Last updated: 2026-06-20
OpenEvidence is free for all 650,000 US physicians and delivers citation-backed answers from 300+ journals in under 10 seconds. Rated 4.9/5 on the App Store.
OpenEvidence is free for 650,000 US physicians and 1.2 million clinicians worldwide, delivering citation-backed answers from 300+ licensed journals including NEJM and JAMA in under 10 seconds. Launched in 2022, it is the only clinical AI with direct Epic EHR embedding at major health systems and is backed by $735M in funding at a $12B valuation.
OpenEvidence is a free AI medical search tool built specifically for physicians, launched in 2022 by Daniel Nadler and Zachary Ziegler. In under two years it became the fastest-adopted medical technology in US history, now used by 650,000 physicians across 10,000+ hospitals and covering 27 million clinical encounters in April 2026 alone. The platform delivers citation-backed answers from 300+ licensed medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and NCCN guidelines, across more than 1,000 diseases and 160 medical specialties. With $735 million in total funding and a $12 billion valuation as of January 2026, OpenEvidence has become the default clinical reference for a majority of US physicians. Every query runs through a real-time evidence retrieval engine that cross-references licensed journal databases rather than general internet content, meaning answers cite primary sources clinicians can click and verify. The core search product returns answers in 5 to 10 seconds, fast enough for point-of-care use during rounds. For complex cases requiring multi-study synthesis, DeepConsult goes deeper: physicians request a PhD-level research report and receive it in their inbox within hours. OpenEvidence added Coding Intelligence in March 2026 to automate ICD-10 diagnosis suggestions, E/M level recommendations with full MDM rationale, and CPT code sequences, helping physicians capture reimbursement they would otherwise miss. OpenEvidence is most useful for US-licensed physicians who want fast, citable answers at the point of care without paying for an UpToDate subscription ($559/year). Residents and rural practitioners, who often lack institutional access to premium clinical references, are among the heaviest users. The April 2026 Dotflows release lets clinicians write reusable natural-language prompts that pre-configure how OpenEvidence responds to their specialty or preferred workflow. At major health systems like Sutter Health and Mount Sinai (enterprise-wide deployment starting April 2026), OpenEvidence runs embedded inside Epic via FHIR, so physicians can query evidence without leaving the patient chart. The platform is entirely free for verified US healthcare professionals, funded by pharmaceutical advertising displayed during brief answer-loading moments with CPMs reported between $70 and $150. Access requires creating an account and entering a valid NPI number; no credit card or subscription is needed. Apps are available for iOS (rated 4.9/5 from 3,000+ App Store reviews) and Android (rated 4.7/5 from 3,900+ Play Store reviews), with Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets for quick point-of-care access. International access is limited: the UK and EU were geo-blocked in 2026 due to regulatory uncertainty around the EU AI Act. OpenEvidence holds HIPAA compliance and SOC 2 Type II certification, with data encrypted in transit and at rest, and a business associate agreement (BAA) available for covered entities. The company reached $100 million in annualized revenue by January 2026 entirely through pharmaceutical advertising. Content partnerships include NEJM, JAMA and all 11 JAMA specialty journals, NCCN, ACC, AAFP, ACEP, ADA, AAOS, FDA sources, and CDC guidelines, giving OpenEvidence licensed access to primary sources that general-purpose AI tools cannot legally index.
Free for all verified US healthcare professionals with no query limits or subscription tiers. Revenue is generated via pharmaceutical advertising during answer-loading screens (CPMs reportedly $70-$150+). No paid plans exist as of 2026. NPI number required for access; international and EU clinicians face restricted access.
OpenEvidence is a free AI medical search tool built specifically for physicians, used by 650,000 US doctors across 10,000+ hospitals as of 2026. Founded in 2022 by Daniel Nadler (who previously sold Kensho Technologies to S&P for $700 million) and Zachary Ziegler, it became the fastest-adopted medical technology in US history. The platform delivers citation-backed answers from 300+ licensed medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and NCCN guidelines, in 5 to 10 seconds per query. For complex clinical questions, DeepConsult generates comprehensive multi-study research reports delivered to a physician's inbox within hours. OpenEvidence also launched Coding Intelligence in March 2026 to automate ICD-10 coding, E/M documentation, and CPT billing, and Dotflows in April 2026 to let clinicians customize AI behavior with reusable natural-language workflows. The company raised $735 million in total funding and was valued at $12 billion in January 2026.
OpenEvidence is completely free for all verified US healthcare professionals with no subscription tiers, rate limits, or credit card required. Access is funded by pharmaceutical advertising displayed during the brief loading period while answers generate; CPMs are reported to be between $70 and $150. You need a valid National Provider Identifier (NPI) number to register, which limits free access to licensed US clinicians. Clinicians in the UK and EU face no access at all, as OpenEvidence geo-blocked those regions in 2026 due to EU AI Act uncertainty. The CEO Daniel Nadler has indicated publicly that the ad-supported model may change over time, though no paid tier or enterprise subscription pricing has been announced. OpenEvidence reached $100 million in annualized revenue by January 2026 entirely through pharmaceutical advertising. For context, the main clinical reference alternative, UpToDate, costs $559 per year.
