Guides to reading, filtering, and staying on top of the medical literature — without drowning in journals.
A personal account from a serving NHS palliative medicine consultant: why keeping up is harder than it sounds, why searching is not the same as reading, and the small weekly habit — and the digest — that finally made staying current sustainable.
NICE updated its chronic heart failure guideline (NG106) in September 2025, extending SGLT2 inhibitors and MRAs beyond reduced ejection fraction to mildly-reduced and preserved ejection fraction. Here is what changed, and a plain-English refresher on NG106 for UK clinicians.
NICE updated its hypertension guideline (NG136) on 26 February 2026 with a new recommendation on healthy-living advice for people with raised blood pressure who do not have diagnosed hypertension. Here is what changed, and a plain-English refresher on NG136 for busy UK clinicians.
NG245 — the joint BTS, NICE and SIGN asthma guideline — overhauled diagnosis (blood eosinophils and FeNO first) and treatment (AIR and MART, the end of SABA-only) for people aged 12 and over. A plain-English guide for UK primary care.
DOACs first-line, CHA2DS2-VASc to decide who to treat, ORBIT for bleeding risk, and no role for aspirin — NICE NG196 reshaped AF stroke prevention, and the work sits in primary care. A plain-English UK guide, including DOAC choice and the edoxaban-first formulary shift.
TA1075 expanded dapagliflozin for CKD to adults without type 2 diabetes, and prescribing SGLT2 inhibitors for kidney protection is now largely a primary-care job. A plain-English guide for UK clinicians — eligibility, the standard-care add-on rule, the early eGFR dip, cautions, and the register review that finds eligible patients.
The NICE NG238 lipid pathway shapes how UK primary care prescribes statins. A plain-English guide — QRISK3 thresholds, shared decisions below 10%, atorvastatin 20mg and 80mg, the greater-than-40% non-HDL aim for primary prevention, and the LDL and non-HDL targets for secondary prevention.
Journal digest or medical podcast — which is the better way for UK doctors to keep current? A practical comparison of retention, CPD value, and time efficiency.
Ad-free clinical AI is becoming its own category. Here is the short list of tools UK doctors can use that carry no advertising — and the specific job each one does.
The best medical journal digest apps for iOS and Android in 2026 — compared on offline reading, CPD logging, and what actually works on an NHS commute.
Our monthly NICE CKS round-up: the recently updated Clinical Knowledge Summaries topics that matter in UK primary care, each with a one-line takeaway and a link to the source.
Two menopause guidance changes landed in 2026: NICE recommended fezolinetant as a non-hormonal option for vasomotor symptoms, and updated NG23 on unscheduled bleeding. A plain-English summary for UK clinicians.
Two MRCP(UK) changes land in 2026: a 3.6% fee rise from July and Part 1 moving in-centre from September. Plus a station-by-station 12-week PACES plan built for working registrars.
Praxis Medicine launched in 2026 as a UK-focused clinical AI search tool. Here's what it does, where its sources come from, and the one job it does not do — keeping you current with the literature.
The guideline changes and developments worth a UK clinician's attention this month — menopause, obesity prescribing, diabetes — each summarised with a link to the detail.
Tirzepatide for obesity moved into the 2026/27 GP QOF on 1 April 2026. A plain-English summary of NICE TA1026 eligibility, the primary-care prescribing model, and what UK GPs need to know.
OpenEvidence withdrew. ChatGPT for Clinicians launched with the UK excluded. Heidi Evidence restricted its in-session use. Three credible AI tools pulled back from UK point-of-care use in six weeks. Here's the pattern — and the two-tool setup we recommend instead.
The 2026 NICE NG28 update made SGLT2 inhibitors first-line for most adults with type 2 diabetes. A practical guide to UK primary-care prescribing — agents, eligibility, cautions, sick-day rules, and what still requires metformin.
Heidi Evidence is one of 2026's most capable UK-relevant clinical AI tools — but in the UK and EU it can't be used during a live patient session. Here's what the in-session restriction means and how to work around it.
The 18 February 2026 NICE NG28 update is the biggest change to UK type 2 diabetes prescribing in years. SGLT2 inhibitors are now first-line for almost all adults. Here's a plain-English summary for busy UK clinicians.
ChatGPT for Clinicians launched in April 2026 but explicitly excludes the UK and EEA. Here's what it does, why UK doctors are locked out, and what's actually available.
Every new palliative care paper from the field's five leading journals, every Monday. Plain-language summaries, written for NHS clinicians by a serving consultant in the specialty.
NEJM Journal Watch is now NEJM Clinician. Here's how it compares to The Monday Clinical Brief in 2026 — price, coverage, UK alignment, and which one fits your workflow.
UpToDate and MCB solve different problems. One is a reference you consult. The other is a digest that keeps you current. Most UK doctors need both — here's why.
OpenEvidence is gone from the UK. Here's what actually fills the gap — and why staying current with the literature is a different problem from clinical Q&A.
Heidi Evidence is free and powerful — but it solves a different problem. Here's why UK doctors still need a weekly digest alongside evidence lookup tools.
A head-to-head comparison of journal digest services available to UK doctors — features, pricing, CPD integration, and specialty coverage.
Feeling overwhelmed by the volume of medical journals? You are not alone. Here is what evidence-based doctors actually do to stay current.
The most notable papers published this week across major medical journals — quick clinical summaries for doctors who don't have time to read everything.
Five practical strategies for busy UK doctors to stay current with the medical literature — without sacrificing every evening and weekend.
The definitive guide to medical journal digests — what they are, how they work, and how UK clinicians use them to stay evidence-based.