Essentials Handbook vs ISMA Online
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Essentials Handbook
This educational handbook provides essential information for physicians covering general hospital procedures, systems, patient care, and infection control. It serves as a comprehensive resource for medical professionals.
- General Ins & Outs
- Systems Information
- Patient Care Guidelines
- Infection Control Protocols
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The Center for Physician Education Essentials Handbook. This handbook includes General Ins & Outs, Systems, Patient Care and Infection Control.
ISMA Online
Access the latest continuing medical education content on the go. Physicians and nurses can find and complete courses anytime, anywhere, with the ability to start, stop, and return to learning sessions.
- On-the-go learning
- Access up-to-date CME content
- Find and complete courses
- Start, stop, and resume learning
- Available for physicians and nurses
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ISMA's (Indiana State Medical Association) fast and easy way to learn on the go. Our mobile app, built by ProLearn, allows physicians, nurses and other users around the world to access the latest and most up-to-date CME content anywhere. You can find great courses and start, stop and return to your learning anytime, anywhere!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Essentials Handbook at 100% against ISMA Online's 50%. Essentials Handbook also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). ISMA Online's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 2) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Essentials Handbook holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Essentials Handbook's written reviews are positive against 50% of ISMA Online's.
Essentials Handbook ships an update every 5 weeks, ISMA Online every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.
| Parameter | Essentials Handbook | ISMA Online |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.0 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 8 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Center for Physician Education, LLC | Elite Tech Systems, LLC |
Customer experience
Essentials Handbook
ISMA Online
In-app purchases
Essentials Handbook
No in-app purchases
ISMA Online
No in-app purchases
