American Doctors Turn to OpenEvidence AI as Free Clinical Companion

NBC News reports that OpenEvidence, a free AI-powered medical search tool, is now used by about 65% of U.S. doctors and roughly 1.2 million clinicians worldwide, handling tens of millions of queries to aid clinical decisions, exam prep, and note-taking. It aims to supplement clinicians’ judgment with rapid, licensed evidence from top journals and organizations. While widely praised for speed and access to high-quality sources, experts warn of potential hallucinations, gaps in patient-outcome research, privacy concerns, and the risk of overreliance among trainees. Hospitals vary in privacy practices and some are integrating it with electronic health records, as competition with UpToDate and other AI tools grows; OpenEvidence is ad-supported, free for users, and undergoing ongoing studies to assess its impact on care.