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Medical Fact Checker for macOS

Medical Fact Checker (MFC) for macOS provides a native desktop experience for evidence-based medical fact-checking, optimized for keyboard-driven workflows and Apple Silicon performance. Like its iOS counterpart, MFC focuses on answering medical questions and verifying health claims - for comprehensive systematic literature reviews, use the full BM Librarian desktop system.

App Store Status

The macOS version is currently awaiting App Store approval. Check back soon for the download link.

Requirements

  • macOS: 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
  • Processor: Apple Silicon (M1 or later)
  • API key from a supported provider (see Obtaining API Keys)
  • Internet connection for API calls and PubMed searches

Getting Started

Installation

  1. Open the Mac App Store
  2. Search for "Medical Fact Checker" or "MedicalFactChecker"
  3. Click Get to download and install
  4. Open the app from your Applications folder or Launchpad

Medical Fact Checker in Mac App Store

Initial Setup

  1. Launch the app from Applications
  2. Select AI Provider: Choose your preferred provider
  3. Enter API Key: Paste your API key
  4. Configure settings: Adjust search and budget preferences

macOS Initial Setup

Interface Overview

The macOS app features a native interface designed for productivity:

macOS Main Interface

Main Components

  1. Input Field: Enter medical claims to fact-check
  2. Results Panel: View evidence reports and citations
  3. Sidebar: Access search history and settings
  4. Toolbar: Quick actions and navigation

Using the App

Fact-Checking a Medical Claim

  1. Enter your claim in the input field at the top

  2. Press ⌘+N to focus the input field

  3. Press Return or click Check Fact to start analysis

  4. Review results in the main panel:

  5. Verdict with confidence level
  6. Evidence summary
  7. Cited passages from literature
  8. Full reference list

Fact Check in Progress

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
⌘+N New fact check
⌘+, Open Settings
⌘+E Export current report as PDF
⌘+F Search within results
⌘+1 Show/hide sidebar
⌘+[ Previous result in history
⌘+] Next result in history
Esc Clear input / Cancel operation

Features

Full-Text Article Viewing

Unlike mobile versions, the macOS app can display full article text:

  1. Click any citation in your results
  2. The article opens in the detail panel
  3. JATS XML Rendering: Full-text articles from open access sources display with proper formatting

Full Text Viewer

Full Text Availability

Full text is available for open access articles from PubMed Central and Europe PMC. Subscription-only articles show abstracts with links to the source.

The macOS app searches multiple sources simultaneously:

  • PubMed: NIH's database of biomedical literature
  • Europe PMC: European life sciences literature database

This broader search often finds additional relevant articles.

PDF Export

Generate professional PDF reports:

  1. Complete a fact-check
  2. Press ⌘+E or choose File → Export as PDF
  3. Choose save location
  4. PDF includes full report, citations, and links

The macOS version uses native AppKit rendering for high-quality PDF output.

iCloud Sync

Your research syncs across all your Apple devices:

  • Search history shared with iOS and iPadOS apps
  • Settings sync automatically
  • Seamless handoff between devices

Settings

Access settings via MedicalFactChecker → Settings (⌘+,).

General

  • Appearance: Follow system, Light, or Dark mode
  • Default Search Provider: Primary literature database
  • Results per search: Number of articles to retrieve

AI Provider

  • Provider Selection: Claude, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Mistral, Groq, or Ollama
  • API Key Management: Securely store and update keys
  • Model Selection: Choose specific model versions
  • Pricing Info: View per-token costs for budgeting

Provider Settings

Budget Controls

  • Per-Analysis Limit: Maximum cost for single analysis
  • Monthly Budget Cap: Total monthly spending limit
  • Usage Dashboard: Current period spending

Advanced

  • HyDE Enhancement: Toggle Hypothetical Document Embedding
  • Ollama Configuration: Set custom server URL for local LLM
  • Cache Settings: Manage local article cache

Using with Ollama (Local LLM)

The macOS app can use Ollama for completely offline, private fact-checking. See the Advanced: Ollama Setup guide for detailed instructions.

Quick Setup

  1. Install Ollama from ollama.com
  2. Pull a capable model: ollama pull llama3.1:70b
  3. In MedicalFactChecker settings, select Ollama as provider
  4. Set the URL to http://localhost:11434
  5. Select your installed model

Model Recommendations

For medical fact-checking, larger models perform better. Consider:

  • llama3.1:70b - Best quality, requires 40GB+ RAM
  • llama3.1:8b - Good balance of speed and quality
  • mixtral:8x7b - Strong reasoning, requires 32GB+ RAM

Tips for Power Users

Workflow Integration

  • Services Menu: Right-click selected text in any app → Services → Check Medical Fact
  • Shortcuts App: Create automations with the Shortcuts integration
  • Quick Note: Copy results directly to Apple Notes

Multiple Fact Checks

  1. Open multiple windows with ⌘+Shift+N
  2. Run parallel analyses
  3. Compare results side-by-side

Research Sessions

  1. Start with a broad claim
  2. Drill down into specific sub-questions
  3. Use history to track your research path
  4. Export a combined PDF of related fact-checks

Troubleshooting

"Unable to Connect to Ollama"

  1. Verify Ollama is running: ollama list in Terminal
  2. Check the URL in settings (default: http://localhost:11434)
  3. Ensure no firewall is blocking local connections
  4. Try restarting Ollama: ollama serve

Slow Performance

  1. Check your internet connection
  2. Reduce the number of results per search
  3. For Ollama: ensure sufficient RAM for your model
  4. Close unnecessary applications

PDF Export Issues

  1. Ensure you have write permissions to the save location
  2. Try saving to Desktop first
  3. Check available disk space
  4. Restart the app if exports consistently fail

Sync Not Working

  1. Verify iCloud is enabled in System Settings
  2. Check that MedicalFactChecker has iCloud access
  3. Sign out and back into your Apple ID
  4. Check iCloud storage isn't full

Privacy & Security

  • API Keys: Stored in macOS Keychain
  • Local Processing: Ollama runs entirely on your Mac
  • No Telemetry: No usage data collected
  • Sandboxed: App runs in macOS security sandbox

Getting Help