Epocrates on iPhone/Touch!!!

[Dave00]

Epocrates has been released for the iPhone/Touch. For all in the medical field, this is a Really Big Deal. This was the one thing that kept many of us having to carry around a palm-based device. Now I can just use my Touch. Plus, it's free! With the potential for e-prescribing coming soon (I don't think there's currently any direct solution other than web-based, which are designed for larger screens) it'll be a huge boon for us in health care.

Dave

 

[Khurram]

Loving epocrates!
All my classmates are always like.."yeah but there's no epocrates"..now I finally have it.

That's awesome about the e-prescription feature I had no idea about that!

 

[martinmartin]

Isn't the only version available a 'watered down' version of Epocrates Essentials?

My gf is in medical school and I told her I would look into this stuff for her (trying to keep her from having to get a Palm Pilot). She is required to have Epocrates Essentials (or possibly Deluxe) and it appears Essentials and Deluxe are not available on the iPhone. (I'm not even sure what the difference is between those products and the iPhone version...) She says she also needs E*Value, First Consult and possibly a few others.

I haven't fully looked into all of this, but I told her I have a feeling that if she needs all of that stuff (within a month), she might have to use the Palm for a year or so until all of the products are released on the iPhone.

Any ideas from Drs or med school students?

 

[hierobryan]

I'm not in the medical field, I'm just interested in drugs. One question for you smarty-pantsses: What is Formulary?

 

[stlblufan]

I'm not in the medical field, I'm just interested in drugs. One question for you smarty-pantsses: What is Formulary?

A formulary is a list of both generic and brand name drugs that are preferred by a particular health plan.

 

[hierobryan]

A formulary is a list of both generic and brand name drugs that are preferred by a particular health plan.

What do you mean by 'preferred'? So if I have a certain health plan a doctor will be more likely to prescribe a certain drug over another? Or do you mean certain manufacturers are preferred?

 

[Cuthbert]

Isn't the only version available a 'watered down' version of Epocrates Essentials?

My gf is in medical school and I told her I would look into this stuff for her (trying to keep her from having to get a Palm Pilot). She is required to have Epocrates Essentials (or possibly Deluxe) and it appears Essentials and Deluxe are not available on the iPhone. (I'm not even sure what the difference is between those products and the iPhone version...) She says she also needs E*Value, First Consult and possibly a few others.

I haven't fully looked into all of this, but I told her I have a feeling that if she needs all of that stuff (within a month), she might have to use the Palm for a year or so until all of the products are released on the iPhone.

Any ideas from Drs or med school students?

Essentials is the Integrated drug, disease, and diagnostic suite; the iphone program is just the drugs. So yeah, it's just the free watered down version. I assume it will take a little bit to get the rest of it programmed. And then it will cost a bit. However, the iphone version does have the cool pill identifier with it.

Honestly though, the Rx is all she should need. Essentials or Deluxe are really just a crutch. The sooner your girlfriend drops those, the more she will learn. Trust me, I understand the want to have those crutches with you, especially when you just enter residency. But I would bet you money that if she drops them, she will find that she can walk just fine on her own.

She's required to have them??? Where does she go? That's weird.

 

[stlblufan]

What do you mean by 'preferred'? So if I have a certain health plan a doctor will be more likely to prescribe a certain drug over another? Or do you mean certain manufacturers are preferred?

With respect to any particular condition, there are often several (or even many) drugs on the market that will produce the same or similar results. Health plans will choose "formulary" drugs that are just as safe and effective as the alternatives but cost less. So when you go to the pharmacy and your health plan covers one variety but not the other, the one it does cover is considered "formulary." The other versions that it does not cover are "non-formulary."

 

[alhkim]

What do you mean by 'preferred'? So if I have a certain health plan a doctor will be more likely to prescribe a certain drug over another? Or do you mean certain manufacturers are preferred?

Preferred refers to the insurance companies preference of which drug within a class of drugs they cover. For example, if you have seasonal allergies and use nasal steroids, most insurance companies cover Flonase as the preferred medication for this purpose. Now, most people rather use something like Nasocort AQ since the solution is water-based rather that alcohol-based and is less irritating and has less odor. But most insurance companies will force the patient to pay a high copay to get that medication. How insurance companies determine what is preferred in their formulary is a complex process, but usually it comes down to how much does the drug cost.

 

[alhkim]

Isn't the only version available a 'watered down' version of Epocrates Essentials?

My gf is in medical school and I told her I would look into this stuff for her (trying to keep her from having to get a Palm Pilot). She is required to have Epocrates Essentials (or possibly Deluxe) and it appears Essentials and Deluxe are not available on the iPhone. (I'm not even sure what the difference is between those products and the iPhone version...) She says she also needs E*Value, First Consult and possibly a few others.

I haven't fully looked into all of this, but I told her I have a feeling that if she needs all of that stuff (within a month), she might have to use the Palm for a year or so until all of the products are released on the iPhone.

Any ideas from Drs or med school students?

I have talk to Epocrates representatives over the phone and they are under the impression that a Essentials package is being developed (read: we really have no idea, but this seems likely to me). I have the Essentials package now for WM6 and am trying to get them to suspend my subscription until they come out with one for the iPhone. Now trying to get an iPhone now is a completely different topic (not a single store in Saint Louis has had one since Sunday).

 

[Dave00]

Isn't the only version available a 'watered down' version of Epocrates Essentials?

The Epocrates software comes in a number of different varieties - sort of like your Final Cut Express vs. Pro, etc. The major utility of Epocrates is as a drug reference, and this is included in all versions, including the free one. You can look up virtually any drug, check for interactions, side effects, and what insurance covers what drug (formulary). There is also a calculator for various commonly used medical formulas. The subscription versions offer add-ons like alternative/herbal drugs, infectious disease guide, IV compatibility checker (mainly useful for nurses and pharmacists), and some other things. But the main value is in the free application. As a practicing physician, I use this maybe 20-25 times per day.

I expect that the availability of this one application will cause a large number of medical professionals to switch to the iPhone/Touch. It's the one reason I'll be buying the 2.0 upgrade to my Touch.

Now, for a medical student, it might still be worthwhile to go with a palm-based PDA, because there are lots of little cool apps that haven't been ported yet. But your use of these diminishes as you further along your training. At this point, the only reason I'm still using a Sony Clie is Epocrates. That'll all change now.