Rural Emergency Medicine


Quality medical apps can be hard to come by on the iTunes store, especially with the mixture of junk apps (e.g. Sex Facts) in the category. The potential of medical apps to expand the functionality of smartphones and enhance clinical practice is growing year by year. Listed below are a number of medical apps currently available, which may assist you in clinical practice and medical education.

Editor's Note: This is a part of the Top iPhone Applications for 2010 series. For applications in different categories please observe the links at the bottom of the page.

MedCalc (Free)
MedCalc is one of the longest and best medical calculators around. It comes with over 170 relevant formulas, scores, scales and classifications which should satisfy the needs of most healthcare professionals worldwide. There is the ability to save favourites, see your most recently used formulas, view more detailed information and bibliographical references. Best of all, it is free. This is definitely a must have app for medical students, pharmacists, nurses, paramedics and doctors.

Improvements: Improve the search functionality by keeping the search bar at the top.

Similar App: Calculate by QXMD – Free More than 150 formulas.


Medscape (Free)
The Medscape App is the essential general reference guide. It provides a database of drugs, diseases & conditions and procedures & protocols, all at your fingertips. The information can be store locally on your iPhone and be accessed via the efficient search feature. It covers a large array of specialities and all information is supported with references. Other features include an interaction checker, medical news, mobile CME, physician directories (only applicable for the US) and much more.

Cons: There are some complaints that you have to register with Medscape to get the full benefit out of it. (Note: registration is free.)

Overall, considering that this app is Free and provides a wealth of information, it should not be one to pass up.

Similar Apps:

Diagnosaurus DDx ($1.19)
Ever wanted to perform that differential diagnosis with a bit more speed and confidence. Diagnosaurus DDx is the quick reference tool to aid newly started health practitioners and medical students in eliminating possibilities, and coming towards the likely disease or disorder. Navigate via diseases, organ systems, favourites or use the inbuilt search functionality to browse all entries. With more than 1000 differential diagnoses Diagnosaurus is a valuable and must have, study and clinical tool.

Cons: No retina support. Not a big issue as the bulk of app is mostly text.

Eponyms for Students (Free)
Eponyms brings more than 1700 medical eponyms (e.g. Babinski's sign, Rovsing's sign,Tetralogy of Fallot and much more) to your iOS device. For each eponym a short description is provided. Use the inbuilt search function to quickly find what you are looking for and save it later in your favourites.

Cons: Ad-supported. Upgrade to Eponyms ($2.49) for no ads.

iRadiology (Free)
Developed by Dr Lieberman and Tongur Pinar, iRadiology provides a accessible serving of classic radiology cases through your iOS device. The library of radiological images is vast (over 500 unique cases), and the images and related pages provide a great deal of information (labels, discussion section). Cases can be found via search or by browsing through the well structured categories. All information is stored on your device so no internet connection is required. This is app for anyone from radiographers to doctors, who have an interest in improving their radiology reading skills.

Improvements: An introduction and a quick tutorial about how to approach the different radiological images. A quiz feature would also be nice (e.g. like the one offered by Radiopaedia). Retina display isn't officially supported but it doesn't effect image qualities, just some elements of the user interface. Finally the ability to read the discussion section in landscape mode as well as portrait.

Similar Apps:

Pocket Body Musculoskeletal ($12.99)
Pocket Body is a must have app for anyone studying musculoskeletal anatomy. Navigate your way through 9 layers from 4 different viewing angles of crystal clear images, to fully appreciate how the human body moves. Pocket Body is comprehensive in covering muscles, ligaments, joints and bones of the human body. Though primarily aimed at Musculoskeletal anatomy, the detail of the imagery in combination with the ability to add your own pins, allows you to expand the app to suit your needs.

A number of options are offered to find the information you need with the greatest ease. Search by A-Z, by regions or the glossary. There is the opportunity to add extra information where needed (e.g. a mnemonic) via notes, to tailor the program towards your requirements. Finally there are a number of different modes to assess your anatomical knowledge; from locating pins to an engaging review mode.

Pocket Body Musculoskeletal hits the mark for being both a well designed and beautiful app at a reasonable price.

Improvements: Currently does not support retina display: this is noticeable in certain elements of the interface. In addition, the app would benefit from being able to view in landscape mode.

Similar Apps:

Go to part 2.

Top iPhone Application Series 2010
General | Multimedia | Photography | Social Networking | Medical: part 1, part 2 | Health, Lifestyle & Travel

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