Small language models in medicine

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01734-3 Small language models can serve as a more scalable, practical and efficient alternative for medical applications compared to large language models. Here we discuss the strengths and limitations, challenges and future directions of small language models in healthcare implementation, highlighting their potential to enable broader real-world adoption across diverse clinical settings.