Executive overview
Effective clinical practice in the UK relies on a small number of canonical, trusted information sources. However, the ecosystem is divided into two distinct but equally important worlds: patient-facing platforms designed for public understanding, and professional platforms built for clinical decision-making. A core skill for the modern clinician is knowing when to use which tool and how to effectively bridge the two to support patient communication, teaching, and evidence-based care.
This guide maps the UK's health information stack for 2025. We will anchor the discussion in the NHS website's Health A-Z for public information and the essential cluster of NICE CKS, the BNF, Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS), and BMJ Best Practice for professional use, supplemented by other key resources like SIGN, Trip Database, and GPnotebook.
The landscape at a glance (patient vs professional)
- Patient-facing (public): The primary sources for patient signposting are the NHS website (Health A-Z), NHS 111 online, and the NHS App. In Scotland, NHS Inform is the national hub. These are supplemented by the consumer pages of Patient.info and high-quality information from major charities like Macmillan Cancer Support, Mind, and Diabetes UK.
- Professional (clinician): The core toolkit includes BMJ Best Practice (accessible via OpenAthens with offline app support), NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) for primary care, the BNF/BNFC for medicines, the Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) for expert medicines advice, Trip Database for evidence search, GPnotebook for quick reference, and SIGN guidelines.
Patient-facing platforms (what to use, when)
NHS website—Health A-Z
This is the UK's definitive source of public health information. Its A-Z pages on conditions, symptoms, tests, and treatments are written in plain English and are ideal for sending to patients as post-consultation links for reliable, easy-to-understand information (nhs.uk).
NHS 111 online & the NHS App
111 online is a crucial tool for urgent-care assessment, guiding patients to the right service. The NHS App is the digital "front door" for patients to manage prescriptions, access their records, and receive communications, with its feature set continually expanding (NHS England Digital).
NHS Inform (Scotland)
This is the national patient information hub for Scotland, providing a comprehensive A-Z of conditions and guidance on navigating health services. It is an essential resource for clinicians in Scotland, those working near the border, and students on Scottish placements (NHS inform).
Patient.info (public pages)
Patient.info offers a large library of consumer health articles that are written and reviewed by clinicians. These are often available as printable leaflets and are a good option for shareable patient resources. The site maintains a clear separation from its professional-facing content (Patient).
Trusted charities (condition-specific depth)
For many long-term conditions, national charities provide the best and most practical information. Macmillan Cancer Support, Mind, and Diabetes UK offer world-class, high-quality information, practical support guides, and resources for both patients and their carers (Macmillan Cancer Support, Mind, Diabetes UK).
Patient decision aids (PDA)
To support shared decision-making (SDM), NICE provides a library of official patient decision aids. NHS England also offers a range of condition-specific decision-support tools. These are designed to be used with patients to help them make informed choices about their care and should be linked in letters or digital information packs where relevant (NICE, NHS England).
Professional platforms (point-of-care and medicines)
BMJ Best Practice (OpenAthens + offline app)
This is a core point-of-care tool providing structured differential diagnosis and management summaries. All NHS staff can access it for free via OpenAthens, and its excellent mobile app allows you to download content for offline use—making it ideal for hospital wards and community visits with poor connectivity (BMJ Group access).
NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS)
CKS is the practical face of NICE guidance for primary care. Its concise, primary-care-oriented topics translate complex evidence into the practical steps needed to manage common presentations. It is produced specifically for UK clinicians like GPs, registrars, and nurses (CKS).
BNF / BNFC (medicines bedrock)
The British National Formulary and its paediatric counterpart are the official UK monographs covering drug uses, doses, contraindications, and interactions. The online version is hosted by NICE, providing easy A-Z browsing and treatment summaries (BNF).
Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS)
Commissioned by NHS England, the SPS is the “first stop” for expert medicines advice. It provides essential implementation know-how for complex medicines issues, including administration, monitoring, and guidance on Patient Group Directions (PGDs) (SPS - Specialist Pharmacy Service).
