Free mobilePDR app on Skyscape

mobilePDR® powered by Skyscape is Free to US Prescribers

mobilePDR® is now FREE to all valid U.S.-based MDs, DOs, NPs and PAs in full-time patient practice. Based on the trusted Physicians’ Desk Reference® (PDR®), mobilePDR® is the most authoritative source for FDA-approved drug labeling information. No mobile drug resource is more comprehensive, current, user-friendly, or more recognized.

Key Features

* Information on more than 2,400 drugs
* Concise point-of-care prescribing, dosing and administering information
* Full-color images
* Weekly updates to ensure accuracy
* Available for all major mobile platforms, including iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Palm, Palm Pre, Symbian and Windows Mobile

Click here for more information about mobilePDR.

Get mobilePDR for Prescribers (free)

It's finally back!

A $59.95 value, mobilePDR is available FREE to MDs, DOs, NPs, and PAs in full-time patient practice. PDR Network has partnered with Skyscape to offer mobilePDR via the Skyscape medical reference information mobile service, which includes more than 1.4 million users worldwide. mobilePDR can be used on all major mobile platforms and is immediately available to you for free download.

If you're using Android:

• In order to download your free copy of mobilePDR®, you will need to go to the Android Market on your device*
• Once you get to the Market, search for "mobilePDR"
• Select the "mobilePDR® for Prescribers" app and follow the prompts to complete your installation

mobilePDR is available for the following mobile platforms:

	Android™
	BlackBerry®
	iPad™/iPhone™/iPod® touch
	Palm OS®
	Palm Pre Classic
	Windows Mobile®/Pocket PC/Smartphone

Learn more here: http://www.skyscape.com/mobilepdr

Where are all the Android medical apps?

As Android gains popularity among smartphone users, the health care community is asking: "Where are all the Android medical apps?"  Physicians and medical students rely heavily on apps like Epocrates. We know that Epocrates for Android will launch in "early 2010" but what does that mean? Can a physician or medical student effectively use an Android smartphone while waiting for medical apps to get released? I think the answer is "yes," but it also depends on how heavily you rely on certain apps. For instance, my wife (a primary care physician) depends on Epocrates and she would not be able to practice medicine efficiently if she doesn't have Epocrates and access to drug formulary information. So what are you to do?

Speaking of Epocrates, we know that mobilePDR will also be available for Android, but when? They currently advertise that mobilePDR is available for:

           

There's no doubt that by the end of 2010, we'll see many more apps available on the Android App Store (Market). Can you wait? One of the major drawbacks of being an early adopter is that you may have to wait for some key medical apps. I'm anticipating by the middle of 2010, we'll have so many Android users in the community that you won't be considered an "early adopter" anymore.

Top free medical apps for Android in 2009

This year, we saw Android emerge as a leading smartphone OS. In 2010, we'll see Android begin to dominate the smartphone marketplace (especially among health care professionals such as physicians, medical students, pharmacists, and nurses).

Let me list some of the top free Android medical apps for 2009 and then list my prediction for 2010. Here's the current list for 2009:

• Skyscape Reader: includes RxDrugs, Outlines in Clinical Medicine (OCM), and the Archimedes set of medical calculators.
• QxMD (pregnancy wheel and several different medical calculators)
• QuantiaMD (medical content, CME, medical challenges, and more)
• Mobile MerckMedicus (powered by Unbound Medicine)
• AgileMedCalc (several different medical calculators)

In 2010, you can expect this list to include some additional free resources such as:

• Epocrates
• MobilePDR
• WebMD/Medscape
• Medical encyclopedias
• Medical calculators
• Drug guides
  
• and many more!

So, are you excited about Android? I hope to see many electronic health record (EHR) vendors creating mobile apps for Android. The Apple iPhone continues to gain popularity among medical professionals, but Android will be right up there next to the iPhone in 2010 once we see a larger supply of medical apps for Android. As more medical students and physicians create medical apps for Android, we'll see growing excitement about this OS within the medical community.

My favorite smartphone on Verizon Wireless for 2009 is...

My favorite smartphone on Verizon Wireless is currently the HTC Droid Eris running Google Android. I realize that we don't have many medical apps for Android right now, but this will change in 2010. We'll see many medical apps released in 2010 and some of those on the top of list are:

• Epocrates
• MobilePDR
• Tarascon
  

Skyscape and Unbound Medicine already have Android apps. This means that free apps like Mobile MerckMedicus are already available for Android. QuantiaMD is another great free medical app for Android. I'll be writing some reviews about QuantiaMD over the next few weeks as I test this app on an HTC Droid Eris.

Android is going to gain tremendous momentum in 2010 as new phones emerge on virtually every wireless carrier in the United States. This means that you won't need to switch carriers to have an Android smartphone. Unless Apple moves quickly to place its iPhone on other carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile, it will quickly lose health care professionals to Android. I also predict that many Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Palm OS users will switch to Android as they recognize all the benefits associated with this great OS. 

