5 Free Must-Have Apps for Medical Students
With hundreds of medical apps to choose from, how can a busy medical student determine which are truly valuable for patient care? Good news: We’ve gathered a handful of the most powerful—and mostly free—apps that medical students, interns, residents, and physicians rely on every day to support their clinical decision-making.
1. Epocrates
This industry-leading medical reference app is designed to support medical decisions by putting safety, diagnostic, and treatment information in your hands at the point of care. Over 1 million providers rely on Epocrates for clinical decision support that helps them save time while delivering high-quality care.
2. Eponyms
Are you frustrated with trying to remember diseases, conditions, and procedures that are named for a person, place, or thing? This database of 1,800 common and obscure medical eponyms—from Crohn’s disease to Virchow’s node—lets you quickly find short, clear descriptions of terms used in daily practice as well as rarities in the medical lexicon.
3. iPrescribe
For interns and residents with prescribing privileges, iPrescribe is a must-have for secure electronic prescribing anytime, anywhere, whether you’re in the hospital, on call, or away for the weekend. This award-winning app lets you view patients’ medication history, receive automatic drug interaction and allergy alerts, and comply with state and federal mandates for e-prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS). Medical students can create an account to support a provider using iPrescribe by queuing up prescriptions to sign and send, then switch to a prescriber account once you’ve earned those privileges.
4. MedCalX
For more than 15 years, this app has been a favorite of medical students and physicians. The powerful medical calculator (available only for iOS devices) gives you access to medical formulas, scales, classifications, scores, and more. Plus, it’s available in English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chinese. (Free with in-app purchase.)
5. Medscape
Whether you’re a medical student or a practicing physician, the Medscape app is a must-have for medical news, expert commentary in various specialties, drug and disease information, plus relevant professional education and CME/CE activities. This app is packed with over 400 medical calculators, access to prescribing and safety information on more than 8,500 prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and step-by-step procedural videos.
Get Organized!
Your smartphone may already be loaded with apps that help organize your personal life. With the apps listed here, you can better manage your professional life as well.