As we have noted with previous "top iPhone medical apps" roundups, the headline of this post is a bit tongue-in-cheek, because this list will change very quickly -- tomorrow a new crop of apps will likely unseat today's most popular offerings. Furthermore, I guarantee you these are not the true top 10 free iPhone Medical Apps. These are just the ones that happen to be getting the most downloads currently.
So, think of this as a brief albeit limited snapshot of the current free medical iPhone app market: 10 apps that are enjoying popularity among the medical community and other interested consumers. Sure, the old guards Medscape and Epocrates made the list, but overall this roster does not instill confidence in the iPhone platform as a serious medical device. Apps like Dream Meanings, Relax Ocean Waves and (where to find legal marijuana app) Legal Maps are certainly not primarily intended for the medical community. Perhaps these types of apps have always been a part of the medical category of apps, but it's certainly true that more apps with only a tangental tie to the medical community are making it into the most popular medical app lists on iTunes. Despite the sometimes rigorous iPhone app approval process, it sure seems like any app can be labeled for any category, which can make it hard for specific user groups -- like clinicians -- to determine which apps might be useful to them. Yes, they can find that information on other community sites or if they have a specific search term in mind they might get lucky, but Apple isn't doing them any favors on the discoverability front.
For better or worse: Here are the real top ten iPhone medical apps, according to Apple's iTunes AppStore ranking system:
1) Medscape
2) Epocrates
3) Dream Meanings
4) Medical Encyclopedia
5) Color Blind Test
6) Relax Ocean Waves
7) Muscle System (Head and Neck)
8) Best Diet Foods
9) Diagnose the Disease Game
10) Legal Maps
Read on for details and screen shots from each of the current top ten iPhone medical apps.
1) Medscape
We noticed that Medscape unseated Epocrates as the most popular iPhone medical app during one of our previous app roundups, but it seems the two companies continually trade places for the first and second spots. According to Medscape, the app features: extensive clinical reference with thousands of images and video, drug reference with over 6,000 generic, brand, and OTC drugs, drug interaction checker, medical news, CME/CE activities, physician directory, and more.
2) Epocrates
While Epocrates came in second place after Medscape this time around, Epocrates actually holds the distinction of being the only app developer to have two apps ranking in the top ten most popular ones this time around. Epocrates' app includes: So what's new for Epocrates RX? The app includes Mobile Resource Centers that aim to help users stay current and save time by helping them find all the relevant clinical news and research articles. It also includes expert commentary from each field's thought leaders.
3) Dream Meanings
Unfortunately, the iPhone AppStore's medical category seems to have failed the medical community on this one -- Dream Meanings is a visual directory for dream images that seeks to help users identify, reveal and interpret their dreams. It's also exactly the type of app that should convince Apple to better screen applications for appropriate categories. This is certainly not intended for the medical community.
4) Medical Encyclopedia by University of Maryland Medical Center
Medical Encyclopedia by the University of Maryland Medical Center brings us back to the real list of medical apps after a quick diversion into dream interpretation. Apart from Medscape and Epocrates above, UMMS' Medical Encyclopedia is the only repeat top medical app on this list, which speaks to its ability to remain popular over the past several months. Given that distinction it may be the most popular app officially created by a medical center. Last August, UMMS announced that the app was the third most popular medical app worldwide and was getting downloaded about 1,500 times a day last summer. Here's what it does: "These 50,000 pages of medically reviewed information -- in both English and Spanish -- are updated regularly and organized according to symptoms, injury, disease, and surgery, as well as other categories. As an added feature, users have the ability to ask questions directly of our physicians on many specialized topics," according to UMMS.
5) Color Blind Test
Color Blind Test is another app that is clearly not intended for use by medical professionals. The app helps diagnose color blindness in its users by showing them the Ishihara color blind test and others to determine whether they can differentiate between green and red or other color combinations.
5) Relax Ocean Waves
Stress can certainly take a toll on your health -- but should an app that plays a recording of waves crashing on a beach be considered a medical app? The makers of Relax Ocean Waves suggest the app can help those who can't sleep; those unsatisfied with life; those who are overworked and more. Seems the pitch worked well enough to place the app in fifth place for the medical category. We wonder how well it would have fared in the health, entertainment or utilities categories.
6) Muscle System (Head & Neck)
This app - the Muscle Head and Neck System bills itself as "a high-end learning/reference application covering the muscles of the head and neck and consists of a section from the powerful full version app, The Muscle System Pro." The app is listed as free for a limited time with the aim of driving new users to its premium offering. From the company: A powerful reference tool that allows the user to zoom in and identify an individual muscles with the ability to remove layers of muscle to reveal deeper muscles. Designed to accommodate medical professionals as well as medical students from basic to advanced levels of anatomical medical knowledge.
7) Best Diet Foods
For iPhone apps, it doesn't get much simpler than Best Diet Foods. The app's maker has a number of apps that have very simple designs and an advertisement embedded at the bottom of the screen. Best Diet Foods is simply a collection of health foods that also allegedly have medicinal properties. After long hours of iPhone app usage, it sounds like we could all use some blueberries.
9) Diagnose the Disease game (by Epocrates)
No, it's not allergic contact dermatitis, it's Epocrates' Diagnose the Disease game for iPhone. From the company: "This game challenges you to identify diseases as the images are revealed. Physicians, nurses, medical students or others interested in medicine will find this game interactive, educational and fun. You are scored based on speed and accuracy. Compete against top clinicians across the country by submitting your score at the end of each game."
10) Legal Maps
This one likely fits the "medical" category because it helps users find and rate "medicinal marijuana" dispensaries. I think the review in the app's screenshot really says it all. Yes, amazingly, this is one of the top ten most popular medical applications available for iPhone right now.
