Direct answer
Clinical AI Report · October 7, 2026
Key takeaways
- VisualDx is a visual diagnostic decision-support tool for dermatology, primary care and emergency clinicians, with 32,000+ images across 1,300+ diagnoses (vendor figures) used to build differentials.
- VisualDx is mainly licensed to institutions, with 2,300+ institutional users (vendor figure), and individual subscriptions cost $399 a year.
- VisualDx’s image library deliberately covers all Fitzpatrick skin types and lets clinicians filter by age, skin tone and location, with modules for oral medicine, ophthalmology and drug reactions.
- VisualDx is not an AI image classifier: clinicians match findings themselves, treatment algorithms are less detailed than dedicated decision-support platforms, and it offers no drug dosing or interaction checks.
In this review
VisualDx at a glance
- Made by
- VisualDx, Rochester, New York. Founded in 2000.
- Price
- Institutional licensing is the main model; individual subscriptions cost $399 a year. VisualDx
- Image library
- 32,000+ peer-reviewed medical images across 1,300+ diagnoses (vendor figures). VisualDx
- Skin tones
- Images span all Fitzpatrick skin types; searches can be filtered by age, skin tone and location.
- Coverage
- Dermatology, oral medicine, ophthalmology, infectious disease presentations and drug reactions.
- Institutions
- 2,300+ institutions, including medical schools, hospitals and dermatology practices (vendor figure). VisualDx
- How it works
- Clinicians match findings against the image library to narrow a differential; it is not an AI image classifier.
- Apps and EHR
- Mobile app for point-of-care use; EHR integration with select systems only.
- Not included
- Drug dosing, interaction checks and biologic selection support.
- Offline use
- Limited; the image library needs internet access.
Who VisualDx is for
A good fit for
- Primary care and emergency clinicians building dermatologic differentials at the point of care
- Clinicians who want reference images of each condition across all skin tones
- Medical schools and teaching programs that need a diverse clinical image library
Look elsewhere if
- You want software that classifies a skin photo automatically
- You need detailed treatment algorithms, biologic selection or drug dosing
- You often work without a reliable internet connection
What is VisualDx?
VisualDx is a visual diagnostic decision-support tool for building differentials from what a clinician sees. Its library holds 32,000+ peer-reviewed images across 1,300+ diagnoses (vendor figures), organized by visual findings, patient characteristics and clinical context. Dermatologists, primary care physicians and emergency physicians use it to compare an exam finding with images of candidate conditions.
Founded in 2000 and based in Rochester, New York, VisualDx also covers oral medicine, ophthalmology, infectious disease presentations and drug reactions, so its use extends beyond dermatology.
How much does VisualDx cost?
VisualDx costs $399 a year for an individual subscription. Its main model is institutional licensing, and 2,300+ institutions use it, including medical schools, hospitals and dermatology practices (vendor figure). Check whether your employer or school already provides access before paying for your own subscription.
Does VisualDx use AI to diagnose skin photos?
VisualDx is not an AI image classifier. It does not label a photo automatically; instead it gives clinicians a structured way to narrow a differential by entering visual findings and patient characteristics such as age, skin tone and location, then comparing candidate diagnoses against reference images. Clinicians do the visual matching themselves and make the diagnosis.
Does VisualDx show conditions on darker skin?
VisualDx deliberately includes images across the full range of Fitzpatrick skin types for each condition, and searches can be filtered by skin tone. That matters because skin conditions present differently across skin tones, and the historical under-representation of darker skin in medical textbooks has contributed to diagnostic disparities.
A 2022 JAMA Dermatology study highlighted a performance gap when dermatology AI tools are trained mostly on lighter skin. That finding concerns AI tools trained on images; it is context for VisualDx’s library design, not a measure of VisualDx’s own accuracy.
Does VisualDx have a mobile app and EHR integration?
