Medicine Central vs Lab Values+ Medical Reference
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Medicine Central
This comprehensive medical reference app provides quick access to essential information on diagnoses, treatments, and drug details. It integrates multiple trusted resources, including clinical consults, drug guides, diagnostic tests, and PubMed access, for efficient point-of-care decision-making.
- Over 1,000 medical conditions with treatment recommendations
- Comprehensive drug information for over 5,000 drugs
- Differential diagnoses search by symptom or disease
- Information on over 450 common laboratory tests
- Full PubMed database search with visual exploration
- Cross-linking between integrated resources
- Full text search across all references
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ABOUT MEDICINE CENTRAL Medicine Central is an integrated mobile and web reference built specifically for physicians, residents, students, and nurse practitioners that includes 5-Minute Clinical Consult, Davis’s Drug Guide, McGraw-Hill’s Diagnosaurus®, Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests, and PubMed access. With four trusted references, Medicine Central delivers comprehensive content on the essentials of diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up for more than 1,000 diseases and disorders in a quick-read format directly to the point of care. Included in Medicine Central: 5-MINUTE CLINICAL CONSULT 5-Minute Clinical Consult (5MCC) is a best-selling app that features details on over 1,000 medical conditions and 200 pediatric conditions with evidence-based treatment recommendations in a proven, rapid-access format. 5MCC also includes dermatology images, algorithms for step-by-step patient management, patient teaching points, and more. DAVIS’S DRUG GUIDE Davis’s Drug Guide is a 5-star app that delivers up-to-date, comprehensive, and practical information on over 5,000 trade name and generic drugs. This best-selling resource contains everything you need to provide premium care to your patients including information on dosing and administration, safety, interactions, and much more. MCGRAW-HILL’S DIAGNOSAURUS Diagnosaurus allows you to quickly search over 1,000 differential diagnoses by organ system, symptom, disease, or you can view all entries. The valuable "See Related DDx" feature within each listing helps you consider alternative diagnoses and quickly link to those entries. POCKET GUIDE TO DIAGNOSTIC TESTS Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests provides evidence-based information on the selection and interpretation of more than 450 common laboratory tests. This quick-reference tool includes laboratory tests, diagnostic imaging, therapeutic drug monitoring, microbiology tests, and the use of tests in differential diagnosis. Prime PubMed Quickly search the complete PubMed database on your smartphone and tablet. Results contain abstracts, citations, and links to available full text articles which can be easily shared with classmates and colleagues. Additionally, Prime PubMed Search contains a powerful, exclusive feature called Grapherence™ which delivers a new way to visually explore the interrelationship and relevance of medical literature. FEATURES • Cross Links for fast navigation between resources • Frequent updates and new editions when they’re published • Browse the full PubMed journal database • Citations and abstracts from the latest medical journals • Highlight and make notes within any entry • Full Text Search – find topics fast across all references • ‘Favorites’ for bookmarking important entries • Web access and updates for one year DRUG AND CONTENT UPDATES • After initial Medicine Central purchase you will receive updates for one year • After one year, you can purchase updates for an additional year, at the discounted rate of $99.99. If you do not choose to purchase, you can continue to use the product but will not receive updates. • This app will automatically renew annually at the current renewal rate ($99.99) and charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase, unless auto-renew is turned off 24 hours prior to the conclusion of the one-year subscription period. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Publishers: Wolters Kluwer; F.A. Davis; McGraw-Hill Powered by: Unbound Medicine Unbound Privacy Policy: www.unboundmedicine.com/privacy Unbound Terms of Use: https://www.unboundmedicine.com/end_user_license_agreement
Lab Values+ Medical Reference
This app provides a comprehensive medical reference, combining lab values, medical abbreviations, and prefixes/suffixes. It offers editable data, detailed lab information, and links to external resources for quick access to critical medical data.
