Herbal medicine — also called botanical medicine or phytomedicine — refers to using a plant’s seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers for medicinal purposes.
Lately, in part due to TV shows like Dr. Oz, it’s becoming common practice among certain patient populations.
It’s uncommon for physicians to be very well versed in various herbal remedies, and this handbook attempts to help with this lack of knowledge.
Natural Standard Herb & Supplement Guide: An Evidence-Based Reference is an app developed by Elsevier that attempts to provide high-quality, up-to-date, information about herbs and other supplements.
The user interface is arranged into different tabs. One tab lists all herbs and supplements, with the rest working as bookmarks, history, and the about page. The app has a search function that is robust and important since there are over 400 herbs and supplements covered. Each entry is concise and the text is easy to read, including uses, dosage information, safety considerations, and interactions with drugs and other herbs and supplements. Loading times are long during the trial period of the app as it doesn’t allow data to be downloaded and each entry has to be accessed in real time.
Interestingly, we found that each entry also includes information on the evidence and Scientific Evidence Grades. This is excellent as it allows physicians to offer accurate advice for or against use of particular herbs. All herbs are included in a table and organized based on their evidence grade. Taking into consideration the large number of herbs, extra navigational features would be useful including sorting items per evidence grade or usage.
Evidence and literature used to support app
- The app contains references to source material.
Price
- Free trial for 30 days
- Full version is $59.99
Likes
- Excellent information
- Scientific Evidence Grades
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Large number of herbs and supplements
Dislikes
- Navigation needs more work
Healthcare providers that would benefit from the app
- Physicians in general
Conclusion
- Natural Standard Herb Guide TR is a great app that will surely be of use to any physician as it provides valuable information about a subject that is not frequently known in detail to providers.
- It would be an even better app if one could sort entries based on evidence grades or conditions the herb is used for.
Type of device used to review app – Moto X
App version – 4.3.076
Rating: (1 to 5 stars): 4/5
- User interface – 3. Easy to use but navigation needs works
- Multimedia usage – N/A
- Price – 3. Trial version is good and the price is fair based on content value
- Real world applicability – 5. Excellent app for physicians in general
