By: PJ Lally MD
Quick medical diagnosis and treatment is essentially a condensed version of the larger and more expensive Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment previously reviewed.
The design is simple.
There is a large searchable list of topics on your left and the topic information you choose on your right. The concise version does several things very well.
First, the medical app hits the Goldilocks sweet spot among reference medical apps.
I can read an article between patients, not get bogged down by time or scrolling, and learn enough to be useful for patient care. I tried using it as my only reference app during a busy shift at an Urgent Care and it only missed helping me with De Quervain’s tenosynovitis.
Second, each topic in the app is broken into nice digestible sections including key features, clinical findings, diagnosis, treatment and references.
Additionally, it is reasonably priced at $10. This is much less than many of the larger references and manuals, and not too much more than the individual disease references. Also, as a final added bonus, at just under 17MB, it does not take up a large chunk of memory on my iPad and iPhone.
My main disappointment was that under the contents bar there was no list of topics to browse via groups such as Neurology, Cardiac, etc. There is only the Table of Contents – a list of editors and authors.
A suggestion for the developers is to add the ability to highlight text and add your own notes to the topics. Further, being able to star favorites, would be critical.
Evidence to support use
- The app has list of references at the bottom of each section. Much of the information is tailored down from CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment.
Price
- $ 9.99
Likes
- Miraculously this medical app is only 16.8 MB. It is like the tiny pocket card in your white coat that take up no room but has much of what you need.
- Contains a large list of topics with concise coverage, yet, still enough information.
Dislikes
- There is no way to browse by groups (eg Renal and Electrolyte, Dermatology). There is only a huge list that can be cut down via the search function. Although I did not have trouble finding topics that were present, I did wonder if missing topics (de quervain’s tenosynovitis) were simply listed under a different heading that I could not find.
- It would be great to highlight text and add note features for the topics.
- It is slim on pictures and graphs. Yet, I am not even sure I want these as that would defeat the first bullet point under Likes.
Healthcare providers that would benefit from the app
- Physicians, residents, mid-levels, and students working in most general fields including inpatient, emergency room, and primary care.
Conclusion
- Quick medical diagnosis and treatment lives up to its name.
Type of Device used to review app Version of App–iPhone 5 and iPad with retina display.
Rating: 4 Stars
1. User Interface: 3 stars- Easy but could benefit from hyperlinks and categorical browsing
2. Multimedia usage: Not applicable
3. Price: 5 stars- A fairly large breadth of information packed into a little application
4. Real world applicability: 5 stars- As I said, I’m going to keep this app on my phone and tablet
Disclaimer:
This post does not establish, nor is it intended to establish, a patient physician relationship with anyone. It does not substitute for professional advice, and does not substitute for an in-person evaluation with your healthcare provider. It does not provide the definitive statement on the subject addressed. Before using these apps please consult with your own physician or healthcare provider.
