Citations & Evidence in Consult

In-Text Citations
Items on an In-Text Citation
References List
Real-World Data in Responses
Important to Remember
Related Articles

Check the evidence behind a Consult response by opening its citations and reference list, so you can review each source before relying on a statement. Real-world data charts add specialty-level context alongside the literature.

In-Text Citations

When peer-reviewed literature supports a statement in a Consult response, a superscript citation number appears inline (for example, ¹). Citations work as follows:

Clickable. Click a citation number on the web, or tap it on iOS, to open a popover. The popover shows the reference title, authors, journal or source, and year of publication.
Sequentially numbered. A response can include several citations. Each is numbered in the order it appears.

A citation means the referenced source directly supports that specific claim. Statements that reflect broad clinical consensus may not carry individual citations.

Items on an In-Text Citation

Each citation shows details about the source. The details differ depending on whether you view the citation in the summary or in the Reference drawer.

In the Summary

Title
Type tag (indicates a Journal or Web source)
Publication year
Journal name (if applicable)
DOI (if applicable)
Blue "View Article" button

In the Reference Drawer

Reference sequence number
Title
Type tag (Journal or Web)
Publication year
DOI
Authors

Note: In the Reference drawer, click the title of a reference to view it.

References List

Every Consult response that includes citations provides a full reference list. To open it:

Select the References control at the bottom of the response.
The References drawer opens and lists all cited sources by sequence number.
Select any entry to expand it and view full bibliographic details: title, authors, journal or source name, year, volume, issue, and identifiers.
Select the source link to open the original publication.

When the reference list includes content sourced from PubMed, this disclaimer appears below the list: "This product uses publicly available data from the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services; NLM is not responsible for the product and does not endorse or recommend this or any other product."

Real-World Data in Responses

Consult responses can include charts built from real-world data, in addition to peer-reviewed literature. These charts show patterns such as prescribing rates and utilization trends at the specialty or population level. They give practice-level context alongside the literature response.

Each real-world data chart is labeled within the response. When data is available, the chart reflects broader patterns drawn from specialty-level or location-level data.

For data availability and privacy limitations that apply to these charts, see Limitations & Guardrails in Consult.

Citation Sources

References come from peer-reviewed literature databases provided through licensing partners such as NEJM and Wolters Kluwer, as well as PubMed. A citation shows that the source supports a claim. Assess the quality and applicability of each study independently.

CME Credit Eligibility

CME credit eligibility for a Consult session depends in part on whether the response includes references. Sessions that do not generate references may not qualify for credit.

Important to Remember

A citation means the source directly supports that specific claim. Assess the quality and applicability of each study independently.
Statements that reflect broad clinical consensus may not carry individual citations.
CME credit eligibility depends in part on whether the response includes references. Sessions that do not generate references may not qualify for credit.