Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Examining Epocrates Essentials
Posted by Darius Wey in "SOFTWARE" @ 10:30 AM
Figure 5: Epocrates Rx Pro has a wealth of information.
- Adult Dosing: Information featured in this subsection is summarised and straight to the point. It informs you of the class of drug, methods of application, as well as size and frequency of dose, among other things. In the case of Hydrocort as seen in Figure 5, you will notice that there is an extensive use of abbreviations so as to not crowd the screen with too much text. This has its ups and downs. While it clears quite a bit of screen space to make everything a little more legible, it may be daunting for the first-time user who has to adapt to this different style of presentation. Fortunately, abbreviations are used copiously in the medical profession so it wouldn't be anything new to most users. Additionally, Epocrates Rx Pro includes an abbreviations library (Figure 6) which is certainly a valuable feature to have.
- Paediatric Dosing: The information contained within this subsection is similar to that of the "Adult Dosing" subsection. However, since it deals with paediatric cases, it also differentiates between neonates and children, and even certain age groups and height/weight ranges where appropriate. The attention to detail is nothing short of astounding.
- Contraindications / Cautions: This subsection is an invaluable guide to cautions that should be exercised when prescribing a drug. It also integrates nicely with Epocrates Dx. For example, if prescription of the drug in a patient with BPH was cautioned, you could cross-reference BPH in Epocrates Dx to get the full lowdown.
- Drug Interactions: This subsection utilises the program's MultiCheck feature which I will be discussing a little later. This page discusses cases that should be cautioned, avoided or monitored when the use of two or more drugs collude to produce possible undesired results. It also provides further information on advantages of joint use where appropriate. The structure of this subsection is well-devised as it avoids any screen clutter - a negative aspect otherwise seen in many other medical references. This is also an appropriate time to discuss Epocrates' intuitive use of pop-ups as seen in Figure 7. There are two types of links featured in this subsection. Tapping on the first link (drug-drug interaction link) initiates a pop-up at the top of the screen which details key points pertaining to the class of drug. Tapping on the second link (caret link) brings up another pop-up which lists drug names that conform to the class. I thought this was a fantastic feature of the program. The use of pop-ups does not clutter up the screen, and they disappear after ten seconds of inactivity, thus allowing you to return back to what you were browsing before. Of course, you can also get rid of the pop-ups manually by tapping on it.
- Adverse Reactions: We all know that drugs have side-effects, and no drug reference would be complete without clinically relevant information on adverse reactions. This subsection categorises reactions by frequency and severity, making it easy to find what you want.
- Manufacturer and Cost Information: I was pleasantly surprised to see a subsection devoted to this. The program provides cost information on branded drugs, which is sourced from www.drugstore.com. Costs are cleverly related to the size of the package (e.g. 30mg pack of 30 tablets - $40.72, and so on).
- Other Information: This subsection features a vast array of material that cannot be classed in the other categories. Within this, you will find information relating to use of the drug and its effects on pregnancy, lactation, metabolism and excretion. There is also information on DEA/FDA alerts and the class of drug - the latter being of use if you prefer to list your Epocrates Rx Pro drug database by drug class. Some information is also provided on mechanism of action - this may be of benefit to medical students currently studying physiology and/or biochemistry.
- Notes: This subsection allows you to add your own notes. This is an invaluable feature of Epocrates Rx Pro and it features in most of the other components of the Epocrates Essentials suite as you will later discover.
Figure 6: Abbreviations.