Evidence search and quick reference
- Trip Database: An intelligent clinical search engine that filters for high-quality evidence like guidelines, systematic reviews (SRs), and RCTs. It's often the fastest route to the original source document (tripdatabase.com).
- GPnotebook: A quick-reference site containing over 30,000 pages of terse, GP-written clinical notes, designed for rapid look-ups during a consultation (GPnotebook).
- SIGN: The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network produces national guidelines that are highly regarded across the UK. They also provide excellent plain-language patient versions of their guidance (sign.ac.uk).
How to pair patient and professional sources (micro-workflows)
- Clinic “explain & send”: Confirm your management plan in CKS, check the dose and interactions in the BNF or with SPS, then paste two patient-friendly links (one from the NHS Health A-Z and one from a relevant charity like Macmillan) into the after-visit summary. If a preference-sensitive choice is being made, add a link to a NICE PDA.
- Study/teaching: Start with a BMJ Best Practice overview for a broad understanding, then use Trip to find the underlying guideline. For learners, include a SIGN plain-language sheet to help them practise shared decision-making conversations.
- Remote & urgent advice: For self-care and triage, direct patients to the 111 online service. For follow-up actions, send them instructions via the NHS App on how to manage prescriptions or referrals.
Quality, readability and governance
When communicating with patients, write in plain English and align your advice with the NHS Content style guide. Always prefer to signpost to sources with clear authorship and review dates. For your own use, prefer tools that show citations and last-updated stamps, like BMJ Best Practice, CKS, and the BNF. For shared decisions, ensure your discussions and documentation align with the recommendations in NICE guideline [NG197].
Comparison table
| Platform | Audience | Best for | Offline/App | Citations/Updates | Use Case | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS Health A-Z | Patient | Plain-English condition info | Yes (NHS App) | Yes (dated) | Signposting | nhs.uk |
| Patient.info | Patient | Shareable leaflets/articles | No | Yes (dated) | Signposting | patient.info |
| BMJ Best Practice | Professional | Structured POC summaries | Yes (app) | Yes (daily) | In-consultation | access.bmjgroup.com |
| NICE CKS | Professional | Primary care "how-to" | No | Yes (weekly) | In-consultation | cks.nice.org.uk |
| BNF/BNFC | Professional | Definitive medicines info | Yes (app) | Yes (bi-annually) | Prescribing | bnf.nice.org.uk |
| SPS | Professional | Expert medicines advice | No | Yes (continuous) | Complex queries | sps.nhs.uk |
| Trip Database | Professional | Evidence search | No | N/A (search engine) | Research | tripdatabase.com |
| GPnotebook | Professional | Quick reference notes | No | Yes (continuous) | Rapid look-up | gpnotebook.com |
| SIGN | Pro & Patient | National guidelines | No | Yes (periodic) | Policy & patient info | sign.ac.uk |
Buyer/educator checklist
- Access & entitlement: Ensure your organisation has a working OpenAthens entitlement for BMJ Best Practice and that all staff know how to access it at the point-of-care and at home.
- Local relevance: Ensure your local clinical pathways and patient leaflets link out to the relevant NHS site pages and, where appropriate, SIGN or national charity resources.
- Decision quality: Actively integrate NICE PDAs into workflows for preference-sensitive decisions like options for cancer screening or management of long-term conditions.
FAQ
- Is BMJ Best Practice free for NHS staff?
- Yes. Log in via your NHS OpenAthens account. This also allows you to create a personal account to use the mobile app and its offline features.
- Where should I send patients for safe UK health information?
- Your first choice should always be the NHS Health A-Z. You can supplement this with high-quality information from reputable charities like Macmillan, Mind, or Diabetes UK for more depth.
- What’s the official UK source for drug doses and interactions?
- The BNF/BNFC, hosted on the NICE website, is the definitive source.
- Do we have patient-friendly versions of guidelines?
- Yes. The best sources are the official NICE Patient Decision Aids and the SIGN plain-language versions of their guidelines.
- When should we direct people to NHS 111 online?
- For urgent assessment when their GP practice is unavailable or for rapid self-triage to the most appropriate service.