epocrates

Editor's Review

Epocrates is a comprehensive mobile medical app designed to assist healthcare professionals in making informed decisions at the point of care. 🧑‍⚕️ Since 1998, it has been a trusted resource for over one million clinicians, consistently rated as the #1 medical app by Decision Resource Group’s “Taking the Pulse” for 10 years running. 🏆 Epocrates offers a wide range of features, including drug monographs, interaction checkers, pill identifiers, and dosing calculators, all aimed at saving time and enhancing patient care. ⏰

The app's core functionality revolves around providing detailed information on prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medications. 💊 Each monograph includes pharmacology, prescribing and safety information, adult and pediatric dosing guidelines, adverse reactions, contraindications, black box warnings, and considerations for pregnancy and lactation. This wealth of knowledge empowers clinicians to prescribe medications with confidence and accuracy. ✅

One of the standout features of epocrates is its drug interaction checker. ⚗️ This tool allows users to identify potential interactions between up to 30 different drugs, including brand name, generic, OTC, and alternative medicines. By flagging potentially harmful combinations, the interaction checker helps prevent adverse events and improve patient safety. 🛡️

In addition to drug information, epocrates offers a pill identifier, which allows users to identify medications based on their physical characteristics, such as shape, color, and imprint code. 🔍 This can be particularly useful in situations where a patient is unable to provide the name of their medication. 🤔

Epocrates also includes a suite of over 600 dosing calculators, medical equations, and tools designed to simplify complex calculations and streamline clinical workflows. 🧮 These tools cover a wide range of medical specialties and can be customized to meet the individual needs of each user. ⚙️

For U.S.-based clinicians, epocrates provides access to formulary information for over 6,600 insurance plans, organized by state. 🗺️ This allows users to quickly determine whether a particular medication is covered by a patient's insurance plan, helping to avoid delays and ensure access to necessary treatments. 🏥

The app also offers a customizable home screen, allowing users to prioritize the features and information that are most relevant to their practice. 🏠 With drag-and-drop simplicity, clinicians can tailor the app to their specific needs and preferences. 🤳

For users seeking even more advanced features, epocrates+ is available for a monthly subscription fee. 💰 This premium version includes alternative medicine monographs, peer-reviewed disease content from the BMJ, labs, ICD-10 codes, and other valuable medical content. 📚

Features

• Rx and OTC monographs with detailed information

• Drug interaction checker for up to 30 drugs

• Pill identifier organized by shape, color, imprint

• 600+ dosing calculators, medical equations, and tools

• Formularies for 6,600+ U.S. insurance plans

• Customizable home screen with drag-and-drop simplicity

• Alternative medicine monographs (epocrates+)

• Peer-reviewed disease content from the BMJ (epocrates+)

Pros

• Saves time in the prescribing moment

• Helps clinicians prescribe with confidence

• Keeps clinicians focused on the patient

Cons

• Additional features require a paid subscription

• Formulary coverage limited to U.S. insurance plans