We’re currently experiencing an extraordinary moment in technology as businesses across the globe race to put AI to use in a bid to drive efficiency, unlock value, and stay ahead of the competition.
This has triggered an unprecedented AI capital spending spree. And the sheer scale of investment in AI tools has recently frightened investors, sending many erstwhile winners tumbling. Academic and professional journals publisher Relx has had a tough time because some believe its business will be gobbled up by AI. We think this is unfair – the business has spent years investing in its own AI tools to improve its service to users, even as its sales and profits continue to grow strongly. Relx is already ahead of the curve in deploying these AI tools to customers in the healthcare space.
Nowhere are AI gains more desperately needed than healthcare – a sector under constant pressure from funding constraints and rising demand to deliver more accurate and cost-effective ways to deliver better care.
For clinicians, the stakes are high. Every day, doctors and nurses are tasked with interpreting a wide range of symptoms, reviewing patient histories, and navigating a vast universe of medical knowledge. The challenge is daunting: medical literature is growing at an unprecedented rate, while staffing shortages and increasingly complex patient needs exert pressures on every minute of a clinician’s day. In this environment, the ability to make fast and accurate decisions isn’t just ‘nice to have’, it’s imperative for those trying to deliver the best possible care.
Powering detection and diagnosis with AI
Imagine if clinicians could harness AI the same way many of us now use tools like ChatGPT to search trusted, up-to-date medical literature and clinical guidelines and get clear, evidence-based answers in seconds. This is no longer a distant fantasy. AI is already making it possible for healthcare professionals to access the information they need on-demand, thereby empowering them to make better informed decisions and reduce diagnostic errors, thereby ultimately improving patient outcomes.
Relx (which we hold across several funds) has gradually transformed itself to become a global leader in information-based solutions. Through its Elsevier scientific and medical publishing division, Relx has supported the medical community for decades with one of the world’s largest libraries of medical literature. Its flagship product ClinicalKey is a comprehensive knowledge platform designed to assist clinicians at the point of care. The platform is currently used by doctors, medical students and their teachers at more than 5,500 institutions in over 80 countries worldwide.
Relx has recently taken a significant step forward by introducing an AI-powered version of ClinicalKey. Unlike generic AI chatbots, ClinicalKey AI combines conversational search with Elsevier’s medical database. Clinicians can ask complex questions in ‘medic speak’ and get accurate, up-to-date answers from only the very best sources, often in seconds. What sets ClinicalKey apart from other AI-powered tools aimed at supporting clinical decision-making is Relx’s commitment to evidence-based accuracy. The platform draws exclusively from licensed, peer-reviewed sources, such as medical journals and clinical guidelines. Each response is fully cited and referenced, and content is updated daily to ensure clinicians have access to the latest evidence. This approach aims to minimise the risk of ‘AI hallucinations’ and to ensure that healthcare professionals get verified and up-to-date information.
Healthy data, healthy patients
This reliance on licensed, peer-reviewed data presents Relx with a meaningful challenge. If changes in licensing agreements restricted its access to key content, this could undermine ClinicalKey AI’s diagnostic capabilities: the prowess of the platform depends on the integrity of its data. This risk is super-significant in the healthcare sector where incorrect information can have life-threatening consequences. Relx is acutely aware of this and has put robust measures in place to try to mitigate this risk. Its global rights department works proactively to manage content licenses, renew agreements, and expand its range of available resources. We think this commitment to rights management and content continuity should help to ensure that clinicians can trust that the information they access via ClinicalKey AI stays authoritative.
AI adoption in healthcare is still in its early stages. According to a recent survey by Elsevier, only 34% of UK clinicians and 36% of their US counterparts reported using AI for work in 2025 . This suggests there’s significant room for a big increase in AI adoption – and Relx seems well positioned to capture more of this growing market by continuing to invest in and develop its ClinicalKey platform. Proof of concept will be key to accelerating adoption, but progress may be slower than in other industries given the higher stakes if errors occur. That said, we believe that Relx’s strong track record and reputation for reliability should give clinicians greater confidence compared with new entrants.
As clinicians get more comfortable with AI, and tools like ClinicalKey AI continue to demonstrate their value, global healthcare systems could potentially reap enormous benefits. AI’s future role in medicine is not about replacing doctors’ clinical expertise – it’s about enhancing it. By grounding its AI tool in trusted, peer-reviewed data and designing it to support decision-making, Relx is seeking to create a world where technology and clinicians work hand in hand to deliver better, more cost-effective care for all.