How AskMed answers

Where answers come from

AskMed's answers come from a fixed list of medical websites that AskMed searches before any answer is written: journals and research databases such as PubMed and the Cochrane Library, clinical guidelines and health agencies such as NICE, WHO and CDC, the FDA and DailyMed drug labels, and clinical references such as StatPearls and BMJ Best Practice. AskMed does not search the open web, forums or social media. The search query is written by AskMed in precise medical terms rather than copied from your wording, and for management questions it adds "latest guideline update" so the newest guidance is found. From the results, AskMed prefers guidelines and health agencies first, then systematic reviews and meta-analyses, then review articles and references, then large trials and other studies. Sources from the last 10 years are preferred unless the topic is settled basic science, and when guidance has changed, the answer says what changed and since which year. The full list of sources is below.

• Medical journals and databases: PubMed and PubMed Central, the Cochrane Library, NEJM, The Lancet, JAMA, The BMJ and 11 specialty journals in cardiology, diabetes, pediatrics, respiratory medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, oncology, neurology, gastroenterology and psychiatry.
• Clinical guidelines and health agencies: NICE, the US Preventive Services Task Force, WHO, CDC, ECDC, the National Cancer Institute, and guideline groups such as ESC, KDIGO, GINA, GOLD, IDSA and ACOG.
• Drug labels: FDA and DailyMed. For local brand names, AskMed also looks in official drug registries from many countries, such as the EMA and the UK's medicines.org.uk.
• Medical references: the NCBI Bookshelf (including StatPearls), the MSD and Merck Manuals for professionals, and BMJ Best Practice.

Every claim is cited

AskMed cites every claim in an answer: each sentence or clause is followed by a link to the source that supports it, using the source's exact web address, and the app turns those links into numbered references. AskMed is instructed to cite a source only for what that source actually says, and never to invent web addresses, studies, statistics or citation numbers. Each answer draws on several different sources rather than leaning on one: 8 by default, and you can set any number from 3 to 12 with the Number of sources slider in the app's source filters. If the answer cites more sources than you asked for, the least-cited ones are dropped and their links removed. Source links start in the first paragraph, not only at the end, and AskMed never turns words of its own sentence into a link. When sources disagree, the answer says so and says which evidence is stronger.

The same filters let you turn source types on or off (journals, guidelines, drug labels, references) and choose which kinds of studies to use: systematic reviews and meta-analyses, review articles, clinical trials, or other studies.

If you attach a PDF or image, AskMed can cite your file for what the file itself says. Every other medical fact in the answer still needs a published source.

No source, no answer

When AskMed's search finds no usable medical source, or the question isn't a medical one (a greeting such as "Hey", for example), AskMed doesn't answer from memory. Instead of an AI-written answer, you get a fixed reply that was written in advance, in the app's language: it says AskMed couldn't find medical sources, explains that AskMed answers medical questions from journals, guidelines and drug labels, and asks you to rephrase it as a medical question. The same fixed reply replaces any answer that comes back citing no source at all, so an uncited answer is never shown as if it were evidence. When the sources found cover only part of a question, AskMed is instructed to say plainly that the evidence doesn't answer it, and to cite fewer sources rather than fill the gap with weak or off-topic ones. An unclear question is answered by its most likely meaning, and the first sentence says which meaning was assumed.

No drug doses

AskMed never gives medication doses, dose amounts, dose calculations, titration schedules, how often to take a drug, or patient-specific prescribing instructions. This holds for exam questions, hypothetical cases, research summaries, follow-up questions and requests to quote a drug label too, and for files you attach: AskMed names and explains the medicines in a file but doesn't repeat their strengths or schedules. A dose question isn't refused; AskMed answers the parts it can and ends with one short sentence on where exact dosing comes from. Dose numbers are also removed from the source excerpts AskMed shows: an AI rewrites them in general words, such as "a weight-based amount" or "at regular intervals", while lab values such as 126 mg/dL stay as they are. Medical device settings are not doses, so balloon catheter fill volumes, tube and airway sizes, ventilator settings and chest drain suction pressures are given with their numbers when the sources state them.

