by: Philip Xiu, MA, MB BChir (Cantab)
Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine is one of the most venerated textbooks of internal medicine, published first over sixty years ago. Unfortunately, its a little too big to fit in your white coat pocket. Thats where the The Manual of Medicine comes in, even more so since it, like many other medical texts, made the jump to mobile.
Previously, Harrison’s Manual of Medicine was reviewed for the iPhone by one of our editors, Iltifat Husain MD.
Here we take a look at the offerings available for Blackberry. Like the iPhone app, when you search for the Harrisons Manual of Medicine, you get 3 choices of avenues to purchase: Skyscape, MedHand or Unbound medicine–all 3 are the same price at $59.99.
Today we will review the MedHand edition.
When opening up the app, you are presented–much like all the other MedHand books, a list of chapter topics stretching from the common general medicine topics (cardiology, dermatology etc) to the more obscure (medical emergencies, disease prevention and health maintenance etc).
Using shock as an example of the medical emergencies encountered, we can see a clear summary of the treatment options, a clear table showcasing the classification of shocks, and also a treatment algorithm.
Searching for COPD, the detail included is much less than that of the Principles of Medicine. This is a bit less then expected. However, as a mobile ebook designed for quick references as well as looking up various tables and algorithms, it is ideal as showcased by the example screenshots above.
The content associated with this resource is identical to the book and therefore users can be reassured that they have full access to a decent and reliable reference source.
Pricing and technicals:
- $59.99 (downloadable from this link)
Likes:
- The Harrison’s Manual of Medicine’s treatment algorithms and short concise management protocols are vital to this app’s success
- Suitable for use in the ward or ER scenario, it is an ideal tool in the junior doctor’s arsenal
- The search function is powerful and the range of topics it covers is immense
Dislikes/possible future updates:
- For the BlackBerry, the display of diagrams as shown above is suboptimal
- You cannot zoom out to see the whole algorithm, and have to scroll around using the keypad or the tracker
- I also would like to have seen more use of diagrams or radiological pictures than is currently available
Conclusion:
- Harrison’s Manual of Medicine is a fantastic addition to the BlackBerry app library for any medical student or junior doctor
- Its powerful search function aided by its clear to use format and concise text makes it an ideal partner for any budding physician
