Editorial - Expert Self Care (original) (raw)
"Good information can change lives. Our job is to make sure it's accurate, kind, and easy to trust."
Dr Knut Schroeder, Founder & Director, Expert Self Care
Share our apps with confidence – every time.
Unsafe or confusing health guidance doesn't just put people at risk. It also creates extra demand for already stretched services.
We use an evidence-informed editorial process to ensure our health content is accurate, safe, and user-tested, so you can confidently share our apps.
This page explains who's behind our content, how we create it, and what we promise.
Who's behind our content.
Each app is co-created by a carefully chosen project team – typically, 10 to 50 contributors per project and 5 to 10 partners – bringing together:
- Clinical leadership – led by Dr Knut Schroeder, GP and Health Information Specialist
- Citizens – people with lived experience, patients, carers
- Health experts - NHS professionals, researchers, and topic specialists
- Partners – NHS bodies, universities, local authorities, charities, social enterprises and trusted partners
We ask contributors to declare any conflicts of interest, and all editorial decisions remain fully independent.
How we create our health information.
Every Expert Self Care app is built through a structured editorial process designed for clinical safety, evidence, and lived experience.
- Evidence-informed throughout – drawn from NHS guidance, NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries, peer-reviewed research (Cochrane, BMJ, Lancet), and Royal College and professional body guidelines.
- Co-created with users – public contributors and people with lived experience help shape the content, ensuring it's relevant, accessible, and inclusive.
- Clinical sign-off before publication – every product is signed off by at least one appropriately qualified clinician and the relevant project team.
- Reviewed and updated regularly – annual review for fast-changing topics, three-yearly for more stable content. We acknowledge user feedback within seven working days and act on it within two weeks.
This is why our apps meet accepted quality standards (more on this below) and why clinicians, patients, and partners can trust what we publish.
Our editorial promise
We follow a rigorous process so you can trust what you share. All our content is:
- Accurate – based on the best available evidence
- Clear – written in plain English and easy to understand
- Reliable – reviewed by experts and lived experience contributors
- Respectful – inclusive, sensitive, and suitable for all audiences
- Accountable – updated regularly, with errors corrected quickly
- Co-created – developed with the communities it serves
Certified for quality
We hold the Patient Information Forum PIF TICK – the UK's only independently assessed quality mark for trustworthy health information – meeting a 10-point standard covering user involvement, evidence use, accessibility, updates, and sign-offs.
Apps are also assessed by the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) and are NHS DTAC compliant.
How we use Artificial Intelligence (AI)
We sometimes use AI tools to:
- Suggest clearer phrasing
- Explore different content structures
- Check spelling, grammar, and readability
But AI is never the final voice. Every piece is reviewed and approved by qualified health professionals and experienced editors.
We never publish AI-only content – human judgement, care, and accountability always come first.
Why this matters for your organisation.
Working with Expert Self Care means you can:
- Share trusted resources with confidence and credibility
- Save time by using rigorously verified, ready-to-share content
- Reduce the risk of unreliable information reaching your community
- Strengthen your organisation’s reputation for quality and care
Reliable information doesn't just build confidence - it protects people and strengthens trust in your service.
Want to know more?
If you'd like to learn more about our editorial process, contribute to our reviews, or share feedback, we'd love to hear from you.