MD on Call vs CPS by CPhA
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MD on Call
This app provides quick, practical guidance for physicians, residents, and medical students to manage common on-call issues. It offers concise tips for acute assessment and management, helping users efficiently address patient problems without needing to consult lengthy textbooks.
- Quick assessment and management tips
- Covers 26 frequent on-call situations
- Management of common electrolyte abnormalities
- ECG interpretation with examples
- Guidance on writing medical orders
- Searchable by acronyms and keywords
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"fantastic for a review when rushing to a consult." -- Casey Park MD on Call is already trusted by thousands of physicians, residents and medical students around the world. We’ve been there; At 3 AM, you don’t feel like going through a textbook or a long UpToDate article; you just want to get things done. **************** REVIEWS "If you have ever needed a quick reference to learn on the fly or been stumped by a late night call while cross-covering and you are willing to spend a few dollars to avoid that feeling, you should consider this app." iMedicalApps.com “It has all those handy little things that drug guides and medical references just don’t capture concisely.” “I would pay at least double the cost for this handy little reference.” Dr Jessica Otte, drottematic blog **************** **************** AUDIENCE junior residents, interns and medical students INTRO In medical school, we learn a lot about diseases and the basis for their management. However, we are traditionally less exposed to apparently easy problems like pain, nausea or hypokalemia. Quite often, those issues are brought to the attention of the nursing staff in the evening. At that time, the treating team is away and you're on call, running all over the hospital. MD on Call gives you tips on how to QUICKLY assess and manage (acutely) common problems so you can go on assessing the next patient, or to your room to get some well deserved sleep. -- it is NOT meant to replace a textbook -- FEATURES MD on call is divided into 5 main sections: • Issues • 26 frequent on call situations (including management of some specific conditions) Abdominal Pain* Acute Coronary Syndrome* Agitation / Violence Anaphylaxis Bleeding Bradycardia* Chest Pain Constipation Death (Pronouncing) Decreased LOC Dysuria / UTI* Dyspnea Fever Febrile neutropenia Headache Hypertension Hypotension Insomnia Meningitis Nausea / Vomiting Pain Palliation Pneumonia Seizure Tachycardia Wound Dehiscence Wound Infection • Labs • Common electrolytes abnormalities (including management) Hypo Ca, K, Mg, Na, PO4, glycemia Hyper Ca, K, Na, glycemia • ECG • Normal and abnormal ECG values, now with examples • Misc • Suggestions on how to write orders for admission, "comfort measures only", "on call" notes, OR and procedure notes. Transfusions: general information and common reactions Misc: CSF values, opioid conversion... • Lines and Tubes • How to manage common problems, such as a blocked NG tube. • Search • Search using acronyms or keywords **************** Feedback is more than welcome : visit the website for more details **************** DISCLAIMER This publication (application) is to be used as a guide only. It is intended only for use by licensed medical practitioners and medical students. Every doctor (or prescriber) is responsible for their actions. This guide is not meant to replace clinical judgment. The authors of MD on call make no claims regarding the accuracy of the information contained herein. The authors of this application and its content shall not be liable for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from the use of this application. It is the responsible of the licensed prescriber to verify the indications, contraindications and dosage of the medication (and actions) they prescribe.
CPS by CPhA
Access essential, evidence-based drug information for healthcare professionals. Choose between drug monographs or full access with therapeutic guidance and tools. Stay updated with critical warnings and advisories.
- Evidence-based drug monographs
- Therapeutic information
- Non-prescription therapy guidance
- Drug tables and algorithms
- Medical calculators
- Critical updates and warnings
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CPS (formerly RxTx) has a new appearance. CPS is still the reliable, evidence-based drug resource it has always been and provides essential drug information at the point-of-care for health care practitioners. Now offering two subscription options – CPS Drug Information or CPS Full Access. CPS Drug Information is the Canadian standard for drug monographs, containing thousands of products including monographs for drugs, vaccines, natural health products and medical devices, approved by Health Canada. CPS Full Access includes all content from CPS Drug Information and the most current, evidence-based therapeutic information and non-prescription therapy for most common conditions, with cross-referenced drug tables and algorithms and DC condition-based drug tables. Both subscriptions types provide critical updates such as warnings and advisories; and useful tools such as medical calculators.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MD on Call at 78% against CPS by CPhA's 10%. MD on Call also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.0) and chart position (#145 vs unranked). CPS by CPhA's advantage is price (Free vs $9.99) and iOS requirement (14.2 vs 16.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
CPS by CPhA is free to download; MD on Call costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MD on Call holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of MD on Call's written reviews are positive against 10% of CPS by CPhA's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MD on Call | CPS by CPhA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 1.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.1% of reviews — better | 9.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid — better | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | #145 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 14.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 17 MB | 177 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Messil inc. | Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) |
Customer experience
MD on Call
CPS by CPhA
Bugs and requests
MD on Call
Reported bugs
3 issues- Incompatible with iPhone X
- Incorrect advice regarding Metaclopramide
- Incorrect TDF to morphine conversion data
Requested features
16 requests- Cover more content
- Update for iPhone X compatibility
- Revise content and references for up-to-date information
- Add more conditions
- Include common diseases and treatments
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- Add an 'edit' function to modify and add vignettes
- Add more clinical scenarios
- Add medicine dose information
- Add drug interaction information
- Include more information with supporting references
- More streamlined interface
- Translate to German
- Translate to French
- Add more topics
- Add more clinical high yields and topics
- Add more futures needed while oncall
CPS by CPhA
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MD on Call
No in-app purchases
CPS by CPhA
No in-app purchases








