As we have noted before, because of the iTunes AppStore's popularity, trying to pin down the Top Ten Free Apps in a given category is like trying to shoot a moving target. That said, the headline of this post is a bit tongue-in-cheek, because by tomorrow or even by tonight this list will probably be dated, too. For the sake of taking a pulse check on the medical app offerings for the iPhone and iTouch, however, we will forge ahead.
Just like our list from March, the current, most popular medical apps list is dominated by well-known medical software publishers like Medscape, Epocrates, Skyscape and others. In the past few months, however, Medscape has unseated Epocrates as the current top free medical app for the iPhone platform. Newcomers like uHear have also made an impression after considerable media buzz surrounded their launch.
Remember: These are just the apps that happen to be getting the most downloads currently. Here are the real top ten iPhone medical apps according to Apple's list of most downloaded ones.
Be sure to let us know if they deserve the distinction.
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1) Medscape
WebMD Health has launched a Medscape CME iPhone app for physicians. Medscape Mobile is a free iPhone and iPod Touch app that includes information for more than 6,000 generic and brand-name drugs, herbals, supplements and antidotes, a drug interaction checker, clinical reference tools, medical news and continuing medical education (CME). The app also includes contact info for more than 400,000 physicians, 57,000 pharmacies and 6,000 hospitals.
2) Epocrates
Epocrates recently announced that more than 100,000 physicians use its iPhone app. Epocrates enables its users to check dosing, interactions, health plan coverage and more.
3) Medical Encyclopedia
The University of Maryland Medical System is proud to present the "UMMS Medical Encyclopedia" iPhone application, available free on the Apple iPhone App Store. Information is organized according to symptoms, injury, disease, and surgery, as well as other categories. As an added feature, users have the ability to ask questions directly of our physicians on many specialized topics.
4) Speed Bones Lite
From the developer: "Do you think you know the parts of your body? Would you understand what is happening to you if you were told you broke your Sacrum, Sternum or Ilium? How fast can you point to specific bones? Speed Bones Lite is the most exciting way to learn and test your knowledge of bones.
This is a must have game if you are tackling anatomy for high school, university or medical school. It is more captivating than flashcards and practice mode allows you to learn specific regions without doing all the previous levels. Review mode lets you replay all the mistakes you made in the last game to facilitate learning."
5) Skyscape Medical Reference
Skyscape Medical Resources iPhone app is a bundled app that includes a number of Skyscape's tools, including: Outlines in Clinical Medicine, Archimedes - Medical Calculator, RxDrugs: Drug Dosing Tool and MedAlert. Interestingly, Skyscape also offers its RxDrugs software as a separate free app this is also one of the top ten most popular apps right now. (Number 10 on this list.)
6) MedCalc (medical calculator)
Medcalc is a free medical calculator for the iPhone and iPod Touch that includes US and SI units. There are many, many calculations included in the app, here are just a few from the A's: A-a Oxygen Gradient, Absolute Neutrophile Count (ANC), Age Calculator, Alcoholic Hepatitis Discriminant Function, Anion Gap, APGAR Score.
7) uHear
From the company: uHear is a hearing loss screening test application available for download to the iPhone and iPod Touch. With uHear, you can identify a potential hearing loss through three assessments: Hearing Sensitivity, Speech in Noise and a Questionnaire about common listening situations. uHear also offers a "Locate" function to help find the nearest Hearing Health Care Professional for a full follow-up.
8) EyeChart
From the company: A Snellen Eye Chart is an eye chart used by eye care professionals and others to measure visual acuity. Snellen charts are named after the Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen who developed the chart in 1862. While the classic Snellen chart is typically placed at 20' or 6m, pocket-sized versions such as this one can provide useful screens for rough visual acuity.
9) Relax with Andrew Johnson
From the company: Use Relax with Andrew Johnson Lite and feel the world slow down. This app helps users unwind and de-stress, and it also has been used in therapeutic settings. The App teaches relaxation techniques, which have helped with ME, pain control, insomnia, post traumatic stress disorder and many other stress symptoms.
10) Skyscape RxDrugs
From the company: RxDrugs: Drug Dosing Tool is tool that helps you make accurate, informed and confident drug dosing decisions at point of care. This continually updated tool provides dosing guidelines on thousands of commonly used brand and generic drugs and now includes nearly 400 integrated weight-based drug dosing calculators.
Check out our snapshot of the top medical iPhone apps back in March.
