WebMD for iPad Review

Medical apps can become quite expensive for the iPad or iPhone.  I have seen a few medical apps heading upwards of $499 (DDS GP).  You won’t find that here.  In fact, the WebMD app is free and the account that you can create to use with the app is too.  WebMD’s claim to fame was their Symptom Checker.  This same symptom checker is available in their iPad app and works in a very similar fashion.  Meant to be an unofficial diagnostic tool, WebMD does a good job of giving you medical information. Read on for our full webMD for iPad review.

Setup
If you don’t already have an account with WebMD you will have the option to create one when the app first launches.  The process to do so is fast and painless – I created mine in 3 minutes.  At the end of the process you will be given a pin which you will use in the future to sign in.  This makes the process even more of a breeze.

Symptom Checker
The first option in the app is the Symptom Checker.  After pushing this option, a human silhouette will appear.  By clicking on the body in the area where you are experiencing your issue, a popup will appear asking for more detailed information in that area.  Once you filter the symptom down a bit more, it will be placed in the symptoms box and conditions will appear in the box below that.  The cool part is that multiple symptoms can be added to further refine the possible conditions.  My only word of caution here is be careful how deep you dive.  I once went looking for what turned out to be the equivalent of a paper cut.  By the end of my search however, I thought I had a pinched nerve or Peripheral neuropathy.  It’s easy to become a hypochondriac if you take too deep of a dive. And always see a doctor in additional to the app.

Conditions
Clicking on this tab from the home screen will skip the symptom piece, and simply allow you to research specific conditions.  This is good for cases where your doctor gives you the diagnosis and you wish to learn more about it.  There is a wealth of information in this section and it can be very helpful to look through.  You can find conditions by searching or browsing and save the condition once you pull it up for quick reference later.

Drugs and Treatments
Similar to the Conditions page, the drugs and treatments page will let you search or browse through this category.  Again, you can save the drug or treatment once found for fast access later.  This is great to checkout more information on a specific drug or treatment prescribed by your doctor.  A plus here is that most medicines will have an image allowing you to make doubly sure you’re taking the right stuff.

First Aid Information
What do to if someone is choking, how to give CPR, what to do if someone faints, and many more like this can be found here.  WebMD is a great app to have for those unfortunate times when you may be forced to handle an emergency and may not remember exactly what to do.  Searching and Browsing both work here as well.

Local Health Listings
If you need to find a hospital, doctor, or pharmacy, this page will do so by finding your location, and if you wish a specific doctor’s name.  You can pick a location as well if you wish.  I have found this feature to be lacking in the number of physicians which will return from a query.

Overall
The First Aid information alone would be enough for me to recommend everyone to download this free app.  Having quickly accessible first aid information can make a huge difference in those times of need.  The other features work very well and can provide you insight into conditions you may have.  WebMD has done a good job making the app easy to use and giving you quick navigation to the information you seek.  I enjoy the comfort of knowing I have First Aid information at my fingertips and for this I give the app a 10/10.

WebMD is a free app available for download in the App Store.