- 3-in-1 medical reference (Lab Values, Abbreviations, Prefixes/Suffixes)
- Fully editable lab data
- Hundreds of lab reference values
- Common lab panels included
- SI and US units for lab values
- Thousands of medical abbreviations
- Links to external medical resources
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A study reference for laboratory values, medical abbreviations, and the word roots medical vocabulary is built from — for nursing and medical students, and for anyone reviewing the material. It works fully offline, with no account and no sign-up. WHAT YOU GET • 400+ lab reference values across 19 categories, in SI or US units — switch with one tap • Critical values, descriptions, and the differentials taught for high and low results • Common Panels: CBC, BMP, CMP, LFTs, ABG, coagulation, thyroid, iron studies, lipids, urinalysis, CSF, and hepatitis • Blood collection tube guide covering order of draw, additives, and inversion counts • Thousands of medical abbreviations, searchable instantly • 400+ medical prefixes and suffixes with origin, meaning, and examples • Fast search in every section — labs, abbreviations, prefixes and tubes each search their own content • Favorites, Recently Viewed, and an A–Z master list • Related labs and curated reference links (ClinLab Navigator, Lab Tests Online, MedlinePlus, Wikipedia, and more) on every lab MAKE IT YOURS • Every entry is editable — set ranges to match what your program or laboratory teaches • Add your own labs, abbreviations, and prefixes • Revert any edit back to the built-in reference with one tap • Your edits and favorites stay on your device and are never overwritten ALWAYS CURRENT Reference data updates automatically in the background, so corrections reach you without waiting for an app update. DESIGNED FOR 2026 A ground-up redesign with full dark mode, a dedicated iPad sidebar layout, and modern iOS design throughout. Updating from an earlier version? Your favorites, edits, and recents migrate automatically. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No tracking. Anonymous usage statistics only — the text you type in search is never recorded, and nothing can be linked to you or your device. Lab Values+ is a study and teaching tool. It is not a medical device and is not for diagnosing or treating anyone. Nothing in it substitutes for clinical judgment, supervision, or your institution's guidelines. Reference ranges vary between laboratories — always confirm against the laboratory that ran the test.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Medicine Central at Free against Lab Values+ Medical Reference's $2.99. Medicine Central also leads on ratings volume (118 vs 13) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Lab Values+ Medical Reference's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). On rating, ads and device support 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
Medicine Central is free to download; Lab Values+ Medical Reference costs $2.99 up front. Medicine Central sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $99.99 per year. Lab Values+ Medical Reference asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Medicine Central against 5.0 for Lab Values+ Medical Reference. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Medicine Central has 118 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Medicine Central's written reviews are positive against 83% of Lab Values+ Medical Reference's.
Medicine Central ships an update every 6 months, Lab Values+ Medical Reference monthly. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Medicine Central | Lab Values+ Medical Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (118 ratings) | 5.0 (13 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 69.2% of reviews | 83.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 118 — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #77 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Unbound Medicine, Inc. | Hipposoft, LLC |
Customer experience
Medicine Central
Lab Values+ Medical Reference
Bugs and requests
Medicine Central
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Lab Values+ Medical Reference
Reported bugs
8 issues- Screen cuts in the middle
- Lower half of screen is white and unresponsive
- App crashes frequently
- In-app links not working due to transport security policy
- Notes saved, but not the order/listing of labs
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- Cannot send email from contact us
- App does not open
- Advertisement pop-ups in paid app
Requested features
14 requests- Add common tests like ANA
- Improve readability/font size
- Fix screen cutting/responsiveness issues
- Add search functionality for lab values
- Save custom lab order
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Update data for new lab items (e.g., cystatin C)
- Provide patient preparation info (fasting, etc.)
- Include UK terminology option
- Add microbiological findings and related causes
- Include relevance of Blood Transfusion antibodies and phenotypes
- Add dark mode
- Improve UI aesthetics
- Remove advertisements from paid app
- Add Spanish language support (more broadly)
In-app purchases
Medicine Central
- Medicine Central Renewal$99.991 Year
- Medicine Central$169.99
Lab Values+ Medical Reference
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Medicine Central free?
Is Lab Values+ Medical Reference free?
Which has better reviews, Medicine Central or Lab Values+ Medical Reference?
Do Medicine Central or Lab Values+ Medical Reference have ads?
Which is updated more often, Medicine Central or Lab Values+ Medical Reference?
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