This is the second part in a series we’re doing on iMedicalApps. On a daily basis, there are plenty of free medical applications released for the iPhone and iPod Touch and most of them aren’t useful, hence the “free” tag.  Some of these free medical apps actually do provide key functionality.  This app review will cover four apps that meet the above criteria.  Remember, some of these apps are only free for a limited time.

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I was introduced to Harrison’s Manual of Medicine via Access Medicine back in my first year of medical school (most academic centers have a subscription to Access Medicine).  I needed to find a good resource for my PBL(Problem Based Learning) small group sessions and it seemed the easiest to read for a kid fresh out of undergrad.  Later on I found resources such as UpToDate and eventually developed the ability to actually understood research papers, but Harrison’s Manual of Medicine was great to read early on.  Not only is it great to use in Medical School, but It’s a textbook you’ll often find in the clinic setting and is read and referenced by practicing providers.

It would then only seem natural to have the full text or even the online version (via Access Medicine), translated to a mobile application.  When you search for Harrison’s in the App Store you’re presented with 3 Apps!  Inherently, I thought I’d only have one option.  There is a version by Unbound Medicine, Skyscape, and MedHand.  The price to access/download each is $59.99, the key difference is that the MedHand version does not require a yearly subscription.  You pay the flat rate of $59.99.  Also, the MedHand version is a stand alone application, not requiring you to access the internet, unlike the others.  Because of these advantages, the MedHand version was chosen for a full review of Harrison’s Manual of Medicine(17th edition).

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The medical apps section on the iPhone and iPod Touch has a lot to offer, this is apparent from the medical app reviews we’ve done on this site.  When I think about my most heavily used medical apps, one that comes to mind has to be my Wikipedia app.  Obviously, Wikipedia is no complete substitute for reference applications such as Epocrates, or the Merck Manual Professional Edition.  But if used properly, it provides a great service.

The problem is finding a suitable Wikipedia app to use.  I’ve tried a number of free Wikipedia applications and have found one that really helps me find the medical information I’m looking for the best.

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So you’re a practicing provider or you’re in medical school.  You’ve seen some interesting medical applications out there and you’re wondering if you should get an iPhone or an iPod Touch.  This is a scenario that is often e-mailed to our site from providers and students.  In order to answer this question, I’ll first talk about the differences between the two devices and how the user experience will vary from a medical standpoint.

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The challenge of identifying and absorbing relevant medical literature will not abate anytime soon and the proliferation of services that purport to simplify or eliminate this problem for physicians is itself now becoming a distraction. The rapid adoption of web-enabled smart phones by physicians, such as the iPhone, is driving this dilemma from the theoretical realm directly to the bedside. The hope is that if relevant medical literature is immediately available at the point of care, physicians would be more inclined to use it.

At the same time, the mantra of practicing medicine that is evidence-based is ringing ever louder. Thus far, it seems to this reviewer that most physicians apply it most strenuously when criticizing other physicians’ decisions rather than applying it to their own practice. Nevertheless, large well-respected compilations like the Cochrane Abstracts are available and widely used.  They offer well constructed summaries of evidence-based diagnostic and treatment guidelines for thousands of pathologies.  It is into this nexus that the “Evidence Central” app enters.  This review will cover the features of this recently released medical application, which is technically “free” in the App Store, but requires a paid subscription of $79.95 in order to actually use.

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