A MUST HAVE
Written: Feb 19 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: cost (free), ease of use, updated often, includes all essential information for ward use
Cons: no OTC meds, registration requires divulging personal data
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| drdavec1's Full Review: ePocrates Rx 4.0 |
Nowadays, it is extremely rare to find a product for the Palm OS that is free. Compared to LexiDrugs ($69) and Physican's Drug Handbook ($75.00)and the PDR (really expensive!), Epoqrates stands out because it is 100% FREE! Not to mention, that I find Epoqrates superior to both PDH and Lexi (I haven't used PDR). Thus, one can definitively say that Epoqrates is ESSENTIAL for all medical students, interns, residents, and attendings with the Palm OS.
The only downside to this program is the registration process. One must register on the website and divulge personal data, including your name, medical school, and date of birth. I assume at some point I will become a victim of marketing, but then again what website isn't about that? After registering, you can easily download the program, about 900 KB in size. The size is a great bonus... Lexi is 1.7 MB and PDH is 2.0 MB, making them prohibitive on smaller devices such as the Palm IIIx and IIIe.
Installation is a breeze onto the palm. When you first use the product, what stands out is the ease of use. You can search for drugs by two methods. You can search by name where you enter letters and the list resorts as you enter each letter. Also, you can search by class. For example, in neurology (my field) there are subdivisions for Headache, Alzheimers, Seizure, etc. Tap on any of these subheadings and you see a complete list of all the drugs in the class. When I say complete, I actually mean it. (The program does not have over the counter drugs however) This program gets updated quite frequently and includes all of the newest meds. As an example, Epoqrates contains both Vioxx and Celebrex, both of which are not in Lexi or Physician's Drug Handbook.
Tap on any drug to learn about it. in my review, I will use captopril. You can find Captopril by entering Captopril, Capoten (the brand name), or the class- Cardiovascular:ACE-1/A2R Antagonist. The sections found for each drug are:
Adult Dosing
Pediatric Dosing
Contraindications/ Caution
Drug Interaction
Adverse Reaction
Other
Notes
Tap on Capoten and the default screen in Adult Dosing (however this is adjustable) On this screen it tells you the indications (for Capoten.. HTN, CHF, diabetic nephropathy, Acute MI. Under each of these diseases is the recommended dosage schedule. It also tells renal dosing when applicable. This first screen also includes the different sizes of pills that the medication comes in.
The second screen is pediatric dosing. Most drugs (including Capoten) do not have specific indications for this. however, whenever applicable this section is quite useful.
Contraindications/ cautions is self-explanatory and comprehensive. It is not a one item list.
Drug Interactions is a great section. It lists all of the drugs that the product interacts with. 9 drugs or classes were listed for Capoten. As an example if you tap on diuretics Epoqrates tells you "Use with caution, monitor BP; additive/synerg. effects. Increase risk of Hyptension (bumetanide, furosemide, HCTZ, more)" It provides the exact interaction that you as a physician must look out for.
Other tells you misc. information such as pregnancy class, excretion, etc.
In the notes section, you can enter in your own information for the drug. Anything you want. if there are certain treatment protocols, new indications, mechanism of action....you get the picture. Epoqrates can be custmomized to fit your needs!
A final feature worth mentioning is that in addition to drug class, you can categorize drugs. For example, I use a category for on call, with the meds that i would frequently use. Another idea is to put all of the meds that your patients are on under a tab. It is important to note that your created categories do not interfere with the preassigned drug class.
If I must find a fault (which is very difficult to do!) i would mention again that Epoqrates does not have OTC drugs (Lexi has this). In addition, Epoq does not tell you information such as pharmacodynamics, pharmakokinetics, etc. However, such information takes up a lot of memory and is not really useful on the wards. Epoqrates is frequently updated with new features and improvements. Its wealth of data and price makes it the best in its class. In fact, it has essentially replaced the famous pocket sized book "Pocket Pharmacopea" Throw that book in the trash, for Epoqrates is all you need.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
drdavec1
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Member: dave
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 44
Trusted by: 96 members
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