Reviews
Is the Instant ECG App Better Than the ECG Guide for the iPhone? We crown the best ECG app [App Review]
The interpretation of ECGs is a difficult art to master for medical students and house officers alike. We are all taught to keep to the “Dubin method” and work through each 12-lead study with consistent patience no matter how abnormal the ECG initially appears. A particularly talented cardiologist once told me that ECG interpretation is often equal parts evidence based science, art, and gut feeling. So how is one to navigate the complexities of ECG interpretation without getting overwhelmed? Instant ECG, a well polished ECG interpretation and study guide by iAnesthesia LLC, is how. Currently the app is on sale for $0.99 in the App Store. I have used this application for 2 weeks (although not on a cardiology service), and so far am extremely pleased with the results. I’ve also used the ECG guide, which was previously reviewed on this site. In the the conclusion I’ll discuss my favored app.
Gray’s Anatomy brought to the iPhone, Not the Show [App Review]
The term “Gray’s Anatomy” has become synonymous with the popular ABC show featuring surgeons who have ridiculous amounts of drama while somehow still finding time for the OR. I’ve only seen one episode of the show, and would describe the main character as a black hole for drama, but anyways, before the show, “Gray’s Anatomy” was synonymous with gross anatomy, a very familiar text with medical students. The full version of the Gray’s Anatomy text has now gone mobile and is ready to use on your iPhone. There are a few versions of this app out, but I’ll be reviewing the Deluxe version. In this review I’ll focus on how useful it might be for gross anatomy during the first year of medical school.
GeeTasks: Helping Medical Professionals ‘Simply’ Stay on Task [App Review]
By: Matthew DeAugustinis, MD/MPH student, MS4
The Google behemoth has brought us many life-simplifying applications in the last decade (gMail, Google Calendar, etc…). Health professional have found these applications priceless in many aspects of our busy lives. Whether keeping that Grand Rounds top on the agenda or making your kids recital, having access to the data of our lives wherever we have internet is something we cherish. In December 2008 Google released another web based app to organize our lives, Google Tasks.
Google Tasks functions as a simple to-do list, with the ability to create multiple lists, provide due dates (and sort by due dates), add notes and access these lists through gMail, Google Calendar or on a standalone web app. This enables individuals with busy lives, i.e. medical professionals, to keep tabs on what’s most important, when it’s important and if we’ve yet done it. Unfortunately, like many Google applications, Google Tasks is solely web-based requiring the use of a browser and internet connection to access your tasks (both on a PC and Mobile Device). This issue has been remedied in the past for gMail and Google Calendar by the native Apple applications “Calendar” and “Mail” which sync with Google but retain information for offline viewing. Apple has no such native app for tasks. In comes GeeTasks to solve this issue.
Human Body 3D Anatomy App Might be Useful for Patient Education, But Not Much Else [App Review]
The Human Body 3D Anatomy App enables you to view different organ systems from a 3D perspective. The app also offers an encyclopedia with some basic information about the organ systems. It currently holds the #2 ranking in the paid medical apps section and costs $3.99. This app has some of the same 3D features and graphics found in the 3D Brain app, which we recently reviewed. Unlike the 3D Brain app that has detailed labeling of structures, this app’s largest shortcoming is the lack of labels on any of the structures present. I’ll mention more of these shortcomings in this full review.
USMLE Buzz Flash Cards App Aims to Help You With USMLE Step 1 Studying [App Review]
One of the biggest surprises in the App Store is the lack of legitimate USMLE study resources. I thought one of the biggest markets in would be medical education. There are a good number of Q-banks available for USMLE studying, but most can’t be accessed on the iPhone. Can you imagine if Kaplan or USMLE World had an app with their Q-banks? I would think this wouldn’t be hard to implement, and I know many people who would jump at the chance to have their personal Q-banks mobile.
Right now the four main players in the App Store are First Aid Q&A series, Lange Q bank, Dr. Conrad’s Disease Deck, and USMLE Wiz Flash Cards. We’ve reviewed the Lange Q bank(step 2 version) and Dr. Conrad’s Disease Deck. These apps will cost you 33 dollars and 20 dollars, respectively. But now you have the USMLE Buzz App crashing this sparse party. The app usually costs $2.99, but is currently on sale for 99 cents. It’s significantly cheaper than the other Q-banks and offers a different type of question answer format. This review will cover the features of USMLE Buzz along with the best way to use it for USMLE step studying.
MD on Call App Hopes to Make Your Call Nights Less Painful [App Review]
Its 3 AM and you are the new intern on call covering far more than your share of patients for multiple services. Your pager goes off. Mrs. Smith is seizing and Mr. Jones is vomiting large amounts of blood and is hypokalemic. What do you do?
MD on Call ($5.99) hopes to provide these answers. The app is developed by MDMarkee Publishing and is a new addition to the App Store. It is a simple application with sometimes basic but vital information, especially useful at those early morning call hours. This review will focus on the information provided and my experience using this application while being on call.
Modality Brings Procedures Consult App to the iPhone, We’re Blown Away [App Review]
Everyone in the medical field has heard the phrase, “See one, Do one, Teach one”. When you’re a budding medical student and intern, you’re taught to watch a procedure being done at least once, then to perform the procedure under supervision, and then after performing the procedure successfully, teach one.
The Procedures Consult:Internal Medicine App aims to help improve the success of this learning process. This $40 app packs 25 Internal Medicine procedures explained in detail through text, pictures, and videos. The app itself takes up a staggering 462 megabytes of space on your iPhone or iPod Touch. For that much space allocation one would think the app better be good. After using this app over the past week and seeing the responses from other medical students, interns, and residents, I can assure you, it’s better than good. This app is going to be making our soon to be released Top 10 list of Medical Apps for Residents. This is an extensive review of an app that is well deserving of the attention.
Finding the Best Medical App for Lab Values, We Check Out the Top Four [App Review]
There are a few different medical apps that provide you with reference lab values. I’m going to go through each one to see how they compare to each other and see which ones are the most useful in the wards/clinic. The main four in the App Store are Pocket Lab Values ($2.99), Normal Lab Values ($1.99), MedRef ($0.99), and Lab Tests ($5.99). Each medical app overlaps a decent amount of information, but there are definitely significant differences. Epocrates also has a lab values section, but you need to be a premium member in order to use it (expensive). A key thing to note is different hospitals can have different reference ranges (depending on how their in-house lab works), so always make sure your hospital’s references ranges match up with the app you use. With that said, the reference ranges are usually pretty universal. Anyways, let the battle begin.
This post will discuss how these different medical apps stack up to each other.
Med Mnemonics App: Great for Board Studying and the Wards [App Review]
Mnemonics have been around forever, helping people remember crucial information. However, people in the healthcare field don’t just use them in passing, to many they can be a lifeline in helping remember the thousands of pieces of information we need to know. I’ve never really used mnemonics that much through med school. Sure, before an anatomy test I’d memorize the critical ones, and for step 1 and step 2 studying I’d use the ones provided in First Aid.
The main problem with medical mnemonics is most people don’t have a central place to keep them. I’m way too scatterbrained to have a notebook or electronic copy of all the mnemonics I’ll need. That’s where the medical app Med Mnemonics comes in. For only $1.99, the developer claims to give you all the mnemonics you’ll ever need in the palm of your hand, to the tune of over 1,400. But this isn’t your run of the mill mnemonic app that just lists a bunch of random mnemonics and leaves you out in the cold. In this review I’ll describe how it’s much more.
