# STAT+: Why benchmarking clinical LLMs from OpenEvidence, Doximity is complicated > Source: > Published: 2026-07-29 13:29:39+00:00 Y*ou’re reading the web edition of STAT’s AI Prognosis newsletter, our subscriber-exclusive guide to artificial intelligence in health care and medicine. Sign up to get it delivered in your inbox every Wednesday.* I saw “The Odyssey” during its opening weekend. Ever since then, I have been questioning whether I’m illiterate or whether Christopher Nolan is a poor storyteller. This [London Review of Books evaluation of the film](https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n14/emily-wilson/an-uncomplicated-man), written by the woman whose translation of “The Odyssey” Nolan apparently read, has freed me from my wondering. (h/t to my colleague Matthew Herper) Hot takes on Homer’s epic, or hot tips about Epic Systems: [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection) ## Benchmark battle bots You might recall that in mid-June, there was a [Nature Medicine study](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04431-5) that pitted clinical AI systems OpenEvidence and UpToDate Expert AI against general LLMs. It set off a reaction in the clinical AI world like no other paper has. “The results rang out like a gunshot,” as STAT health tech correspondent Katie Palmer describes it. The controversy surrounding the study, and everything that [came after](https://www.statnews.com/2026/07/09/openevidence-backs-study-that-finds-it-beats-llms-health-tech/), exemplifies the problems I have with benchmarks. Katie summed it up well when I talked to her yesterday: “The way that benchmarks have been talked about generally, and specifically in clinical AI, tends to summarize them into the headlines,” she said. “Every study needs a headline and every story needs a headline, but as we both know, and as I think most people in the industry know, an individual benchmark doesn’t mean much.” ## This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers ### Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts. Already have an account? [Log in](/login/) [View All Plans](https://www.statnews.com/stat-plus/)