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3 Best Medical Apps You Can Buy with Your CME Money
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Time-Saving Medical Apps for the Busy Clinician
What you choose to buy with your CME stipend is an important decision. COVID-19 has changed so much, including how clinicians spend CME money in such a pandemic.
There are so many effective ways to spend your CME money, from CME subscriptions with gift card offers to planning for unconventional and unique CME opportunities you never knew you wanted to do.
However, investing in your continuing education with a tool that makes your life easier at work is never a bad idea. Point of care medical apps are a no-brainer for most healthcare professionals.
There are hundreds out there, many free, some paid, and some in between, with ‘freemium' characteristics.
We are going to cut through the clutter and cover just 3 today. If you want a more complete list of point of care medical apps, we have that too.
The first two offer CME with free gift card options, CME subscriptions, clinical calculators, and more.
I'm a big fan of CME with gift card options because they make it easy for you to upgrade your phone or get a new device on which to use your new medical apps.
Or buy anything else you want. It's your life, you do you.
1. MDCalc
MDCalc is a free app with hundreds, if not thousands, of medical calculators that are all 100% free to use. So why – and how- would you spend your CME money on this?
Well, MDCalc now offers CME on select calculators, with more and more calcs becoming CME-eligible all the time.
2. VisualDx + DermExpert
VisualDx is a powerful but easy-to-use point of care app that does everything from help you build a differential given presenting symptoms to diagnose skin conditions with AI-powered computer vision, right from your smartphone or tablet.
Each smart search you perform, differential you build, or condition you review also earns you CME, taking the stress out of that part of your life, too.
It’s truly amazing in its capabilities and features, and well worth the price, which is downright reasonable compared to other CME products out there.
Furthermore, it's easy to see that VisualDx is an evidence-based company. Their product has been the subject of several peer-reviewed studies and every one of their claims is backed up by data. It's pretty refreshing if you ask me.
For those of you on mobile devices, please accept my apologies for the images below. Tap on any of them to enlarge for a better view of the data.
VisualDx Evidence Base
When comparing accuracy of non-dermatologists diagnosing skin conditions before and after using VisualDx, the improvement is impressive.
The chart above shows an improvement of 32% accuracy across skin types.
In addition to improving diagnostic accuracy, VisualDx offers a plethora of additional, some even free, medical education resources.
Currently, they are running a webinar series on skin of color, improving health equity.
Specifically identifying lesions on skin of color is also a new AI feature enabled in the Android and iOS apps, and has been available on the web app for some time now.
VisualDx Pricing
When you purchase through Visualdx.com/ModernMedEd, you’ll get a special price of just $249/year. You'll also get DermExpert for no additional cost.
Whenever you can use your CME money for a high quality, multi-year CME subscription, it's worth seriously considering. This VisualDx subscription offer is only available here.
3. UpToDate
UpToDate awards category 1 CME with every search. It’s the prototypical resource for medical professionals when you need a quick reference on what to do next.
You can use it at a computer or on your mobile device, and some of you probably already have access to it through your institution. If not, then it is currently $559 a year for individual physician/PA/NP/pharmacist/nurse subscribers.
They have articles on just about anything you could imagine, with detailed analyses as well as concise summaries, depending on your needs at the time.
And because each search comes with potential CME, it is possible to get all your hours and more just from topic searches.
Best of all, it integrates seamlessly with your VisualDx subscription.
More Medical Apps To Make Your Life Easier
These are just three of the best medical apps that award CME and have point of care functionality.
To compare the first two – MDCalc and VisualDx – more closely, visit our CME review and comparison guide.
Be sure to check out our analysis of 15 more medical apps that will improve your clinical life in one way or another. And don't forget to make use of our new CME finder if you are still looking for high quality CME.
First Published: December 3, 2020
Further Reading
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VisualDx CME Disclaimer
*This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the ACCME through the joint providership of Med-IQ and VisualDx.
Med-IQ is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Med-IQ designates this point of care activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
