published in August 2019 and last updated in November 2023, and you read it online in September 2026. A clean AMA reference looks like this:
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Hypertension in Adults: Diagnosis and Management*. NICE guideline NG136. Published August 28, 2019. Updated November 21, 2023. Accessed September 3, 2026. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng136
The title is italic because a guideline is a standalone document, the number sits right after the title, and both dates are shown because clinical guidance changes. If you only give the original date, a reader could end up checking an outdated recommendation.
Checklist
- Is there a named person? If not, the agency is the author.
- Is the title italic (report) or plain (web page)?
- Have you included the report number and publication date?
- Is there an update date for a guideline?
- Is the access date before the URL, with no full stop at the end?
Consistent government citations make a reference list look professional, and they help markers find your sources quickly.