Executive summary
For UK GPs, the annual appraisal is a cornerstone of professional life and revalidation. The process in 2025 is defined by the GMC’s requirement for six types of supporting information and the RCGP’s strong emphasis on meaningful reflection and quality over quantity. It's not about chasing an arbitrary number of hours, but about demonstrating the impact of your learning on your practice (GMC UK, rcgp.org.uk).
The digital toolkit market for managing this process is dominated by two excellent platforms: Agilio Clarity Doctors, which is widely used in England and offers deep integration with other Agilio products like TeamNet, and FourteenFish, known for its user-friendly mobile apps and frictionless CPD capture. This guide provides a practical comparison of these tools, clarifies the role of the MAG 2022 approach, and explains how artificial intelligence can be used safely and effectively to help you write high-impact reflective notes, with tools like iatroX helping you to capture and export that learning.
What “good” appraisal evidence looks like in 2025
The GMC requires you to collect and reflect on six types of supporting information over your five-year revalidation cycle:
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
- Quality Improvement Activity (QIA)
- Significant Events / Serious Incidents
- Feedback from Patients
- Feedback from Colleagues
- Compliments and Complaints
The RCGP’s current stance is to prioritise impactful learning and concise, meaningful summaries over long, exhaustive lists. Remember, a verbal reflection with your appraiser during the meeting is a valid and valuable form of evidence. While many in primary care still use the convention of aiming for around 50 CPD credits per year (where 1 hour of learning ≈ 1 credit), the focus for your portfolio should always be on the quality and impact of the reflection (cpdconnect.nhs.scot, NHS England).
The toolkit landscape: FourteenFish vs Agilio Clarity
Agilio Clarity Doctors (Primary Care & Hospital variants)
- Positioning: Clarity is the long-standing appraisal and revalidation portfolio used by a very large share of GPs across England. Its key strength lies in its deep integration with the wider Agilio ecosystem, including TeamNet, the iLearn e-learning platform, and the AMP mobile app for CPD logging. It is a robust, enterprise-grade solution with ISO 27001 certification and UK-based data centres (Agilio Software).
- Buyer notes: For practices, PCNs, and ICBs, Clarity offers powerful organisational dashboards and reporting features that align with NHS templates.
FourteenFish Appraisal Toolkit
- Positioning: FourteenFish is known for its modern, intuitive user interface and its focus on making CPD capture as frictionless as possible. Its Learning Diary and Portfolio mobile apps are highly regarded, and it features a popular "email-to-diary" function that allows you to forward learning evidence directly into your portfolio. It also has strong links with the RCGP, including offers for First5 GPs (fourteenfish.com).
- Practical touches: The platform includes integrated surveys for patient (PSQ) and colleague (MSF) feedback, a library of educational modules, and has recently consolidated its mobile offering into the new "Portfolio" app (fourteenfish.com, Google Play).
Selector tip: If your practice is heavily invested in the Agilio TeamNet or iLearn ecosystem and you want deeply embedded MSF workflows, Clarity can reduce the need to switch between different platforms. If your priority is fast, on-the-go CPD capture via mobile app or email and a lighter user experience, FourteenFish is often the preferred choice.
Where MAG sits now
The old, paper-based MAG (Medical Appraisal Guide) form has now been officially discontinued by NHS England. The current approach is based on the Medical Appraisal Guide 2022 model, and both Clarity and FourteenFish have aligned their portfolio structures to this new framework (NHS England). Unless your Responsible Officer (RO) specifically instructs you otherwise, you should be using a recognised electronic portfolio platform.
How AI can (safely) help with reflective practice and CPD
Artificial intelligence can be a powerful "reflection helper," but it must be used ethically and safely. The GMC's guidance on reflective practice provides the essential guardrails: reflections must be personal, must not contain any patient-identifiable information, and should focus on your learning, any changes to your practice, and the resulting impact (GMC UK).
Sensible, AI-assisted uses include:
- Turning your anonymised bullet-point notes from a learning event into a structured, reflective paragraph.
- Drafting concise impact statements for your CPD or Quality Improvement Activities.
- Summarising key themes from patient or colleague feedback before you write your personal reflection.
- Generating phrasing for your Personal Development Plan (PDP) goals that aligns with the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) framework.
Tools like iatroX can support this workflow. You can use the Ask iatroX feature to quickly look up the UK guidance (from NICE, CKS, or SIGN) that underpins a learning event, and then use the iatroX CPD feature to capture that cited Q&A session, add your AI-assisted reflection, and export it as a PDF for your portfolio.
Compliance & governance checkpoints
- Ensure your portfolio contains evidence covering all six GMC supporting information categories over the course of your five-year revalidation cycle.
- Align your entries with the RCGP's advice to prioritise impactful change over volume.
- Be aware of the MAG 2022 expectations and any specific instructions from your local Responsible Officer.
Quick comparison table
| Platform | Core Strengths | MSF/PSQ | Mobile Capture | Integrations | Who It Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agilio Clarity | Deep integration with Agilio suite, robust reporting | Integrated | Yes (AMP app) | TeamNet, iLearn | Practices/orgs using the Agilio ecosystem |
| FourteenFish | User-friendly interface, frictionless CPD capture | Integrated | Yes (Portfolio app) | Email-to-diary, RCGP | Individuals prioritising speed & mobile UX |
Practical playbooks
Set up a CPD capture workflow that auto-populates your appraisal
Use the "email-to-diary" feature in FourteenFish to forward webinar confirmations and e-learning certificates directly to your portfolio. If using Clarity, use the AMP app to log learning on the go.
Write one high-impact reflective note in 5 steps
Follow the GMC-compliant prompts: 1) Anonymise the scenario. 2) What happened? 3) So what? (What was the learning?) 4) Now what? (What will you change?) 5) What was the impact?
Migrating from MAG to a portfolio platform
Don't worry about the old form's structure. The new portfolio platforms are designed around the MAG 2022 approach. Focus on tagging your entries against the six core GMC evidence types.
FAQs
- Is the MAG form still accepted?
- NHS England advises its discontinuation. You should check with your Responsible Officer, but the standard expectation is to use an electronic portfolio like FourteenFish or Clarity.
- What are the six types of supporting information?
- CPD, Quality Improvement Activity, Significant Events/Serious Incidents, Patient Feedback, Colleague Feedback, and Compliments/Complaints.
- How many CPD credits do I need?
- While many GPs still use the convention of ~50 credits per year, the RCGP and GMC now emphasise the quality and impact of your reflection over the raw volume of hours.
- Can I use AI to help write reflections?
- Yes, provided you fully anonymise the content and use it as a "helper" to structure your thoughts, focusing on learning and impact as per GMC reflective-practice guidance. The final entry must be your own work.