If you find yourself constantly browsing medications and trying to determine which are the best for you in your current medical situation (whatever that may be), then you should seriously consider turning to drug guide apps.
Just be warned: there are a lot of them out there and not all of them are top-quality. That’s why we’ve pulled together a list of the top tips to help you find the app that’s right for you. To do this, we used the below resource (a list of the best drug guide apps) and worked backward – figuring out what makes each of them so successful.
Seriously, don’t hesitate – learn more about the medications you’re currently taking, meds you’ve taken in the past, or even prescriptions that you might want to start. Whatever the case, know all you can with a drug guide app you can trust.
A Variety of Drug References
We said it before and we’ll say it again: not every drug guide is created equally. Finding the right one for you means considering exactly what you need your drug guide doing.
If you’re in need of a drug book that has more than just medication definitions and drug reference sources – like, perhaps you need examples of prescription drugs, a pill identifier, or details on how to determine the amount of medication you should prescribe – then you’ll want an app that offers a traditional drug guide along with bonus features like those aforementioned.
Nursing students, nurses, doctors, and medical students alike may want to locate a drug guide that includes a drug interactions chart. (This type of chart outlines how various medications may negatively interact with one another if taken in combination.) This way, you can prescribe medications easier and without risk to either you or your patient.
Guide Editions
For medical and nursing students, having the correct drug guide edition is essential to accurately reference citations and other classroom materials regarding the most recent medications.
Whether your professors use the 14th edition or 16th edition of a particular textbook, or if they’re referencing a drug guide seller (like Barnes & Noble or Amazon), you will want to be able to choose an app that lets you browse through guides and select the edition you need.
Keep in mind, many popular guides like the Davis Drug Guide also offer apps and/or supplemental resources along with the original printed guide. Many of these apps have information that is updated with every new edition that is released. Therefore, you may want to consider an app that’s created and updated by the same creator as the drug guide you have and/or want.
PDF Drug Guides
Lugging a physical reference book everywhere you go is not practical for every occasion – certainly not when you’re working at a hospital or in another medical setting. If you are interested in a drug guide that you can reference any time the need arises, you’ll want an app that allows you to access a PDF version of the guide so you can use it offline for quick search abilities.
On the other hand, if you want to provide extra drug information to your patients or perhaps for your own quick reference (whether it’s ibuprofen and acetaminophen or Oxycodone and Butalbital) you’ll want a drug guide app that you can use to download and print specific medication information or a list of drug recommendations for a specific condition. This will make it easier to share with others.
Conclusion
Now that you know more about what app you should choose, it’s time to get out there and make a decision. Of course, we realize that our word is not final, but these tips will seriously help you shrink the scope of the apps you’re looking at so you can make a decision faster and easier.
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