6 Best Medical Apps for Doctors

Tirena Dingeldein profile picture
Written by:
Tirena Dingeldein

Published
6 min read

Everyone is living in a mobile world, even healthcare workers. That's why we rounded up the top medical apps for doctors.

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When I was working at a pharmacy, using a mobile app for drug identification was key to my daily survival.

Sure, drug identification software was available on my work computer, but when a patient asks "What's this?" while handing you a white pill that looks like every other pill out there, you want to quickly double-check.

Turns out, I'm not the only one who caught the health-tech bug early on in my medical career.

Mobile health (mHealth) is on track to be a nearly $300 billion market by 2025. The telehealth industry will grow approximately 19% between 2019 and 2025. And healthcare data is projected to grow 36% through 2025.

With all this innovation, how do you sift through the plethora of patient and fitness-centered apps out there to find ones that are actually helpful in a clinical setting?

Easy. We did it for you.

What are medical apps?

Medical apps, as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, are software on a mobile device that function as an accessory to a regulated medical device or transform a mobile platform into a regulated medical device. In other words: These apps can help patients manage their own health and help healthcare practitioners facilitate and improve patient care.

Per our inclusion criteria for this article, the software options below can each be used on a mobile device, have at least five reviews, and are specifically meant for practitioners (not patients). We broke the apps down by category based on user sentiment/recommendations and included a runner up for each category (e.g., software with fewer than five reviews but still well known in the medical industry).

Streamline your software search with our Shortlist guide

Quickly find the right tool with this snapshot of the most popular Medical Apps

What's the best medical app for doctors?

Epocrates

Epocrates product video (Source)

This is the gold standard of medical apps. It's available for both iOS and Android and has been downloaded millions of times.

Doctors use this app to lookup drug information and interactions, find providers for consults and referrals, and quickly calculate patient measurements such as BMI.

The free version is relatively robust for a medical reference resource, but the paid version can act as a supplement to your practice (kind of like an extra repository of clinical knowledge) if you need help interpreting lab results or medication alternatives. If you are looking for software solutions that have similar features, these Epocrates alternatives might be what you are looking for.

Pricing: While the app itself and most of its content is free, access to additional information and functionality (such as lab guides, different medications, and disease information) requires an in-app purchase of Epocrates Essentials for $174.99 a year.

Runner up: PEPID PEDS

PEPID PEDS product video (Source)

PEPID PEDS is a frequently updated clinical decision support/reference app targeted at emergency room physicians but also useful for nurses, students, residents, pharmacists, EMTs, and paramedics. You can earn continuing medical education credits with it while actually treating patients.

PEPID's Symptom Checker helps you diagnose faster by suggesting possible ailments based on patient symptoms, physical exam findings, and lab results. A filtered drug-interaction checker alerts you to possible multi-drug interactions, all on one screen, and offers dosing suggestions.

The app also offers hundreds of reference videos for clinical procedures and physical examinations, and push notifications keep you up-to-date on new research, drug approvals, and black box warnings. If you are interested in software solutions with similar features, these PEPID PEDS alternatives could provide what you need.

Pricing: Starts at $299.95 per user, per year


What's the best medical app for iOS devices?

Kareo Billing

Kareo Billing product video (Source)

Kareo Billing offers cloud, installed, and iOS deployment options. This medical software is best for medical professionals who want to get paid faster (and really, don't we all?).

Kareo Billing automates the billing process so doctors spend less time doing paperwork and more time with their patients. This streamlined billing works for standard, insurance-taking docs as well as those who opt out of offering insurance coverage at their practices.

This app also allows for multi-physician use and is HIPAA-compliant. Looking for products with similar features? These Kareo Billing alternatives might provide you the solutions you are looking for.

Pricing: Starts at $80 per user, per month

Runner up: Figure 1

Figure 1 product video (Source)

You can view and share medical images with other physicians using this iOS and Android app. Hundreds of thousands of users send, comment on, and search through medical images in Figure 1's visual database.

This app is perfect for physicians looking for feedback on a rare condition, or seeking to learn about rare or textbook cases.

The app guarantees patient privacy with automatic face-blocking and removal of identifying information. Interested in software solutions with similar features? These Figure 1 alternatives could provide the features you are looking for.

Pricing: This app is free to download and use.


What's the best medical app for Android devices?

UpToDate

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UpToDate interface for desktop, tablet, and mobile (Source)

Another heavy hitter, the UpToDate app can be used on Android devices. Hundreds of thousands of physicians have installed this app, and for good reason. It's chock-full of medical knowledge that allows it to answer clinical questions at the point of need.

Multiple physicians can use this software with a multi-physician license, and it has 24/7 support in case you need help finding something.

All of the recommendations that UpToDate offers practitioners are really up to date and backed up with references. If you want to explore software solutions with similar features, these UpToDate alternatives are worth a look.

Pricing: While the app is free to download, to access the wealth of information contained within users must subscribe to the UpToDate database. Pricing starts at $519 per year for an individual physician. Specialty prices are available by consult for offices with two to 19 clinicians.

Runner up: Appointik

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Appointik's mobile interface (Source)

What's better than a free medical app? A free Android-native medical app. Appointik is currently free (except in India) and gives users medical practice management capabilities at their fingertips.

Appointik allows users to have unlimited patients and unlimited practitioners, saves patient records in the cloud, and even works offline.

Word to the wise: The app isn't HIPAA-compliant yet, but if you need something to take care of scheduling physicians at your practice, this app might be for you.

What medical apps do you use?

Have any favorite medical apps you just can't do without in your office?

Add them in the comments below!


Looking for Electronic Medical Records software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Electronic Medical Records software solutions.

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About the Author

Tirena Dingeldein profile picture

Tirena Dingeldein is a former Lead Emerging Technology and Business Trends Analyst for Capterra.

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