Lexi-Comp
Lexi-Comp, the first major medical app to make the jump to the iPad, represents a collection that includes a powerful medication reference (Lexi-Drugs) [PIC #7], drug interaction checker (Lexi-Interact) [PIC #8-#9], and disease database, as well as offering other resources such as 5-Minute Clinical Consult and Harrison’s Manual of Medicine.
Unfortunately, these features cost quite a bit, as shown here. A 30-day free trial is available to sample these considerable resources, but after that, the fees are as above. In short, although Lexi-Drugs and Lexi-Interact are strong resources, in our opinion, at this time they are not superior to and do not justify spending hundreds of dollars over their MedScape counterparts that are available for free.
MedScape
MedScape, which clocked in at #1 in our Top 20 free iPhone Medical Apps rankings, offers an impressive trove of medical goodness. Our full review affords more extensive insight into the full utility and power of this app for the wards. In brief, however, the MedScape app is best utilized as a medication reference (especially for checking drug interactions), procedure guide, and, (to a growing extent, a clinical reference.
Now numbering more than 7000 medications and continuously updated, we whole-heartedly recommend it as one of the premier medication references on this list and consider it particularly indispensable for checking drug interactions. Moreover, as a clinical reference, MedScape is arguably among the best of the free apps, but does suffer from a lack of detail for most illnesses. Regardless, we have considered MedScape a MUST-HAVE since its release, and this sentiment has only grown stronger with its subsequent releases and updates.
