Trip Database Blog

Every day, health professionals grapple with countless clinical questions. Some are straightforward, with clear answers found in guidelines or textbooks. Others spark debate, inspire curiosity, and feel worth sharing. But what makes one question stand out as more “interesting” than another?

At AskTrip, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this. For us, an “interesting” clinical question isn’t simply unusual — it’s one that resonates with professionals because it touches on the realities of care, challenges assumptions, or sheds light on evolving areas of medicine.

To bring some structure to this, we’ve developed a scoring system. It looks at elements such as:

• Clinical impact — will the answer meaningfully affect decisions or outcomes?
• Breadth — is it relevant across specialties or patient groups?
• Uncertainty or controversy — are there conflicting views or evolving evidence?
• Novelty and timeliness — does it involve new drugs, recent guidelines, or emerging issues?
• Complexity and nuance — does it require careful reasoning beyond the obvious?

Each question is scored across these dimensions (maximum score = 5). Here are some examples:

• What is the impact of homelessness on diabetes management and outcomes? → 4.1
  Broad relevance, strong evidence base, significant clinical and policy impact.
• Are there specific guidelines or recommendations for cannabis use during pregnancy from major health organizations? → 4.1
  Timely, controversial, and highly relevant to everyday practice.
• How can sarcopenia be prevented after treatment with semaglutide? → 4.0
  A novel question linked to one of the hottest areas in medicine.
• Best management for a first pregnancy at 26 weeks with cervical length of 1.2 cm? → 3.7
  High clinical impact, clear practical stakes, though narrower in breadth.
• Are two HbA1c tests diagnostic of diabetes even if conducted years apart? → 3.6
  Practical and relevant to many clinicians, with some guideline nuance.
• What are the current recommended treatments for Taenia saginata infection? → 2.6
  Important in context, but largely settled with little controversy or novelty.
• Can Zactin affect sleep? → 2.3
  Very narrow and duplicative of existing fluoxetine-related evidence.

As these results show, the most interesting questions tend to blend impact, breadth, and uncertainty, while also tapping into novelty or a strong curiosity hook. These are the ones that spark debate, inspire teaching moments, and make clinicians pause to think differently about care.

At AskTrip, we’re building this scoring into our platform, so health professionals can quickly discover the questions most likely to provoke insight, debate, and better decision-making. After all, the right question is often the first step toward the right answer.