No matter what you need during your locum tenens assignment, we bet your smartphone has the solution. The key is knowing exactly what to search and download. We can help! You did, too — most of the apps below were submitted by our locum tenens docs – thank you!

Whether you’re fresh out of residency, you’ve been practicing medicine for decades, or you’re somewhere in-between, these 10 physician-approved medical apps will make your life (and your next locum assignment) easier. We polled all our docs for their tried-and-true clinical apps, and they delivered. Apps are free unless otherwise indicated.

Check out your colleagues’ recommendations and be sure to download your favorites before you depart on your next locums assignment! 

1. Epocrates

For 10 years, Epocrates has been rated the number one medical app by Decision Resource Group’s “Taking the Pulse.” And there’s a good reason why! Check out drug interactions, medication identifiers, and calculators – with special considerations for pregnancy, allergies, and insurance. Spend less time worrying about prescribing and more time focusing on patient care. One of our docs gives it a 10/10: “Epocrates is my go-to app because it is clear, concise, to the point, and I can find what I need quickly.”  

2. Johns Hopkins Guides 

These guides are mobile reference behemoths with four different categories: antibiotics, psychiatry, HIV, and diabetes. Utilizing evidence-based recommendations, each guide provides monthly updates, webinars, and comments from experts in each specialty. One ID fellow’s review: “I wouldn’t be able to survive fellowship without this app. It’s essentially an ID textbook at your fingertips – it works very well and updates constantly for the latest info. I plan to re-up every year!” 

First-time users access all four guides FREE for 30 days. Then, the resources cost $29.99/year for an individual guide or $79.99/year for the 4-guide bundle.* 

(*Pricing as of May, 2022.) 

3. VisualDX 

This app was recommended by ALL our physician submissions, so we know it’s a fan favorite.This medical reference tool includes a customized differential builder to identify skin conditions and assist with diagnosis; it’s a dermatologist’s best friend! The extensive image bank improves patient communication, education, and delivery of care. (Not to mention, you earn CME with each search!) One physician said, “I use the app multiple times a day to help with diagnosis, differentials, and a quick treatment guide. I often pull up the diagnosis to show patients photos of their condition to help them visualize what we’re looking at.” 

Subscription cost: $39.99/month or $399.99/year* 

(*Pricing as of May, 2022.) 

4. Medscape 

Combining the latest medical news and specialty research with drug and disease resources (plus a healthy dose of CME/CE activities), this free app covers all your proverbial bases. Access a comprehensive list of drugs, dosages, interactions, and recalls; procedural overviews; and patient risk calculators for conditions and diseases – all grouped by specialty. And docs love it: “I use Medscape on a daily basis; it’s the quickest way to look up or check medical terms, and it’s got a lot of great functionality!”  

5. Pepid 

Pepid unites diagnostic tools, drug information, and patient education with customizable notetaking and flagging tailored to your caseload. Access hundreds of procedural and examination reference videos, new research related to drug approvals, and black box warnings. If the healthcare facility you are visiting uses Pepid, they can share customized internal protocols and notes in the app with you as well. This was a fan-favorite, recommended by multiple physicians. One said: “I use different medical mobile applications in my daily work as a physician. I would like to say that Pepid is the best of them. I found Pepid extremely high quality, nicely developed, and very user friendly.”  

6. UpToDate 

Spanning 12,000 topics, this is an awesome resource for healthcare providers to access current information relevant to their specialty. UpToDate is considered the leading clinical decision support resource, leveraging evidence-based information; about 30 different studies have shown that facilities with physicians utilizing the app report improved patient care outcomes. One of our docs concurs: “you can’t stray from the classics. Although it requires a subscription, the app pays for itself by giving you the most up-to-date diagnostic and management advisories.”

Subscription cost: $58/month or $579/year* 

(*Pricing as of May, 2022.) 

7. MDCalc 

MDCalc is unique because it was designed by board-certified physicians FOR physicians. And this medical professional agrees, “MDCalc is one of the best tools a resident has at their disposal. Most major scoring systems are utilized within it. I use it daily and cannot think of a more powerful tool than this!” 

In addition to over 550 clinical decision tools, clinicians can earn AMA PRA Category 1TM CME credits just by reading clinical content! The app tracks your CME credits in a personal dashboard where you can redeem credits and access your receipts for documentation and write offs.  

To redeem CME credits, users must sign up for the paid CME plan at $179/year* 

(*Pricing as of May, 2022.) 

8. MediBabble 

This free medical interpretation app assists with history-taking and physical exam clarity for non-English speaking patients. With thousands of common medical questions/answers in five different languages, you can vastly improve your patient communication. One of our physicians raves about it: “Medibabble helped me on countless occasions when a translator was not available and a complete history needed to be obtained quickly and thoroughly.”  

9. Haiku 

If you’re at an assignment that uses Epic and has Haiku, you need to download the app! Gain secure access to clinic schedules, hospital patient lists, health summaries, test results, and notes – all from the palm of your hand. This app supports dictation and can push notifications straight to your phone.

To benefit from this app, your healthcare facility must be on Epic’s 2012 version or greater and have a Haiku license. 

10. The Difficult Airway 

Gain access to pediatric and adult drug dosing in addition to advanced algorithms that provide the best access point to your patient’s airway. We saved the best for last! One of our docs claims: “If you only have one medical app on your phone, this is it. Put in your patient’s height, weight, and it gives you automatic dosage calculations for emergency medications. This is my highest recommendation.” 

Price: $2.99/month* 

(*Pricing as of May, 2022.)