You still get the rest of the answer: what the drug is used for, how it works, first-line and alternative options, how dosing is chosen and adjusted (for kidney or liver function, age, weight or interactions), monitoring, side effects and safety. Exact dosing comes from the current prescribing information and the treating clinician.

Answers are AI-generated

Every AskMed answer is written by an AI language model from the sources AskMed's search found, not by a doctor or an editor, and a person does not review answers before you see them. The model is told to open with a direct answer, add only the sections the question needs (such as mechanism, diagnosis or evidence quality) and end with three suggested follow-up questions. Before finishing, it checks its own draft against fixed rules: definitions stated exactly, every guideline-recommended option named in a management answer, measurements given in both unit systems where countries differ (HbA1c in % and mmol/mol, glucose in mg/dL and mmol/L), and current guidance put ahead of superseded advice. That check is done by the same AI, so it is not an independent review. AI can misread a source, miss something important or leave something out, so open the cited source before you rely on an answer.

Deep Dive reports (AskMed Max) go through one more automated step after they are written: a second AI pass corrects sentences that contradict their sources, the drug label or the current guideline, and adds missing safety facts such as contraindications, boxed warnings and interactions. This step is automated too, not a human review.

How to check an answer

To check an AskMed answer, open the numbered citation that follows the sentence you plan to act on and read what the source itself says. Every claim in an AskMed answer carries its own link, so you check one sentence against one page, not the whole answer at once. The source list labels each source as a Guideline, Research, Drug label or Reference, which tells you what kind of evidence it is before you open it, and AskMed is told to give the year of every guideline recommendation it states, so you can see whether it is the latest version. If a source doesn't say what the sentence says, or the answer looks wrong, tap the thumbs down under the answer and pick a reason: Inaccurate, Missing information, Sources don't match, Hard to understand or Other, with an optional note. The four checks below cover what matters most before you act on an answer.

• Open the citation behind the claim you'll act on. Make sure the source says what the sentence says, for the same group of patients. A trial in adults doesn't answer a question about children.
• Look at the date and the type of source. A current guideline outweighs an older review, and one small study is weaker than a meta-analysis.
• Check whose guidance it is. NICE, US and European guidelines can disagree, so follow the one that applies where you practise.
• Get doses from the label. Use the current prescribing information or your local formulary for amounts and schedules.

Getting a better answer

An AskMed answer is only as specific as the question. Say who the patient is (age, pregnancy, kidney or liver function), the setting (primary care, emergency or inpatient) and your country when local practice matters, because guidelines and drug approvals differ between countries. Use the drug's generic name. Ask one clear question at a time, and if the answer is broader than you need, ask again with more detail. A short follow-up such as "and in pregnancy?" is read together with your previous question and answer, so you don't need to repeat the topic, while a question on a new topic is answered on its own. You can attach a PDF or image to give AskMed the clinical context. For an exam-style multiple-choice question, paste the options: the answer's first sentence names the correct option, and the answer explains why each other option is wrong.

Limits

AskMed's limits come from what it is: an AI reference for education, built for healthcare professionals and students, that writes each answer from a search of a fixed list of medical sources. An AskMed answer can only be as complete and current as those sources, so evidence published only in journals or on sites outside that list may not appear in it. Answers are written by AI and can contain errors, which is why every claim carries a citation to check. AskMed gives no drug doses and doesn't show videos: asked for one, it explains in writing and names channels such as Osmosis, Ninja Nerd or Khan Academy Medicine for you to search yourself. The app is available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese and Arabic, and answers are written in the language of the question. Checking the source and applying local guidance stay with you. The specific limits are:

• AskMed is for education and reference by healthcare professionals and students. It is not a substitute for your doctor or for clinical judgment.
• It is not a symptom checker. It doesn't diagnose patients or decide treatment for a person.
• It is not for emergencies. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.
• Sources can be out of date, incomplete, or disagree with each other, and local guidelines and drug approvals differ by country.
• AskMed carries no pharma advertising or sponsorship.

Questions or a wrong answer

Write to support@getaskmed.com, or tap the thumbs down under any answer in the app and say what went wrong.