Comparison

PatientTouch vs NephRef

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

Head to head
About

PatientTouch

This mobile care orchestration solution connects frontline clinicians to patients, care teams, and EHRs in real time. It enhances safety, quality, and efficiency through features like positive patient identification, medication administration, and specimen collection workflows. The platform aims to improve patient care by streamlining processes and communication.

Highlights
  • Positive Patient Identification (PPID)
  • Medication Administration workflows
  • Specimen Collection documentation
  • Infant Care matching and safety
  • Real-time Care Interventions documentation
  • Clinically contextual communications
  • HIPAA compliant
Read full description

The PatientTouch® system is a Mobile Care Orchestration™ solution that enables you to orchestrate people, processes, and data in real time. By connecting frontline clinicians to their patients, care team, and existing EHR infrastructure, the PatientTouch system improves safety, quality, efficiency, and nursing satisfaction, while reducing costs. Ultimately, the PatientTouch system allows you to spend more time on direct patient care. The PatientTouch platform delivers Positive Patient Identification (PPID) workflows, clinically contextual communications, and configurable care interventions. With the PatientTouch system, you can leverage a single, easy to use device for: • Medication Administration—PPID barcode medication administration through intuitive workflows designed with clinical depth to ensure patient safety and adherence to the seven-rights • Specimen Collection—Enforce patient identification and care verification, document in real time, and optimize care team workflows to increase safety, accuracy, and efficiency of lab order processing and fulfillment • Infant Care—Ensure accurate mother and baby matching, safety of breast milk feedings, and accuracy of breast milk labeling • Care Interventions—View, collect, and document vital signs, I/O, hourly rounding, assessments, and clinical procedures in real-time • Communications—Facilitate care team collaboration through clinically contextual communications. • Facilitates patient assignment, alert management, and care delivery planning The PatientTouch system is fully HIPAA compliant and communicates directly to your existing HIS infrastructure via secured wireless networks. To use the PatientTouch application, your healthcare facility needs to license the PatientTouch system. The PatientTouch system includes an authorized server that is integrated with other hospital systems and the PatientTouch electronic mobile medication appliance (eMMA™) handheld. Innovated with the Apple iPod Touch® at its core, the eMMA handheld is designed for the clinical environment and meets the needs of hospital regulations. Learn more at patientsafesolutions.com

About

NephRef

This medical reference tool aids physicians and advanced practitioners in managing patients with kidney disease. It provides quick access to educational resources and guidance on patient referral, urgency, and interval management.

Highlights
  • Kidney disease patient care guidance
  • Referral management
  • Urgency assessment
  • Interval management
  • Educational resources access
Features
Read full description

NephRef is both a reference and referral tool designed to educate and empower physicians and advanced practitioners in their care and referral of patients with kidney disease. Conceived and developed by the Section of Nephrology in the Department of Medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine, NephRef offers a quick and easy link to educational resources and provides information about urgency and interval management of patients referred for specialty consultation. NephRef is an educational tool only. Not for individual patient diagnosis or treatment.

Screenshots

PatientTouch4 screens
NephRef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: NephRef at every 10 days against PatientTouch's every 2 months. PatientTouch's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 11.0). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PatientTouch against 5.0 for NephRef. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PatientTouch ships an update every 2 months, NephRef every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
PatientTouch versus NephRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPatientTouchNephRef
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB44 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPatientSafe SolutionsMedia Foundations LLC

Customer experience

PatientTouch

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

NephRef

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

PatientTouch

No in-app purchases

None

NephRef

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PatientTouch free?
PatientTouch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NephRef free?
NephRef is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PatientTouch or NephRef?
PatientTouch and NephRef are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do PatientTouch or NephRef have ads?
Neither PatientTouch nor NephRef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PatientTouch or NephRef?
PatientTouch ships an update every 2 months, and NephRef every 10 days. Most recently, PatientTouch was updated on September 24, 2026 and NephRef on September 18, 2026.

Other comparisons