Our promise

When clinicians choose Red Whale, they can trust that:

 

  • Our education is independent of pharmaceutical funding and sponsorship.
  • Our clinical content is designed, made and reviewed by humans.
  • Our governance processes are designed to keep content accurate, current and clearly referenced. 
  • Our future use of AI will be cautious, transparent, carefully governed and clearly linked to the relevant human-created Red Whale source content.
  • If we identify an error, we will review it, correct it and always act responsibly.

Trust is earned through consistent actions, not simply what we say. At Red Whale, we build that trust through our independence, clinical expertise, human judgement, robust governance and commitment to continuous improvement.

We are independent of pharmaceutical funding

Red Whale has always chosen to remain independent from all pharmaceutical funding and influence. Neither the company itself, nor the clinicians or wider members of our team, take money from pharmaceutical companies. Neither Red Whale nor our parent company, the Medical Defence Union, provide data or services to pharmaceutical companies. Red Whale also retains editorial and creative independence from the MDU.


We respect the role pharmaceutical companies play in research, development and drug innovation. However, we believe that independent medical education should stay free from commercial influence. This supports balanced education that helps clinicians engage critically with evidence and guidance. 

‘No pharmaceutical influence’ can mean different things in different settings. Our definition of independence includes not accepting pharmaceutical funding, sponsorship, exhibitor income or related commercial support for our clinical education.

 

You can find out more at Disclosure UK.

Our clinical content is human-created, human-curated, human-reviewed and human-delivered

Our current position is clear: our clinical content is designed, made and reviewed by humans.

Red Whale clinical education is developed by practising clinicians, supported by expert editorial and production teams, and reviewed through our human-led governance processes.  

 

We invest more than 8,000 clinician hours every year creating, reviewing and maintaining our educational resources so that they reflect real-world primary care: practical, nuanced, evidence-based and grounded in the decisions clinicians face every day.  

 

We always use human presenters to deliver our content.

Closed captions on our digital video learning are generated by AI from the human voices and human scripts created by Red Whale clinicians. They are then checked by humans for accuracy prior to being published.  

 

We are interested in and are exploring the opportunities AI may bring, particularly where it can help clinicians find, navigate and learn more easily from our trusted educational content. But our approach is cautious and deliberate. Where we explore AI-enabled features, the underlying content remains human-created and human-curated.  

 

Any future AI-enabled learning experiences will be transparent, clearly referenced to Red Whale source content and carefully governed. We make a commitment to always telling you when we introduce AI-enabled features, and we will offer the ability to turn them off so that the choice is always yours.   

We have robust clinical governance processes

Our governance processes help us to:

 

  • Identify related content across our educational resources.  
  • Understand where each piece of content appears.

 

This matters because when guidance changes or an issue is identified, we can then identify all affected materials and update, replace or withdraw them appropriately.  

 

We are human and, even when supported by robust systems, humans are not infallible. If we make a mistake, our commitment is to review it, correct it and be transparent about it.  

Clinical accuracy is central to trust.

Red Whale maintains a large clinical content library, and uses documented governance processes to create, review, update and, where needed, correct content. Our governance approach is designed to be system-led rather than person-dependent. We use documented workflows, defined responsibilities and review processes so that content can be maintained consistently and updated when evidence or guidance changes. 

We use technology, AI and data responsibly

We use technology to support our services, but always in a way that protects your information and maintains trust.


While the work of creating or editing clinical educational content remains led, reviewed and delivered by humans, we are exploring how AI can support our internal operations – for example, helping with administrative tasks, organisation or accessibility features. These uses are carefully considered and do not change the underlying clinical content.


In using technology in this way, we apply clear safeguards, including human oversight of outputs and restrictions on the types of information that can be used with such tools.

 

We are committed to protecting personal data and being transparent about how it is used. For full details of how we handle personal information, please see our Privacy Notice.

We are clear about our role: supporting clinicians’ learning, not replacing your clinical judgement

Red Whale provides education and reference materials for qualified healthcare professionals. We do not provide clinical services to patients, and our content does not replace the professional judgement of the clinician using it. 


That distinction is important. Our role is to provide education that helps clinicians stay up to date, think clearly, apply guidance pragmatically and continue learning, with the aim of supporting better patient outcomes. The clinician remains responsible for applying knowledge in the context of an individual patient, their clinical presentation, local pathways and professional judgement.

Frequently asked questions

Why should I trust Red Whale’s clinical education?

Trust is built into how we work. Our education is developed by practising clinicians, reviewed through structured clinical governance processes and maintained through ongoing monitoring and updating in response to changes in evidence and guidance. We are committed to transparency, independence and quality, and, if we identify an error, we investigate it, correct it and communicate changes appropriately.

Does Red Whale receive funding from pharmaceutical companies?

