Comparison

MD on Call vs NbN3

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

"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.

About

NbN3

This app provides a neuroscience-based nomenclature for psychotropic medications, reflecting current knowledge and aiding clinicians in making informed prescription decisions. It includes detailed information on pharmacology, mode of action, indications, efficacy, side effects, practical notes, and neurobiology.

Highlights
  • Neuroscience-based nomenclature
  • Pharmacology and mode of action
  • Approved indications
  • Efficacy and side effects
  • Practical clinical notes
  • Neurobiology details
  • Links to IUPHAR
Features
Read full description

It has become clear that the current pharmacological nomenclature of psychotropic medications does not reflect our contemporary knowledge, nor does it inform properly the clinician of neuroscience-based prescriptions. Very often we prescribe “antidepressants” for “anxiety” disorders or “second-generation antipsychotics” to depressed patients. This practice is confusing. • Five international organizations ECNP, ACNP, AsCNP, CINP & IUPHAR decided five years ago to establish a taskforce and gave it the mission to embed our current neuroscience advances in the nomenclature. • The scope is to include all the medications with CNS indications and to harness this new nomenclature to help clinicians when they are trying to figure out what would be the next rational “neuropsychopharmacological step”. • In this second edition 22 new medications were added so NbN includes now 130 medications. This proposed nomenclature aims to reflect the current pharmacological knowledge base and cannot necessarily represent the ultimate scientific truth. The taskforce that assembled could have taken the stand that our current knowledge base is not enough to define the primary target or the correct mechanisms of action. But as a taskforce, we feel that it’s better to present a cutting-edge scientific interpretation than to wait for the definitive conclusion. We need to treat our patients now, and we cannot postpone treatment until all the facts are known.   Therefore this nomenclature is based on: 1. The need to treat now. 2. Updated neuroscience insights. 3. The judgment of the members of the taskforce. Along these lines, we have come up with the following proposal: The Nomenclature: Pharmacology and Mode of Action – reflects the current knowledge and understanding about the targeted neurotransmitter/ molecule/system being modified and the mode/mechanism of action. We also added 4 additional dimensions 4 Additional Dimensions: Approved Indications – based on the recommendations of major regulatory bodies (e.g. FDA, EMA, etc.) Efficacy and Side Effects – Driven from positive single, large, RCT and/or “heavy solid weight” clinical data. Only prevalent or life-threatening side effects were included  Practical Note – Summarizes the clinical knowledge that has been "filtered" through the taskforce's "sieve" Neurobiology – This dimension is focused on the biology. It is divided into preclinical and clinical sections, with the emphasis on the latter For those who would like to know more abo derived from empirical data.ut the pharmacology, there is a direct link to the relevant site of IUPHAR – our collaborator in this endeavour.   As this is on-going process, we recognize that the product is imperfect. Based on your feedback (and taking into account the feedback of other colleges) new reports and findings, appropriate updates (e.g. later editions) will be undertaken.

Screenshots

MD on Call4 screens
NbN34 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NbN3 at Free against MD on Call's $9.99. NbN3 also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (7 vs 1). MD on Call's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and review sentiment (78% vs 42%). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

NbN3 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MD on Call holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NbN3 has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of MD on Call's written reviews are positive against 42% of NbN3's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MD on Call ships an update every 4 months, NbN3 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
MD on Call versus NbN3: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMD on CallNbN3
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.1 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews78.1% of reviews — better42.1% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB24 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperMessil inc.European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP)

Customer experience

MD on Call

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive78.1%
Neutral10.9%
Negative10.9%

NbN3

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive42.1%
Neutral5.3%
Negative52.6%

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
Show 11 more
  • 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

NbN3

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

MD on Call

No in-app purchases

None

NbN3

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MD on Call free?
MD on Call costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is NbN3 free?
NbN3 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MD on Call or NbN3?
MD on Call is rated higher. MD on Call averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while NbN3 averages 4.1 from 7 ratings.
Do MD on Call or NbN3 have ads?
Neither MD on Call nor NbN3 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MD on Call or NbN3?
MD on Call ships an update every 4 months, and NbN3 every 2 months. Most recently, MD on Call was updated on October 23, 2026 and NbN3 on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons