Welcome. Here's the fastest path from new account to your first useful research report.

Minute 1-2: Pick a real question

Don't start by browsing the interface. Pick a real medical question you've been wondering about - for yourself, a parent, or anyone you care for. Examples:

"What does the latest evidence say about treatment options for [condition]?"
"What questions should I ask my doctor about [recent diagnosis]?"
"What are the trade-offs between [treatment A] and [treatment B]?"

The more concrete, the better. Vague questions ("tell me about diabetes") give vague answers.

Minute 3-4: Pick the right patient

When you sign up, Inciteful Med creates a patient profile for you by default - your name, ready to go. If your question is about your own health, you can skip ahead to Minute 5.

If your question is about someone you care for - a parent, a child, a partner - add a profile for them now:

Click your initials > Settings > Manage Patients > Add Patient.
Name, relationship ("father", "daughter", "spouse"), and any quick notes.
Use the patient picker in the top bar to switch to the new profile before asking.

If you don't want to add records yet, that's fine - your question can run against the patient profile alone.

For more, see Creating a patient profile and Switching between patient profiles.

Minute 5-7: Ask your question

From the home page (or click New Thread in the left nav), type your question into the search bar and press Ask.

You'll see a status bar at the top - "Understanding", "Researching", "Drafting", "Polishing". Most questions take 30 seconds to 2 minutes. You can navigate away during this time - when you come back, the report will be waiting.

While you wait, you might:

Add a couple of medical records to the patient profile (see Adding records)
Read about What makes a good question to ask?

Minute 7-9: Read the report

When the report is ready, two things to try:

Click any numbered citation (like [3]). The right panel opens with the actual paper, including an excerpt of the supporting passage. This is what makes Inciteful Med different from a chatbot - every claim is backed by real research you can verify.
Look at the "Next Steps" at the bottom. They suggest follow-up questions or appointment-prep ideas tailored to your question.

For more on citations, see Reading citations and sources.

Minute 10: Decide what's next

Now that you've seen one report, the most useful next moves:

Ask a follow-up in the same thread to dig deeper.
Share or save the report - see Sharing a report or Saving as PDF.
Add more records so future research is more personalized - see Adding records.

What if your first answer disappoints?

That happens - usually it means the question wasn't specific enough or important context was missing. See What to do if your first answer disappoints you.