List of problematic med apps

[PalmSole]

Anyone out there who would like to name any med apps free or shareware that have caused any conflicts on your device? a nifty but outdated freebie named ACLS has been on my T5 for years. I just found that it causes problems with db cache and the system find function(which I rarely use) :o

[johnnaryry]

The free version of ePocraties is kind of dodgy on my T3. Auto-updating it with my iMac (OS 10.4.9) is kind of like playing Russian-roulette, about every third sync or so it crashes, requiring a soft-reset followed by another sync. In comparison, I also use Tarascon Deluxe, which I have to manually download and sync in order to update. Tarascon is rock solid! No problems at all.

--ryan

[fluffy]

Avoid MedicalWizards.com drug guides, calculators. While some things are pretty neat
(anatomy references for example) their calculators are wrong in more then a few cases I came across.

[PalmSole]

Sorry for the offtopic rant but I have to share: Just stumbled across MerckMedicus. The best freebie i've seen so far..not only do you get the Merck manual but multiple first rate journals that you can customize for evidence based up to date articles..Wow!! The only drawback (just being picky) is the huge footprint on internal memory(around 10 mb) that you can only shrink down to about half if you sync to your external card. I tend to get a soft reset if I forget to put the card that has the database on it and then proceed to try to use the program. Just a small problem for an incredible app. that would normally cost a considerable amount.
;)

[docinthebox]

I concur with Johnnaryry's comment about ePocrates being buggy. Can't agree more with the Russian roulette analogy. Not only does the sync crash often, but their sync just gets longer and longer over the years. I don't know why there's so much info to gather to upload to their server. Who knows what they're monitoring. Could be my personal info as well. Also, they often mess up the file system on my SD card. Easy to discover - after a sync, just use a card reader to copy everything to a folder on your PC, then copy everything back to the SD card. You'd discover that some files had become corrupted, not readable by the card reader anymore. Also, ePocrates had messed up my other apps as well, like one time after a sync, I found my TomTom starting to crash on start. Turns out ePocrates somehow duplicated one of the TomTom data files on the flash of the TX.

What a shame. Epocrates has good content. But the software was so buggy. Their MDs and pharm people are doing a good job, but they need better software engineers.

[Adam Helberg]

I use the free Epocrates on my Garmin iQue and have no problems. I keep as much as possible on the SD card, and have my HotSync set to do nothing. Once every month or so I set to Synchronize the Epocrates files, which is enough.

I don't find it buggy, but don't like that it has to take up so much RAM and load so many files.

Adam

[PalmSole]

This is not so problematic as it is annoying: My Stedman's medical dictionary from Skyscape has started to present a pop-up message everytime I open the program "your subscription has expired..." Looks like they are getting creative in the software department in how to annoy the customer in to paying for their program more than once :mad:

[PinCushionQueen]

This is not so problematic as it is annoying: My Stedman's medical dictionary from Skyscape has started to present a pop-up message everytime I open the program "your subscription has expired..." Looks like they are getting creative in the software department in how to annoy the customer in to paying for their program more than once :mad:

Sorry to hear that Skyscape is still doing this... :mad: A couple of years ago I quit using their products after I spent $50 for a drug guide only to have it "expire" 1 year later - then they wanted me to pay $40 to "renew". I suppose I wouldn't mind them not giving me updates to the formularies after one year but because of their desktop auto-update configuration - the program quit working all together! Contacting customer service got me nowhere. IMHO Skyscape sucks!!!

[Adam Helberg]

I tried their Anesthesia program a couple of years ago and I did not like the interface at all. It was much too awkward for a Palm software. I asked for a refund and they refused. So I too do not have a positive opinion on Skyscape.

Adam

[docinthebox]

I know this is not a substitute for Stedman Medical Dictionary, but I found the Merck Manual and the Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests, both available in the free Merck PDA application, to be very handy general medical references that are free of charge. These and ePocrates and the JHU Abx guide are basically what I use.

And there's a free app called Diagnosaurus created by the company that makes Harrison PDA app, that's pretty handy too when you need to formulate differential diagnoses.

[PinCushionQueen]

I couldn't get a free copy of merck medicus because I'm a RN, not a MD or NP. Any ideas?

[PalmSole]

I'm just a lowly med student who had no problem signing up for MerkMedicus :D They now offer Harrisons practice into their library of goodies: you are able to get Basics, Diagnosis, Treatment, Ongoing care, Resource references and Clinical pearls on specific diseases...I would try to register again(even write to them if necessary) if I were you...a registered nurse is far more deserving of this wonderful tool than a 2nd year med student.

[fesildeff]

My Skyscape app made the same popup. I just erased all, and reinstalled the thing, but i avoided doing the smart sync update from my palm.
Never saw those popups again

[tedtol]

Greetings all,

Can anyone recommend a comprehensive app for a nurse working in the PACU? Drip calulators, a formulary, and basic nursing topics specific for anesthesia would be desirable. Thanks.

[Adam Helberg]

My Skyscape app made the same popup. I just erased all, and reinstalled the thing, but i avoided doing the smart sync update from my palm.
Never saw those popups again

I tried Skyscape again and my opinion has become more negative. The thing loads and incredible number of files onto my PC and makes changes to my registry, leaving loads of junk. Afterwards I wasted my time removing all the junk files it loaded onto my PC. I doesn't allow standard uninstall by Windows. I call this pollution by Skyscape.

Adam