Clinical intelligence for the entire care continuum

For the fast-paced world of healthcare, clinicians need the best available evidence integrated throughout their workflows. They need clinical intelligence combining expert recommendations, data, and AI-powered technology to provide actionable decision support at the point of care—even when the evidence is unclear.

For over 30 years, clinicians have trusted the expert-authored content of UpToDate grounded in an established, peer-reviewed Editorial Process.. Over 7,600 practicing experts review new evidence, evaluate its relevance within current clinical contexts and standards, and produce graded recommendations for applying it to practice. This continuous editorial model has been the trusted foundation for millions of clinicians around the world.

With the launch of UpToDate® Expert AI, we are expanding our editorial process to reflect the integration of expert clinical recommendations with the scale and power of machine intelligence. The new UpToDate Clinical Intelligence Model (CIM) is that same trusted content and editorial process enhanced with proprietary AI technology for transparent, expert-guided recommendations that support accountable patient care decisions. The new AI layer and generated responses are also continuously validated and refined by expert clinicians for consistency, completeness, and conciseness.

Designed by clinicians and for clinicians. Learn about the model and the key pillars that guide our approach to trusted AI-powered clinical content.

Download the CIM Overview
Download The CIM Overview
The clinical intelligence model reflects the integration of proprietary AI technology into the existing editorial process.UpToDate Clinical Intelligence Model

  • Full graphic description

    The Clinical Intelligence Model is comprised of two distinct but aligned processes.

    Internal circle shows the UpToDate Editorial Process:
    • New clinical studies
    • Content reviews
    • Grading and consensus
    • Content is updated
    External circle shows the AI layer:
    • Clinical questions are asked in UpToDate Expert AI
    • Clinical expertise is encoded, guides question comprehension and relevance
    • Accountable, transparent AI responses based on UpToDate content with clinician input
    • Expert-developed rubrics and guardrails guide response framework and language
    • AI responses are refined with clinician feedback
Flowing and converging blue particle lines
From evidence to AI: Why provenance matters in clinical decision support
Evidence verification isn’t optional for AI in clinical decision support—it’s foundational. Dr. Sheila Bond shares why provenance isn’t a technical detail, it’s an imperative.
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Male doctor holding a mobile phone with laptop and tablet on office table
Clinically meaningful evidence in the age of AI
In medicine, the right AI-generated response reflects strong evidence, expert clinical experience, and patient values. The UpToDate clinical editorial team shares why this broader context matters.
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UpToDate clinical intelligence foundation

13,000+
Clinical and patient education topics

10,000+
Graded recommendations

8,000+
Unique drug entries

7,600+
Expert clinical authors and editors

Clinical experts at the heart of the UpToDate Editorial Process

AI is increasingly used in clinical decision-making, and it’s critical that care teams know the source of any generative information.

Clinical experts are the foundation of all UpToDate solutions—both the trusted source content and the AI technology that surfaces generative responses. These clinical experts create the editorial content following a rigorous, evidence-based and peer-reviewed process.

Expert authors, editors, and peer reviewers from around the world apply their deep domain expertise to critically evaluate the literature and best available evidence. The team produces original content that provides clear guidance, links to supporting literature, and graded recommendations for actionable clinical decisions. All authors and editors are listed on content and care recommendations along with their credentials for transparency.

Within GenAI tools like UpToDate® Expert AI, the generative responses surface only the peer-reviewed UpToDate content. The same clinical experts are heavily involved in reviewing and validating the responses, and are involved in solution updates that better reflect the daily clinician workflow.

Have feedback? Our clinician subscribers are welcome to send it to the editors using the “Feedback” button on the right of every clinical topic page. It’s instrumental to improving content and is often included in final peer review.

Download Editorial Process Overview
UpToDate Editorial Process Overview
Dr. Peter Bonis in front of a window.
video-player
Dr. Peter Bonis, Chief Medical Officer at Wolters Kluwer Health, shares about the team of 7,600 practicing clinicians who create the foundational UpToDate content, which serves as the sole information foundation behind the new UpToDate Expert AI generative AI tool.

UpToDate editorial process

Graphic of uptodate editorial process

  • Full graphic description

    1. New clinical studies with potential to impact patient care are published.
    2. Authors collaborate with specialty editors to evaluate and develop the content.
    3. Topics are updated or newly created and undergo peer review.
    4. A grading editor reviews and confirms the strength of recommendations.
    5. Final content consensus is reached through editorial review.
    6. Approved content is published and made available worldwide in UpToDate.
    7. Continuous publishing ensures topics remain current with new evidence.
“UpToDate behaves like a consultant, not like an encyclopedia. You’re asynchronously consulting with the experts who wrote the article.”

– Dr. David Fleece, CMIO, Temple University Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Learn Why Temple Renewed

Expert medication and drug decision content

As with medical evidence, drug evidence and development become more complex each day. The same rigorous, editorial process is used to provide the latest drug information and medication safety content in UpToDate® Lexidrug™ (formerly Lexicomp®) with a multidisciplinary team with advanced training and extensive clinical expertise, including pharmacists, clinicians, and leaders from all areas of healthcare. Drug monographs are developed in a clear, concise presentation for point-of-care use.

Download Drug Editorial Information
Drug Editorial Process Overview

Continuously updated drug referential information

Drug content within Lexidrug and UpToDate is evidence-based, meticulously reviewed, and developed from primary sources the healthcare community relies on, including primary literature, product labeling, base pharmacology studies, and clinical trials.

Pharmacist on a computer

Our proactive monitoring and drug updates include:

  • Daily surveillance of industry activity and primary literature so the information reflects contemporary medical practices and promotes relevance and clarity of content
  • Ongoing review of pharmaceutical manufacturer announcements and publications to find information on new drug availability, new dosage forms, revisions to contraindications, warnings, drug interactions, labeling changes, and more.
  • Weekly research to update information pertaining to medication guides, Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), and US drug shortages.
Learn About Drug Decision Support
Learn About Drug Decision Support

Drug information editorial process

graphic of drug information editorial process

  • Full graphic description

    1. New drug information is identified through regulatory updates, manufacturer data, and clinical or scientific literature.
    2. An internal team of healthcare professionals reviews and synthesizes the content.
    3. Additional research is conducted using medical journals, news, and industry sources.
    4. Drug monographs are reviewed and validated by an external panel of medical specialists.
    5. Clinical data is aligned with approved content and undergoes peer review and validation.
    6. Updated information is published and delivered through online, mobile, and web services.
    7. Industry sources are continuously monitored for new evidence.
    8. Content is updated as needed, following the same rigorous review process.

Expert physician editors

Meet a few of the more than 7,600 clinical experts compiling content each day.
Meet Our Experts

GRADE Policy

Learn about the graded recommendations available and how our experts arrive at their decisions.
Learn More

Editorial Policy

The UpToDate editorial policies are the foundation of the trusted content.
Learn More

Conflict of Interest

Our policy is designed to ensure that our content remains impartial and unbiased, without any advertising or sponsorships.
Learn More
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UpToDate Enterprise
Multi-user subscription options for hospitals and institutions
We offer enterprise subscriptions for provider organizations looking to align care teams and health professionals with the latest evidence-based clinical decision support for consistent, improved health outcomes.
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