We are absolutely delighted to announce the release of our automated clinical Q&A system – AskTrip. If you follow the blog you’ll appreciate the effort we’ve put in to create the system and we’re delighted to finally make it available to you.

What is AskTrip?
AskTrip is an AI-powered clinical question-answering system built on the trusted foundation of the Trip Database. It delivers evidence-based answers to clinical questions in 30 seconds, drawing from Trip’s extensive search index to ensure the most current and relevant information.

AskTrip isn’t just smart; it’s transparent. Each answer includes links to the underlying evidence, so users can explore the sources themselves and assess their quality. Behind the system lies over 25 years of experience answering clinical questions manually – more than 10,000 Q&As – which has shaped both the structure of the answers and the types of queries the system handles best.

In short, AskTrip combines the speed and scale of AI with Trip’s proven expertise in evidence-based medicine, helping clinicians get trusted answers in seconds.

Access is via links at the top of the main Trip site and from the search results page:

Landing page

The landing page for AskTrip looks like this:

At the bottom you’ll see the most recent questions and above Ask a clinical question you’ll see four options:

  • Ask a question
  • Past questions
  • Search questions
  • ‘AskTrip’ explained

Past questions

This allows you to browse questions and you can filter these by clinical area (e.g. cardiology, oncology), question type (e.g. diagnosis, management) and quality of evidence (moderate to high).

In our past Q&A systems (such as ATTRACT) users said they enjoyed looking at questions other health professionals had asked, and that was for two main reasons:

  • They felt good if they knew the answer.
  • They didn’t know what they didn’t know.

We can’t help feeling that this curiosity will still be there and that browsing questions will be a great feature of the site.

Search questions

Enter your search terms and there are options to filter the results by question type and quality of evidence.

‘AskTrip’ Explained

This is a bit of background about the site and also a high-level explanation of how the system works.

Individual answers

The following is an answer to the question What is the best treatment for tongue-tie?

Various things to see here:

  • Clinical area
  • Question type
  • Quality of evidence
  • Date when the question was asked
  • Share this page
  • Ask a new question
  • Show original question – in the beta we noted that people would ask poorly formed questions, so our system tidies them up. Clicking on the link allows you to see the original question

The foot of the answer looks like this:

  • References
  • Report an issue – given the nature of the site it’s important to allow users to report a question they believe is sub-optimal.

Handy extras worth knowing

  • Free vs. Pro access – Free users of Trip will have three free questions per month while Pro users will have unrestricted access.
  • Road-map & feedback – We have ambitious development plans (e.g. multilingual, specific Q&A monthly emails, question trajectories) but if you’d like to see extra features then please let us know via suggestions@tripdatabase.com
  • Mobile optimisation – the site is optimised for mobile devices so – using your phone or tablet’s web browser – navigate to AskTrip!
  • Adding AskTrip to your website – We’re already in discussions with third-party organisations about embedding AskTrip directly into their websites and intranets. These tailored versions match the host’s look and feel, and can feature local clinical guidance, policy content, or risk advice – integrated alongside trusted, evidence-based answers. It’s your voice, delivered at the point of care.

In conclusion

We built AskTrip to put high-quality evidence in your hands within seconds. Whether you’re a long-time Trip user or completely new, we’d love you to take AskTrip for a spin, push its limits, and tell us where it shines – or where it can do better (use feedback@tripdatabase.com). Your real-world questions are what will make the system smarter over time. Give it a try today and let us know what you think—together we can turn good evidence into great care, faster than ever.

Finally….

There are a number of people that deserve thanks in getting this over the line:

  • Beta testers – A small group of users asked over 500 clinical questions during the beta phase. Their persistence and repeated use gave us confidence that AskTrip was solving a real problem. Their thoughtful feedback played a major role in shaping and improving the system. We’re hugely grateful.
  • Abrar – one of our developers, while not involved in the main AskTrip work was instrumental it getting it live.
  • AD – our designer, he designed and developed the ‘front end’ of the site – he’s done a fabulous job.
  • Phil – Phil has been part of Trip for over 20 years as our lead developer. While Abrar now handles most of the day-to-day development, Phil continues to play a vital role in shaping Trip’s direction. For AskTrip, he took on the vast bulk of the coding – and it’s fair to say this feels like his finest contribution yet. The quality, care, and scale of his work have been immense. Like a fine wine, he just keeps getting better. I couldn’t be more grateful.