Attach a PDF, image or note to your question

What attachments do

Attachments let you add written context to an AskMed question so the answer can use it. Tap the attach button next to the question box to open Attach clinical context, which offers three choices: Import PDF, for files such as lab reports and discharge summaries; Add image, for a picture whose printed text you want read; and Paste note, for text you type or paste yourself. Attached items appear under Attached, where you can remove any of them before you send. AskMed reads the text from each item and uses it together with your question. In the answer, AskMed can cite your file for what the file itself says, shown as its own source, while every medical fact the file does not state still needs a link to a published source as usual. That keeps the line clear between what your document says and what the evidence says. The same rules on drug doses apply to the file in full.

How AskMed reads your files

AskMed reads attachments on your own device and sends only the extracted text. On iPhone and iPad, Apple's built-in tools read PDF text and recognize printed text in photos. On Android, Google's on-device ML Kit reads text in images and a PDF reader inside the app handles PDFs. In the web app, the pdf.js and tesseract.js readers run inside your browser. The original file is never uploaded; only its text goes to AskMed's server with the question, where it is used to write the answer and is not stored, according to AskMed's privacy policy, which records only that a question had an attachment. On iPhone, iPad and the web, AskMed reads up to the first 20,000 characters of each file, and the web app takes up to 5 attachments per answer. A PDF needs selectable text; for a scanned page, attach a photo of it instead. When an attachment names medicines, AskMed explains them but never repeats their strengths, amounts or schedules.

Attachments are used for the question they were sent with. If you retry a question that had files, AskMed asks you to reattach them.

When attachments help

Attachments help when the answer depends on a specific document rather than on general knowledge. A doctor can attach a discharge summary and ask what the listed findings mean together, then check each point against the cited guideline. A nurse can paste a care note and ask about the monitoring it implies. A pharmacist can attach a medication list and ask about interactions between the named drugs, without doses. A medical student can photograph a printed case from a tutorial and ask for the differential, with sources for every item. A researcher can attach a paper's abstract or methods section and ask how its design compares with the standard approach, or ask AskMed to explain the statistics it reports. For long documents, ask about one part at a time, since only the first part of a very long file is read. Always remove names and other details that identify a patient, unless you are allowed to share them.

Attaching context works best with a clear question; How AskMed answers has tips on asking. Get AskMed on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, on Google Play for Android, or use it on the web.

Limits of attachments

Attachments are read as text, which sets their main limits. AskMed does not look at the picture itself: it can't interpret an X-ray, an ECG tracing, a skin photo or a chart, only the words and numbers printed in an image. Handwriting, low-contrast photos and complex tables may be read badly, so check that the extracted text is right if an answer seems off. A PDF without selectable text, such as a scan, gives no text; a password-protected PDF can't be opened in the web app until the password is removed. Only the first 20,000 characters of a long file are read on iPhone, iPad and the web, so later pages may be missed. AskMed never repeats drug doses from a file, even when you ask it to transcribe one. Attached text is sent to AskMed's server and AI providers to answer the question, so attach only information you are permitted to share.