[1] Medscape launched May 22, 1995, by SCP Communications, Inc.[2] under the direction of its CEO Peter Frishauf.

For seventeen years before joining Medscape he served as editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

[9] In 2016 a survey of doctors found WebMD and its sister company Medscape to have incomplete medical information lacking depth and also numerous cases of misinformation on their sites.

[10] In April 2024, Medscape was strongly criticized for running educational content funded by tobacco transnational PMI (Philip Morris International), with critics saying that the tobacco industry should abstain from any involvement in medical education.

[11][12] In response, Medscape said the content was fully compliant with medical education industry accreditation standards, but said it would not accept funding from any tobacco industry-affiliated organization in the future.