No, and we never have.


Red Whale does not accept pharmaceutical funding, sponsorship or commercial support for our clinical education. Our clinicians do not accept pharmaceutical sponsorship or funding, and our educational content is created independently of pharmaceutical influence.


We believe that this independence helps us provide balanced, evidence-based education that is focused on the needs of clinicians and patients.

How does Red Whale provide objective and unbiased education?

Our clinical teams appraise evidence, guidance and real-world practice to create practical, balanced educational content. We aim to show the strengths, limitations and uncertainties within the evidence so that clinicians can reach their own professional judgements.

 

No educational provider can eliminate all potential bias, which is why independence, peer review, clinical oversight and robust governance are central to our approach. We also actively engage with all learner feedback and people with lived experience to identify our own areas of unconscious bias and seek to address them.

How does Red Whale use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create clinical content?

Red Whale does not use AI to create clinical educational content. Our clinical content is created and reviewed by practising human clinicians and technical experts.

 

Clinical accuracy, nuance, context and professional judgement are essential, and we believe that these responsibilities should remain with appropriately qualified clinicians.

 

We may explore how AI could support learners to access, search and use trusted human-created educational content in the future. This would be subject to rigorous governance, clinical oversight and quality assurance. It would be communicated transparently, and we would present our learners and commissioners with the option of whether to use it. 

 

Our guiding principle is that AI should only be used where it can support learning and access to educational content; it should not replace clinical expertise, professional judgement or robust editorial processes. 

How is Red Whale content kept up to date?

We have established governance processes to monitor changes in evidence, guidance, safety alerts and clinical practice. We invest in more than 8,000 clinician hours every year to maintain our bank of educational content. Because this is done by practising clinicians for practising clinicians, it takes significantly more time than using AI, and we believe this is time well spent. 

 

Our teams regularly review authoritative UK sources, including organisations such as NICE, SIGN, MHRA and UKHSA. Content updates are prioritised according to their clinical importance to ensure urgent safety-related or practice changes are addressed promptly.

What happens if an error is identified in Red Whale content?

We take all concerns seriously.

 

Where a potential error is identified, it is reviewed through our clinical governance processes. If a correction is required, we amend the content and take any appropriate follow-up action, including transparent communication with impacted learners.

 

Being trustworthy does not mean never making mistakes. It means acting openly, responsibly and promptly when mistakes occur.

Who writes Red Whale content?

Red Whale content is developed by experienced, practising UK clinicians (currently GPs and dentists) who understand the realities of frontline UK NHS and private practice.

 

Our educational materials combine evidence-based medicine with practical clinical experience, supported by editorial, educational and governance processes designed to maintain consistency and quality.

Is Red Whale content intended to replace clinical judgement?

No.

 

Red Whale provides education and reference resources to support learning and professional development. The responsibility for individual patient care decisions always remains with the clinician, taking into account the patient’s circumstances, clinical presentation, local guidance and professional judgement.

Does Red Whale share learner data with pharmaceutical companies?

No.

 

Red Whale does not provide learner data, educational usage data or customer information to pharmaceutical companies.

 

We are committed to protecting personal and organisational information, and to handling data responsibly and securely.

How does Red Whale protect my personal data?

We are committed to protecting personal information and processing it in accordance with UK data protection law. We apply a combination of governance controls, staff training, security measures and carefully managed supplier relationships to help keep personal data secure. Personal information is only accessed by authorised individuals who need it for legitimate business purposes.

Does Red Whale sell or share personal data?

No. 

 

Red Whale does not sell personal data. We only share it where UK data protection law allows and where it is necessary – for example, with trusted service providers, commissioners or funding organisations, and other MDU group companies. This includes sharing limited information with the MDU to check eligibility for MDU-funded services and, where you have opted in or another lawful basis applies, to support member benefits and relevant communications. We use appropriate contracts and safeguards in line with the UK GDPR, and explain the details in our Privacy Notice.

How does Red Whale ensure quality?

Quality is built into every stage of our process. This includes:

 

  • Clinical authorship and review.
  • Structured editorial processes.
  • Governance oversight.
  • Evidence monitoring and updating.
  • Clear accountability for content.
  • Continuous improvement based on learner feedback.
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Our aim is not simply to publish content, but to maintain a trusted educational resource that clinicians can rely on throughout their careers.

What does ‘Trust is our foundation’ mean in practice?

For us, trust means:

 

  • Independence from pharmaceutical funding.
  • Evidence-based education.
  • Human-created clinical content.
  • Responsible use of technology.
  • Strong clinical governance.
  • Transparency when things change.
  • A commitment to continuous improvement.

 

Ultimately, we believe that trust is earned through consistent actions over time. Every decision we make about our content, technology and partnerships is guided by that principle.