Executive overview
UK primary care runs on a handful of canonical, trusted sources. Safe and effective practice requires a deep familiarity with policy-level national guidance from NICE, the pragmatic summaries of CKS, and the definitive prescribing information in the BNF/BNFC and from the Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS). These are complemented by powerful point-of-care digests like BMJ Best Practice that synthesise evidence for immediate use.
This article provides a definitive map for UK GPs and primary care clinicians on what resource to use, when to use it, and how to combine these essential tools efficiently to provide the best possible patient care in 2025.
Core guidance layer: NICE, CKS, SIGN
This is the foundational layer of UK clinical governance, setting the standards for evidence-based care.
- NICE Guidance: These are the evidence-based national recommendations that form the basis of NHS care. Use full NICE guidelines for understanding policy, designing clinical pathways, and finding the definitive position on a treatment or intervention (NICE).
- NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS): CKS is designed for primary care. It provides over 370 GP-centred topics with pragmatic, step-by-step guidance for managing common presentations, making it the ideal first stop for most in-consultation queries (NICE).
- SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network): SIGN produces rigorously developed clinical guidelines for Scotland. They often complement NICE guidance and provide valuable, in-depth reviews in areas highly relevant to UK-wide primary care (SIGN).
Medicines & prescribing: BNF/BNFC, SPS, MHRA
For prescribing, safety is paramount. These resources are non-negotiable.
- BNF / BNFC: The British National Formulary (and the BNF for Children) is the UK's definitive reference for dosing, interactions, and contraindications. Online access is hosted by NICE, with excellent mobile apps available from the Pharmaceutical Press (BNF).
- Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS): The SPS is the NHS’s “first stop” for expert medicines advice. It provides essential implementation know-how, guidance on complex medication queries, and resources for medicines optimisation (SPS - Specialist Pharmacy Service).
- MHRA Drug Safety Update & Yellow Card: Stay current on all new safety alerts and guidance by subscribing to the MHRA Drug Safety Update. Report all suspected Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) and medical device incidents via the Yellow Card scheme (GOV.UK, Yellow Card).
Point-of-care summaries & search: BMJ Best Practice, Trip
When you need a rapid, evidence-based summary of a broad topic at the point of care, these tools are invaluable.
- BMJ Best Practice: Freely available to NHS staff via OpenAthens, BMJ Best Practice provides daily-refreshed, peer-reviewed guidance on diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Its mobile app supports offline use, making it perfect for the ward or clinic (BMJ Group access).
- Trip Database: Trip is a powerful clinical search engine designed to speed up evidence finding. It intelligently filters results to prioritise high-quality evidence like international guidelines, systematic reviews, and randomised controlled trials (tripdatabase.com).
Quick reference sites: GPnotebook, Patient.info
For very fast, "quick look-up" style queries, these GP-focused sites are excellent.
- GPnotebook / Primary Care Notebook: A vast resource of over 30,000 pages of concise, GP-written reference articles. It is specifically designed for rapid, in-consultation look-ups of symptoms, signs, and conditions (GPnotebook).
- Patient.info – Professional: This platform provides a library of evidence-based articles written for a professional primary care audience, alongside a suite of useful clinical calculators (Patient).
Society toolkits you’ll actually use in clinic
For certain specialties, society-led guidance is often the most practical resource.
- PCDS (Primary Care Dermatology Society): The PCDS website is the go-to resource for primary care dermatology. It offers a comprehensive A–Z of clinical guidance, high-quality diagnostic images, detailed treatment tables, and clear referral pathways for common skin problems (Primary Care Dermatology Society).
Calculators & risk tools
Always use the risk calculators and scoring tools recommended in the relevant NICE guidance to ensure your assessments are compliant and evidence-based.
- CVD prevention: As per NICE guideline [NG238], use QRISK3 to assess 10-year cardiovascular disease risk in adults up to age 84 without established CVD (NCBI).
- AF stroke/bleeding risk: As per NICE guideline [NG196], use CHA₂DS₂-VASc to assess stroke risk and ORBIT to assess bleeding risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (NICE).
iatroX: a UK-focused, citation-first assistant to stitch this together
In a crowded information landscape, AI-powered assistants can help you find the right information faster. iatroX is designed specifically for this purpose in a UK context.
- Ask iatroX: Provides concise, conversational answers to clinical questions with direct references to UK guidance from sources like NICE, CKS, and the BNF, allowing for fast verification.
- Brainstorm: An educational tool to help you structure your thinking around differential diagnoses or investigation plans, always grounding its suggestions in the evidence base.
With its clear UK focus, visible UKCA/MHRA registration as an information tool, and app-based offline support, iatroX is designed to be a safe and efficient layer that helps you navigate the core resources.
“How to” micro-workflows
- Common presentation → plan: Start with CKS for the practical steps. Check the full NICE guideline if there are policy nuances. Confirm all dosing in the BNF. Consult SPS for tricky administration or PGD points.
- Quick evidence check: Run a targeted Trip search (filtered to Guidelines/Systematic Reviews), then sanity-check the findings with BMJ Best Practice.
- Derm query: Go directly to PCDS for images, treatment ladders, and referral triggers.
- Time-pressed? Use Ask iatroX to get a cited overview of a topic, then click through to the primary sources to verify before acting.
Setup & access (save clicks before you need them)
Take a few minutes to ensure seamless access. Check your institutional OpenAthens login works for the BMJ Best Practice app and its offline content packs. In your browser, create a bookmarks folder with one-click links to the NICE, CKS, BNF, SPS, MHRA DSU, Trip, GPnotebook, and PCDS homepages.
FAQs
- NICE vs CKS—what’s the difference?
- NICE guidance is the comprehensive, policy-level national recommendation. CKS is a pragmatic summary of that evidence, designed specifically for the common presentations seen in primary care.
- Is BMJ Best Practice free for NHS staff?
- Yes, it is funded centrally by NHS England and is available to all NHS staff via an institutional OpenAthens login, which also unlocks the full features of the mobile app.
- Where should I check dosing/contraindications?
- The BNF/BNFC is the definitive source. For more complex queries about implementation (e.g., administration of injections, off-label use), the Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) is the expert resource.
- Where do I report suspected ADRs?
- Report all suspected Adverse Drug Reactions via the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. Stay current with new issues by reading the Drug Safety Update.
Closing call-to-action
To build a robust and efficient clinical knowledge toolkit, adopt a core of five essential sources: NICE/CKS, the BNF/BNFC, SPS, and BMJ Best Practice. Extend this with two powerful specialist tools: Trip Database for deep evidence searches and PCDS for dermatology. Use an AI assistant like iatroX to triage your questions and pull the right citations quickly, and always remember to record your information sources in your clinical notes for transparency and good governance.