Key takeaways:
- DDx by Sketchy won the 2026 CODiE Award for Best AI Solution for Education, announced July 15, 2026, selected from 228 finalists across 75 categories.
- DDx by Sketchy is an AI-enabled clinical readiness platform that builds critical skills through immersive, competency-based case simulation, used across medical, PA, nursing, NP, GME, and CME programs.
- An independent CODiE judge praised DDx as clinically accurate, pedagogically structured, and reflective of the "discipline-respecting application of AI" the category was designed to recognize.
- Every DDx case is authored by practicing clinicians and subject matter experts, then reviewed and refined before publication, a deliberate departure from fully AI-generated case content.
Clinical education is running into two pressures at the same time. AI tools are showing up in training programs faster than most curricula can evaluate them, and overreliance on those tools risks eroding the foundational reasoning skills learners need for patient care. At the same time, faculty are being asked to train more learners with less bandwidth and more uneven case exposure than ever, often without any additional time to make up the difference.
On July 15, DDx by Sketchy was named the winner of the 2026 CODiE Award for Best AI Solution for Education, selected from 228 finalists across 75 categories in one of the technology industry's longest-running, peer-reviewed awards programs. The recognition is a meaningful marker for how we think AI should be used in clinical training, and it's worth unpacking why the judges landed there.
Bandwidth vs. quality
Most AI tools designed for education are built by technologists first, with clinical and educational expertise taking a backseat. That focus creates a tradeoff: a tool that hands learners AI-generated answers might reduce the time faculty spend creating content, but it also risks letting learners lean on AI instead of building the reasoning skills clinical practice actually requires. A tool that keeps faculty fully in the loop on every case protects that reasoning work, but it doesn't scale, which leaves the bandwidth problem exactly where it started.
"AI should widen access to realistic practice scenarios while keeping the actual reasoning work with the learner, and it should also reduce faculty burden rather than add to it," said Girish Krishnaswamy, CEO of Sketchy. "DDx by Sketchy was built around the premise that AI can solve both problems at once."
Program directors feel this tension directly. They're responsible for verifying that learners can reason under pressure, communicate clearly, and make sound clinical decisions independently, and they're being asked to do it for more learners, with more variable case exposure, and without more hours in the week.
What DDx does differently
DDx by Sketchy was built around the premise that AI should widen access to realistic, deliberate practice scenarios, while keeping the actual reasoning work with the learner and giving faculty a way to scale training without adding to their workload.
One judge wrote that DDx "represents what AI in health professions education should look like in 2026: clinically accurate, pedagogically structured, and grounded in the professional expertise of the educators it serves," calling it "the careful, discipline-respecting application of AI that the Best AI Solution for Education category was designed to honor."
That starts with how every case gets made. Every DDx case is authored by practicing clinicians and subject matter experts, then reviewed and refined through feedback before publication, a deliberate departure from fully AI-generated case content. AI powers the natural, spoken back-and-forth of a patient or attending conversation, but the clinical judgment behind each case comes from someone who has done the work.
"DDx is a clinical readiness platform where learners practice realistic, AI-enabled patient encounters spanning clinical reasoning, communication, and other clinical skills, while receiving detailed, structured feedback along the way," said Anne Rynearson, Director of Product at Sketchy. "Every case is expertly built, shaped by clinicians, educators, engineers, and designers working together. This recognition means a lot to all of us. It affirms what this team has believed from the start: when experts build the AI, simulation can prepare learners for real patients in ways traditional methods never could."
"AI conversation tools are becoming the new normal in medical education, but that’s only half a solution. The other half is imparting context-specific, nuanced clinical knowledge to a student as they learn," said Ben Muller, MD, Chief Content Officer at Sketchy. "DDx does both. It is developed and vetted by faculty and clinicians, ensuring that students receive accurate, realistic clinical diagnostic practice and that faculty don’t wind up with one more tool to manage in their already limited time.
Winning the CODiE Award for Best AI Education Solution validates our vision of creating a clinical readiness platform that enhances faculty valuable insight into their students’ development, while giving them hours back in the day."
What this means for programs evaluating AI tools
For program directors weighing AI-enabled tools against these same pressures, the CODiE recognition points to a useful evaluation question: does the tool ask learners to do the reasoning, or does it do the reasoning for them, and does it actually give faculty time back? DDx is built to address both challenges: an AI clinical experience nuanced enough to feel like a real clinical encounter as well as feedback and longitudinal analytics that gives faculty everything they need to track a learner's evolving competence without adding manual review to their own workload.
"This recognition means a great deal to our team, and we are grateful to the faculty and clinicians who partnered with us to ensure the DDx by Sketchy platform reflects the reality of clinical practice," Krishnaswamy added.
Interested in seeing how DDx builds clinical reasoning, communication, and clinical decision-making skills through expert-vetted case simulation? See what DDx looks like for your program: book time with one of our clinical specialists here!
Frequently asked questions
What is the CODiE Award for Best AI Solution for Education?
The CODiE Awards, established in 1986 by the Software & Information Industry Association, recognize the most innovative products and platforms across technology and education. DDx by Sketchy's 2026 win was selected from 228 finalists across 75 categories, with the Best AI Solution for Education category evaluating clinical or educational accuracy and pedagogical design, not novelty alone.
Why is faculty bandwidth such a challenge in clinical education right now?
Faculty are being asked to train more learners with less time and more uneven case exposure, often without additional resources to close the gap. Tools that require faculty to build or review every case individually don't scale with that pressure, which is why AI-enabled, expert-vetted simulation has become a focus for programs looking to expand access without expanding faculty workload.
How is DDx different from other AI tools used in medical education?
DDx cases are authored by practicing clinicians and subject matter experts, then reviewed and refined through feedback before publication. The clinical content is never generated by AI alone. AI powers the interactive, spoken conversation of a case, but the reasoning and judgment behind it always comes from a healthcare professional.
Which programs use DDx?
DDx is used across medical, physician assistant (PA), nursing, nurse practitioner (NP), graduate medical education (GME), and continuing medical education (CME) programs, supporting learners from initial training through ongoing professional education.
Does using DDx reduce faculty workload?
Yes. DDx is designed to let faculty assign consistent, realistic case simulation and receive structured feedback on learner performance without manually delivering or reviewing every encounter, so their time can go toward coaching and debrief rather than routine delivery.
