Asking a clinical question

Ask a clinical question in the prompt bar, on Home or on any page. Rebrief answers with sources you can open and check.

Ask your question

1. On Home, click the prompt bar. On any other page, press Ctrl+K, or ⌘K on a Mac.
2. Type your question, for example "What is the maximum dose of articaine for a 60 kg adult?"
3. Press Enter.

The Look up tile on Home has ready-made questions in five groups. They are Look up, Work up, Treat, Prepare and Write. Click one to put it in the bar, then finish the sentence.

During an appointment, Rebrief also suggests questions from what is said. Click one of the chips beside the bar to ask it.

How the answer arrives

Many questions get a quick first answer in a box called Instant answer. Doing further research under it means Rebrief is still finding sources. The cited answer then takes its place.

Reading the answer

The answer is laid out in this order.

1. Tailored to this patient appears when the answer used today's appointment. It says what in the appointment changes the answer.
2. Key points is a short box of bullets. Read it if you read nothing else.
3. The full answer follows. Small chips in the text show where each point came from.
4. The source cards sit under the answer. Each card names its kind, such as Guideline, Systematic review or Web.

Click a chip in the text to jump to its source card, which lights up. Click a card to open the source. A web source opens in a new tab.

If there is no Tailored to this patient line, the answer didn't use your appointment. Read it as general guidance.

Chips for your own patients and visits

Some answers draw on your clinic's own notes. Their chips name what they used.

• A visit reads like Oct 29 visit.
• Something imported from your practice software reads like Medical history · Oct 29.
• A patient's name is followed by a small person icon.

Click one of these chips to open that appointment or that patient's page.

Questions about a patient

Rebrief knows which patient you mean when their appointment or their page is open. You can also name them with @ in the bar.

• A question about the patient's history is answered from their notes in Rebrief and what was imported from your practice software.
• If the question isn't about their history, Rebrief searches clinical sources instead. A line under the answer says so.
• On the Starter plan, the answer uses today's appointment only. A line under it says so.

You can also ask what to do for the patient in front of you, such as "Should I offer a pulpectomy today?" The answer lays out the options for this patient. It covers each option you named and the usual alternatives. It says which ones the evidence favours and what would change that. The choice stays with you and your patient.

A question about running your practice, such as a price, a code or a supplier, is searched on the open web. That search gets your question only, never your appointment.

After the answer

Under the answer you'll find a row of buttons.

• The thumbs tell Rebrief whether the answer helped. Add a note if you like, then click Submit.
• Regenerate answer writes the answer again.
• Branch chat from here starts a new chat with everything up to this answer.
• The copy button copies the answer.

Rebrief may suggest a few follow-up questions under the row. Click one to ask it in the same chat, or type your own. Rebrief reads the last few questions and answers in the chat, so a follow-up like "and for a child?" keeps its meaning.

A cited clinical answer can also count toward continuing education credit. When it does, a line under the sources shows the minutes saved.

Questions use your clinic's agent credits.

Where your chats are kept

Every chat is kept in the list on Home, and only you see your own chats. A chat about a patient is filed under that patient, or under the appointment it was asked in.

Once you have asked about a patient, an Evidence tab appears on their appointments and on their page. It lists your chats about them. Ask about this patient… at its foot starts a new one.

Note: Rebrief gives dental knowledge only. It doesn't make decisions for you. Check the sources and use your clinical judgement.