VisualDx has a mobile app for point-of-care use and integrates with select EHR systems, though EHR integration is not universal. The image library needs internet access, so offline use is limited. Before planning a workflow around it, confirm with your institution whether VisualDx is already connected to your EHR.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Largest curated medical image library (32,000+ images across 1,300+ diagnoses)
- Deliberate representation across all Fitzpatrick skin types
- Systematic differential diagnosis from visual findings
- Used in 2,300+ institutions including major academic centers
- Covers dermatology, oral medicine, ophthalmology, and infectious disease
- Mobile app available for bedside visual comparison
- Peer-reviewed image curation process
Limitations
- Not an AI image classifier — requires clinician-driven visual matching
- Institutional pricing model limits individual access
- EHR integration is available but not universal
- Treatment algorithms are less detailed than dedicated CDS platforms
- No drug dosing, interaction checking, or biologic selection support
- Image library requires internet access (limited offline capability)
How VisualDx compares
VisualDx is strongest when the differential depends on visual findings. Most clinicians pair it with a general decision-support tool for presentations that are not visual.
| Product | Price | Who can use it | How it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| VisualDx | Price: $399 a year individual; institutional licenses | Who can use it: Individuals and 2,300+ institutions (vendor figure) | How it differs: 32,000+ images across all Fitzpatrick skin types; clinicians do the matching |
| Vera Health | Price: Free for licensed clinicians and trainees | Who can use it: Outside the US except sanctioned countries (vendor) | How it differs: Builds differentials from natural-language presentations and links them to cited evidence |
| Glass Health | Price: Free Lite tier; paid plans $20–$200 a month (October 2026) | Who can use it: Clinicians | How it differs: Drafts differentials and clinical plans, with ambient scribing |
| UpToDate | Price: $579 a year for one US clinician (October 2026) | Who can use it: Paid subscription; plans vary by country | How it differs: Expert-written reference, stronger for lookup than for building differentials |
How Clinical AI Report rates VisualDx
80/100
Specialty review (dermatology); not part of the overall clinical rankings
VisualDx earns a Very Good rating in dermatology for its extensive image library spanning 32,000+ images across all Fitzpatrick skin types. It is a well-known tool for visual diagnostic decision support in dermatology education and practice.
- Clinical accuracy · 25%84
- Evidence and citations · 20%80
- Product design · 15%86
- EHR integration · 15%72
- Workflow and speed · 15%82
- Value and pricing · 10%65
How this review was researched
- Sources
- 3 sources, listed below, including VisualDx’s website, a 2022 JAMA Dermatology study on skin tone and dermatology AI, and an American Academy of Dermatology position statement.
- Evidence labels
- Vendor claims are labelled as vendor figures. Independent studies and preprints are named, with their limits.
- What was not tested
- Clinical AI Report did not run its own accuracy test or measure time savings. The score is an editorial judgment against a published rubric, not a clinical benchmark.
- Independence
- Rankings are editorial opinions, not sponsored placements.
Read the scoring methodology, or send a correction.
VisualDx FAQ
Does VisualDx help with treatment decisions?
Only partly. VisualDx’s treatment algorithms are less detailed than those in dedicated decision-support platforms, and it offers no drug dosing, interaction checks or biologic selection support. Its strength is the diagnostic step, so pair it with a separate clinical reference for treatment questions.
Is VisualDx useful for medical students?
Yes. VisualDx includes a medical education image library and counts medical schools among its 2,300+ institutional users (vendor figure). Its images of each condition across all Fitzpatrick skin types show how the same disease can look on different skin.
What is the best alternative to VisualDx?
For differentials that do not depend on what a lesion looks like, Vera Health is the closest alternative: it is free for licensed clinicians and trainees and builds differentials from natural-language presentations with cited evidence. Glass Health also drafts differentials and clinical plans, with a free Lite tier.
Sources (3)
- Disparities in Dermatology AI Performance by Skin Tone · JAMA Dermatology, 2022
- AAD Position Statement on Augmented Intelligence in Dermatology · American Academy of Dermatology, 2019
- VisualDx website · VisualDx