The core feature is evidence search, which returns citation-backed answers from 300+ licensed journals in 5 to 10 seconds, covering 1,000+ diseases and 160 medical specialties. DeepConsult is an AI agent that synthesizes multi-study evidence into PhD-level reports delivered to a physician's inbox within hours for complex cases. Coding Intelligence, launched March 2026, automatically suggests ICD-10 diagnoses, E/M level recommendations, MDM rationale, and CPT codes at the end of every clinical note. Dotflows, released April 2026, lets clinicians create reusable natural-language prompts to customize how OpenEvidence responds to their specialty or workflow, with a community library for sharing. OpenEvidence integrates directly into Epic EHR via FHIR at health systems including Sutter Health and Mount Sinai, letting physicians search evidence without leaving the patient chart. The platform is available on web, iOS (4.9/5 on the App Store), and Android (4.7/5 on Play Store), with Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets. Content partnerships cover NEJM, JAMA and all 11 JAMA specialty journals, ACC, AAFP, ACEP, ADA, AAOS, FDA sources, and CDC guidelines.
Yes, OpenEvidence is completely free for verified US healthcare professionals with no limits on queries or features. To access it, create an account at openevidence.com and enter your NPI (National Provider Identifier) number, which confirms you are a licensed US clinician. Revenue comes from pharmaceutical advertising shown during loading screens rather than from user subscriptions. DeepConsult and Coding Intelligence are both included at no additional cost for verified clinicians. Clinicians outside the US face restricted access; the UK and EU were geo-blocked in 2026 due to regulatory uncertainty around the EU AI Act. No paid plan exists at this time, though the CEO has signaled the ad-supported model may evolve in the future. UpToDate, the main clinical reference alternative, costs $559 per year by comparison.
The most commonly cited alternatives in 2026 are UpToDate, Doximity DoxGPT, and Vera Health. UpToDate offers stronger editorial rigor curated by 7,400+ physician authors across 12,000+ topics but costs $559/year and does not match OpenEvidence's AI speed. Doximity DoxGPT, built on the largest US physician network (3 million+ registered members), combines clinical answers, drug monographs, PeerCheck peer review, and telehealth features alongside networking. Vera Health is a newer free alternative covering 60 million+ peer-reviewed papers with 800+ medical calculators and drug dosing tools, which OpenEvidence currently lacks. ChatGPT for Clinicians, launched by OpenAI in 2026, offers broader medical reasoning at no cost but does not have the same licensed journal partnerships or NPI-gated HIPAA compliance. General-purpose tools like Claude or Perplexity can answer medical questions but lack physician-specific journal licensing and NPI verification. OpenEvidence's main advantage is the combination of free access, sub-10-second answers, and direct citation links to licensed NEJM and JAMA content.
OpenEvidence is best for US-licensed physicians who need fast, evidence-backed answers at the point of care without a subscription fee. Medical residents and early-career clinicians at institutions without UpToDate access are among the most frequent users, given the zero-cost model. Hospitalists and attending physicians at health systems running Epic benefit most from the FHIR-based EHR integration, which lets them query evidence without switching applications. Primary care physicians handling a wide range of conditions benefit from coverage across 160+ specialties and 1,000+ disease topics. Clinicians who need automated billing support will find Coding Intelligence useful for reducing ICD-10 and CPT coding time. OpenEvidence is not suited for clinicians outside the US (geo-blocked in UK and EU), nor for those who need drug dosing calculators or differential diagnosis generation, which Vera Health provides. Veterinarians, dentists, and non-physician healthcare workers may face access limitations, as NPI verification targets licensed physician-level clinicians.
Go to openevidence.com, click Sign Up, and enter your name, email address, and password to create a free account. After registration, enter your NPI (National Provider Identifier) number; OpenEvidence verifies you are a licensed US healthcare professional before granting full access. Once verified, type any clinical question in plain language into the search bar; answers typically arrive in 5 to 10 seconds with citations. Download the iOS app from the App Store (App ID 6612007783) or the Android app from Google Play to access OpenEvidence on your phone during rounds. Enable the Lock Screen or Home Screen widget on your mobile device for one-tap access to the search bar during shifts. For complex cases, select DeepConsult after entering your question to request a comprehensive multi-study synthesis report, delivered to your email within a few hours. Create Dotflows from the settings menu to pre-configure response styles for your specific specialty or preferred clinical workflow.
OpenEvidence and ChatGPT for Clinicians both deliver AI-powered clinical answers for free, but differ significantly in data sourcing, compliance, and access model. OpenEvidence draws exclusively from 300+ licensed peer-reviewed journals including NEJM and JAMA, with direct citation links; ChatGPT for Clinicians uses OpenAI's GPT models trained on broader web data, without the same licensed journal partnerships. OpenEvidence requires NPI verification, limiting use to licensed US clinicians and enabling HIPAA-compliant infrastructure with SOC 2 Type II certification; ChatGPT for Clinicians does not enforce NPI-gating. OpenEvidence is embedded directly inside Epic EHR at major health systems via FHIR, while ChatGPT for Clinicians operates as a standalone interface. For quick point-of-care evidence lookup with auditable citations, OpenEvidence is the stronger clinical choice. For broader medical writing, patient communication drafts, or general reasoning tasks outside a structured evidence format, ChatGPT for Clinicians has wider scope. OpenEvidence adds specialized features like Coding Intelligence for billing automation and Dotflows for workflow customization that ChatGPT for Clinicians does not currently offer.