How we check content

How every formula, range and claim is checked against its sources, and what is not checked.

Osmolar publishes formulas, reference ranges and product data that people may use when learning about patient care. This page explains how that content is written, checked, dated and corrected.

No clinician reviews our pages. Osmolar pages and calculators are built from cited sources and checked by automated tests and AI review. No page on Osmolar has been reviewed by a clinician. Everything here is educational, not medical advice.

No clinician review

Osmolar does not currently have a clinical reviewer. No doctor, pharmacist, nurse or dietitian has checked these pages or calculators. We say so on every medical page. If a clinician joins in future, we will name them here with their credentials and update this page first.

We do not use pseudonyms or invented reviewer personas, and we never claim a review that did not happen.

Use of AI tools. Osmolar’s pages, calculator code and data tables are drafted with AI tools. The Medical QA check described below is also carried out with AI tools, working from a written reference of formulas, ranges and test cases and checking each number against the cited source. No clinician reviews pages before or after publication. Pages publish automatically under publishing rules set by the site owner once they pass Medical QA review and automated tests.

How a page is produced

Drafting. The page is drafted with AI tools from the sources below, and every number is cited (see Use of AI tools).
Formula testing. Calculator formulas are checked against reference test cases (see below).
Separate Medical QA. A Medical QA check, run separately from drafting (see Use of AI tools), verifies each formula, range, number and citation against the original sources. Pages that fail are sent back with required fixes and re-checked.
Publication. Publishing is automatic, under the rules described in Use of AI tools above. For a calculator, “automated tests” means every one of its acceptance test cases; a page without a calculator needs the Medical QA pass. The page then shows the date it last passed Medical QA (“Last checked”) and its last-updated date. No clinician checks any page as part of this process.

Source hierarchy

We use the strongest available source for each claim and cite it with a PubMed ID, DOI or label identifier and a link.

Clinical guidelines and consensus statements from professional bodies, for example ASPEN guidance on parenteral nutrition and the 2024 consensus report on hyperglycemic crises.
Official product labelling, such as US prescribing information on DailyMed and UK Summaries of Product Characteristics. Product osmolarity and composition values come from the label, and the manufacturer is named.
Primary studies in peer-reviewed journals, such as the original papers describing a formula.
Peer-reviewed reference works and reputable references, such as StatPearls, MedlinePlus and the Merck Manuals, used for definitions and context or when a primary source is not available.

Rules that apply at every level:

Every number on a page traces to a cited source. Uncited numbers are not published.
Calculated and measured values are kept apart. Label “calc” osmolarities and measured osmolalities can differ, and pages say which one a value is.
Conflicting sources are shown, not hidden. Where formulas or ranges differ, the page names the version used and lists the alternatives.
Unverified claims are not published as fact. If a claim cannot be confirmed against its source, it is removed or clearly flagged until it can be.
Source links are checked before each release.

Formula testing

Each calculator is built from a written reference that sets out the formula, units, rounding rules and expected results. Medical QA maintains this reference, and every value in it is sourced.

The reference includes acceptance test cases: fixed inputs with expected outputs, including deliberate error traps such as unit mix-ups.
Each test case is written as an automated unit test that runs against the calculator’s formula code, and Medical QA checks each calculator page against the same expected results.
When the reference changes, the expected values and the worked examples on the affected pages are recalculated and re-checked.
Every calculator page includes at least one worked example that matches a test case, so readers can check the arithmetic.

Check and update dates

Each medical page and calculator shows:

a “How this page was checked” box stating that the page was built from cited sources, checked by automated tests (calculators) and AI review, and has not been reviewed by a clinician, with “Last checked [date]”, the date the page last passed Medical QA; and
“Last updated [date]”.

These dates record real check and editing events. We do not change a date without re-checking or changing the page.

Re-check cadence: each page goes back through Medical QA at least every 12 months, and as soon as practical when we learn that a cited source, guideline or product label has changed, or when an error is reported.

Corrections policy

Errors that could change a result or its interpretation (a wrong formula, factor, range or unit) are fixed first. The calculator and its test cases are corrected together, and a test case is added that would have caught the error.
Significant corrections are noted at the end of the page, with the date and what changed.
Minor fixes (typos, broken links, wording that does not change meaning) are made without a correction note.
Every correction to medical content goes back through Medical QA and the automated tests before it is published.

How to report an error

If you think something on Osmolar is wrong, out of date or unclear, please tell us:

hello@osmolar.com

It helps to include the page address, the sentence, number or calculator result in question, and a source if you have one. Please do not send personal health information.

This channel is for content errors only. We cannot give advice about individual patients or test results. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.

Conflicts of interest and affiliate independence

Osmolar is independent and not sponsored. It may earn affiliate commissions, which are disclosed on the page. There are no ads at launch; ads would load only after consent. Details are on the Disclaimer page.
Any affiliate links will be limited to exam-preparation courses (nursing, pharmacy and medical), textbooks and books, and adult sports and electrolyte brands (not oral rehydration solutions marketed for illness, and nothing for infants or children). We do not use affiliate links for osmometers or other laboratory equipment. Any future sponsorship will carry its own disclosure.
Commercial partners have no say over formulas, numbers, ranges, product comparisons or QA outcomes, and they do not see content before publication.
Product data are included because they are relevant and sourced, whether or not a manufacturer has any relationship with us.
No ads or affiliate units appear on calculator pages or inside data or comparison tables, and patient-facing pages carry no affiliate links.