Editorial & AI-Assistance Policy

Last updated: August 18, 2026

Flatline Files publishes original medical mystery horror fiction for entertainment. This policy explains how stories and supporting media may be developed, reviewed, corrected, and presented.

Editorial Purpose

Our goal is to create suspenseful, readable fiction shaped by the atmosphere and uncertainty of healthcare.

Stories may incorporate medical terminology, symptoms, diagnostic reasoning, hospitals, hospitals, clinics, psychiatric settings, home health, hospice, or other healthcare environments. Creative liberties may be taken to serve characterization, pacing, mystery, or horror.

Flatline Files does not publish its stories as medical case reports, educational protocols, or treatment recommendations.

Human Oversight

Mark Aquino, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, provides editorial direction and reviews, revises, and approves stories published under his name.

Editorial review may consider:

• Originality and entertainment value.
• Narrative clarity and pacing.
• Consistency of characters and events.
• Appropriate handling of medical themes.
• Avoidance of identifiable patient information.
• Clear separation between fiction and medical advice.
• Potentially misleading or harmful claims.
• Copyright, attribution, and disclosure concerns.

Publication does not guarantee that every fictional medical detail perfectly represents real-world practice.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial-intelligence tools may assist with:

• Brainstorming premises, titles, and plot variations.
• Developing outlines or fictional characters.
• Producing or revising draft language.
• Organizing research and background information.
• Identifying inconsistencies or editing opportunities.
• Creating summaries, metadata, excerpts, and social posts.
• Generating or editing illustrations and featured images.
• Supporting narration, audio, video, or production workflows.

AI-generated material is not automatically published solely because it was generated. Content is intended to undergo human selection and review before publication.

AI systems can produce inaccurate, derivative, inconsistent, or fabricated information. Human review is used to reduce these problems, but no process can guarantee that every error will be identified.

Medical Information and Creative Liberties

Medical concepts may be checked against reputable sources when accuracy materially affects a story. Nevertheless, fictional narratives may intentionally compress timelines, combine symptoms, alter procedures, invent conditions, or portray characters making poor decisions.

Readers should not treat any story as a substitute for professional medical evaluation or current clinical guidance.

Patient Privacy

Flatline Files does not intentionally publish identifiable patient information.

Stories are invented or substantially fictionalized. General professional experience may influence atmosphere and storytelling, but real patient names, records, photographs, identifying details, and confidential encounters should not be incorporated into published fiction.

Unsolicited patient stories or medical records should not be submitted through the website.

Images and Multimedia

Featured images, illustrations, audio, voices, and video elements may be created or modified with artificial-intelligence tools.

Visuals are intended as artistic representations. They should not be interpreted as photographs of actual patients, authentic medical records, or documentary evidence unless explicitly identified otherwise.

Corrections and Revisions

We may correct or revise content when we identify:

• Material factual errors.
• Broken links or formatting problems.
• Unclear fiction or medical disclaimers.
• Copyright or attribution concerns.
• Privacy concerns.
• Material inconsistencies that interfere with a story.

Minor spelling, style, formatting, or continuity edits may be made without a separate correction notice. Substantial corrections may be disclosed when appropriate.

Correction requests may be submitted through the Contact page. We review reasonable requests but do not guarantee removal, revision, or an individual response.

Independence and Monetization

Flatline Files may earn revenue through advertising, affiliate links, books, sponsorships, or other commercial relationships.

Compensation does not permit an advertiser or affiliate partner to dictate the outcome of a story or override editorial judgment. Sponsored material will be identified when appropriate.

Affiliate relationships may generate commissions at no additional cost to the reader.

Reader Responsibility

Readers are responsible for deciding whether horror content is suitable for them. Stories may include illness, psychiatric distress, medical procedures, death, grief, supernatural themes, violence, or disturbing imagery.

Please consult the Fiction & Medical Disclaimer for additional information.

Contact

Questions about this policy, corrections, permissions, or editorial practices may be sent to theflatlinefiles@gmail.com.