Drug reference guides for Android

If you're using an Android powered smartphone (such as the Motorola Droid, the HTC Hero, HTC MyTouch, or the HTC Droid Eris), then you may be wondering when Epocrates will release drug reference software for your operating system. You can access drug information via your mobile web browser (m.epocrates.com) or you can purchase drug reference medical apps from Unbound Medicine (such as Drug Facts or Davis's Drug Guide). MobilePDR will also be available for Android in 2010 and I'm sure Epocrates will have some Android software in 2010.

If you have a subscription to UpToDate, remember that you can access that via a mobile web browser and look up drug info (powered by Lexi-Comp). Finally, you may be glad to know that Skyscape now offers an Android Reader for their titles.

Medical apps for Droid (Google Android)

Updated on Oct, 2010

There are many newer medical apps for Google Android, so I've decided to update this blog post.

People are now looking for medical apps for the Motorola Droid, Droid X, Droid 2, HTC Droid Incredible, Google Nexus One, Samsung Galaxy S, and other Google Android smartphones on Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, and other wireless providers. What have you found out there?

There are a growing number of options and new medical apps are popping up all the time. Let's take a look at some of the most popular ones:

• Epocrates is now available for Android! You can also use your mobile web browser and access drug info at m.epocrates.com
• Unbound Medicine has medical references, textbooks, and other resources for Android.
• Skyscape also has medical references, textbooks, and other resources for Android.
• MobilePDR is a drug reference app that is available to health care professionals as a free app. Non-clinicians can purchase this app. It's powered through Skyscape.
• UpToDate can be accessed via any mobile web browser. So, it's available for Android, but not as a standalone app.
• QuantiaMD (you'll have to try it. it's a great app that provides education and other resources)

Well, this is just the beginning. It won't be long before we see a robust selection of medical apps for Google Android. Stay tuned and make sure to subscribe to stay current as new medical apps get released for Android.

New mobilePDR coming soon

Have you placed your order for the free mobilePDR? For many years, the Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) has been considered an essential drug reference resource for every physician who wrote prescriptions (What? Some doctors don't write prescriptions? radiologists, pathologists, physician executives, public health physicians, etc.)

To register so that you can download mobilePDR in the first quarter of 2010, sign up here:
http://choice.mobilepdr.com/

Medical software for Google Android

What type of medical software can you get for smartphones running Google Android? Your options are quite limited at this point. However, Unbound Medicine has several titles that are currently available for Android. We should also see mobilePDR for Android released in early 2010. It's only a matter of time before we start seeing many other providers offering medical software for Google Android. My prediction is that we'll see Epocrates, Skyscape, and PEPID come up with software for Android. You can always get access to certain references via mobile websites. Epocrates and UpToDate both have mobile-friendly websites that can be used by almost any smartphone.

Did you fill out the mobilePDR survey?

So at midnight (Eastern time) on July 17, I went to http://choice.mobilepdr.com/ to fill out the mobilePDR survey. It still wasn't up. Maybe they should have said:

Sometime around July 17th, 2009 you can utilize this page to tell us your preference for receiving mobilePDR®. (emphasis mine)

Well, that's OK. I'll check again later. It'll probably list a different date up there. How hard can it be to set up a survey? I'll revise this post later on July 17 if the survey goes up today.

MobilePDR Survey

Looks like the online mobilePDR survey won't be available until July 17. It was supposed to be live on July 15, but now the site says July 17. I wonder if it will change again tomorrow.

To fill out the survey, visit: http://choice.mobilepdr.com/
(No use clicking on that link today)

I'm eager to see more medical references for BlackBerry and Android. Will Symbian gain enough traction to become a popular operating system for healthcare professionals? At this point, I doubt it.

Medical software for the BlackBerry

There are a growing number of medical software solutions for the BlackBerry. Here's a list to get you started:

• Epocrates
  
• Skyscape (they offer a suite a products)
• USBMIS (Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia, Sanford Guide)
  
• mobile MPR (Monthly Prescribing Reference)
  
• Unbound Medicine (like Skyscape, they offer a suite a products)
• PEPID
• Up to Date (via mobile web browser)
• QxMD
• mobilePDR (coming "back" soon)

This is a growing list (and this isn't a comprehensive list either). I simply wanted to highlight some of the more popular options that are out there. Navigation is often quite limited if you don't have a touch screen on your device, regardless of your operating system. The BlackBerry Storm 2 should be coming out soon (and may appear on more networks if rumors are true).

The mobilePDR is coming back

The PDR or the Physicians' Desk Reference is a huge drug reference book. Several years ago, I remember using an application called the mobilePDR. Then, things changed and Thomson released the Clinical Xpert for the PDA/Smartphone (which included drug info). Now, it appears that Thomson Reuters is bringing the mobilePDR back.

The mobilePDR will be supported on:

• Apple iPhone and iPod touch
• BlackBerry OS 4.1 or higher
• Palm OS (original)
• Windows Mobile
• Symbian S60, 3rd edition (Nokia)
• Google Android

Hmm, I don't see WebOS for the Palm Pre on that list right now. Maybe they forgot to include it. Or, perhaps they simply think that everyone who owns a Palm Pre will end up running MotionApp Classic emulator.

It's about time we start seeing some medical applications for Google Android. According to Thomson, mobilePDR will require about 100 MB of space and will be available to purchase on a memory card for $14.95. Of course, you can also download the application and install it yourself if you have already have a memory card.