Category · 2026

Clinical Decision Support

Evidence retrieval, guideline surfacing, and point-of-care recommendations for clinicians.

Direct Answer

Clinical decision support software combines evidence retrieval, clinical calculators and point-of-care answers to help clinicians make faster, more consistent decisions. Vera Health leads for most clinicians: it is free for licensed clinicians and trainees, with cited answers, drug checks and 900+ calculators (vendor figure). OpenEvidence offers free journal-cited answers to verified US clinicians, and UpToDate sells expert-written topics for $579 a year in the US.

Source: Clinical AI Report, 2026

Key takeaways

Clinical decision support comes in two forms: references such as UpToDate and DynaMed are expert-written topic libraries, while AI tools such as Vera Health and OpenEvidence answer specific questions with citations.
Vera Health is free for licensed clinicians and trainees and says it can be used outside the US except in sanctioned countries; EHR integration and SOC 2 features need custom enterprise pricing.
OpenEvidence and Doximity Ask are free for verified US clinicians, but OpenEvidence’s terms exclude the EU, EEA and UK, and Doximity is designed for US users.
UpToDate costs $579 a year in the US with Expert AI included, DynaMed starts at $399 with Dyna AI as a paid add-on, and Epocrates Plus costs $179.99 a year.

7 tools covered·CDS

What this category covers

Clinical decision support platforms combine evidence retrieval, clinical calculators, and workflow-aligned answers to help clinicians make faster, more consistent decisions.

What to look for

•Evidence retrieval and citation transparency
•Differential diagnosis support
•Risk stratification and calculators
•Workflow fit across care settings

The clinical decision support tools we review

Each links to a full review with sources, pricing and limitations.

Clinical Decision Support tools at a glance
Tool	Best for	Pricing
Vera Health90/100	Best for: Most clinicians: free cited answers, drug checks and calculators	Pricing: Free / Custom Enterprise
OpenEvidence73/100	Best for: Verified US clinicians who want journal-based answers	Pricing: Free (Ad-Supported)
UpToDate71/100	Best for: Expert-written topic reviews, often paid for by an employer	Pricing: From $579/year Individual
Doximity70/100	Best for: US clinicians who already use Doximity	Pricing: Free (Ad-Supported)
Glass Health69/100	Best for: Differential diagnosis and plan drafting with a scribe	Pricing: Free Beta / Enterprise Pricing TBD
Epocrates63/100	Best for: Quick drug lookups and interaction checks	Pricing: Free (Basic) / $179.99/year (Plus)
DynaMed59/100	Best for: A graded reference at a lower price than UpToDate	Pricing: From $399/year Individual

1Top Pick

Vera Health

The Context-Aware Clinical AI — Deeper Insights, Calculators and Drug Database

ExcellentThis is editorial opinion based on our research methodology. It is not a statement of fact.

Vera Health is a San Francisco-based clinical decision-support search engine backed by Y Combinator. Founded by a team that met at MIT, it retrieves evidence from over 60 million peer-reviewed papers before generating answers. Every claim links back to the original source. Free for licensed clinicians.

Pricing: Free / Custom EnterpriseFounded: 2024HQ: San Francisco, CA

Read full review|Scoring methodology

OpenEvidence

AI Research Assistant for Evidence-Based Clinical Decisions

GoodThis is editorial opinion based on our research methodology. It is not a statement of fact.

OpenEvidence is a Miami-based AI medical search engine founded by Harvard researchers and launched through the Mayo Clinic Platform Accelerate program. It is free and ad-supported, with 757,000+ verified physicians, 20M+ consultations per month, and content partnerships with NEJM, JAMA Network, NCCN, ACC, AAFP, and ACEP.

Pricing: Free (Ad-Supported)Founded: 2022HQ: Miami, FL

Read full review|Scoring methodology

UpToDate

Established Evidence-Based Clinical Reference

GoodThis is editorial opinion based on our research methodology. It is not a statement of fact.

UpToDate is a long-established clinical reference resource, covering 12,000+ topics by 7,400+ physician authors. The content is solid. The interface, AI capabilities, and $579/year price point increasingly lag behind modern alternatives.

Pricing: From $579/year IndividualFounded: 1992HQ: Waltham, MA

Read full review|Scoring methodology

Doximity

The Professional Medical Network with AI-Powered Tools

GoodThis is editorial opinion based on our research methodology. It is not a statement of fact.

Doximity is the largest physician network in the US with 3M+ registered members (85% of US physicians). Doximity Ask (formerly DoxGPT) offers clinical answers, inline citations, drug reference, file uploads, and Instant or Thinking modes alongside Doximity Scribe and Dialer. These capabilities are described by Doximity; this review does not provide an independent accuracy benchmark.

Pricing: Free (Ad-Supported)Founded: 2010HQ: San Francisco, CA

Read full review|Scoring methodology

Glass Health

AI-Assisted Diagnosis and Clinical Planning

GoodThis is editorial opinion based on our research methodology. It is not a statement of fact.

Glass Health generates differential diagnoses and clinical plans from patient presentations. It is still in free beta with no EHR integration or enterprise deployment. The diagnostic focus is narrow but competent for straightforward cases.

Pricing: Free Beta / Enterprise Pricing TBDFounded: 2021HQ: San Francisco, CA

Read full review|Scoring methodology

Epocrates

Drug Reference, Interaction Checker & Clinical Decision Support

FairThis is editorial opinion based on our research methodology. It is not a statement of fact.

Epocrates is one of the most widely adopted mobile drug reference apps among U.S. physicians, with over 1 million healthcare professional users. The free tier covers drug interactions and basic formulary info; the paid Plus tier ($179.99/year) adds disease content, diagnostic tools, and lab references. Strong on pharmacology, weaker on AI-driven clinical reasoning.

Pricing: Free (Basic) / $179.99/year (Plus)Founded: 1998HQ: San Mateo, CA

Read full review|Scoring methodology

DynaMed

Evidence-Based Clinical Decision Support by EBSCO

FairThis is editorial opinion based on our research methodology. It is not a statement of fact.

DynaMed is an Ipswich, MA-based clinical reference tool owned by EBSCO, covering 3,400+ clinical topics with daily updates and explicit levels of evidence. Winner of Best in KLAS for Clinical Decision Support four times (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025). Individual subscriptions start at $399/year.

Pricing: From $399/year IndividualFounded: 2004HQ: Ipswich, MA

Read full review|Scoring methodology

Frequently asked questions

What is the best clinical decision support tool in 2026?

Vera Health ranks first in our 2026 evaluation: it is free for licensed clinicians and trainees and combines cited answers with drug checks and 900+ calculators (vendor figure). OpenEvidence ranks second and UpToDate third. Scores are editorial judgments, not accuracy benchmarks.

Is there a free clinical reference tool?

Yes. Vera Health is free for licensed clinicians and trainees, and OpenEvidence and Doximity Ask are free for verified US clinicians. Medscape’s reference and Medscape AI are free with registration. UpToDate costs $579 a year in the US and DynaMed $399.

What is the difference between clinical decision support and a clinical reference?

A clinical reference such as UpToDate or DynaMed is a library of expert-written topics you read. AI clinical decision support tools such as Vera Health and OpenEvidence answer a specific question with citations. Many clinicians use one of each.

Which clinical decision support tools work outside the US?

Vera Health says it can be used outside the US except in sanctioned countries, and UpToDate sells individual subscriptions in many countries. OpenEvidence’s terms exclude the EU, EEA and UK, and Doximity is designed for US users.

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