Bedside EM vs gistalt
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bedside EM
This comprehensive medical reference app provides evidence-based, peer-reviewed information for emergency medicine providers and those caring for acutely ill patients. It features a searchable, offline database with continuously updated content and a user-friendly interface.
- Offline access
- Searchable database
- Evidence-based content
- Peer-reviewed updates
- Pediatric tape
- Clinical decision rules
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START YOUR 30 DAY FREE TRIAL TODAY! Bedside EM (formerly ERres) is the ORIGINAL emergency medicine app designed for where you need it the most.. at the bedside! First released in 2011, Bedside EM has been consistently ranked as one of the best medical apps worldwide! Continuously updated, evidence-based and peer reviewed!! The entire app is searchable and available offline!! And although Bedside EM was created with emergency medicine providers in mind, it has proven to be a great resource for ANYONE who takes care of acutely ill patients including other doctors, PAs/NPs, nurses, paramedics, EMTs, and students!! Starting in 2024 I have decided to go ALL IN to ensure Bedside EM continues to be the best emergency medicine app out there. This began with a complete overhaul of the app from the ground up to improve user experience. Some things were added, some things were removed. Many more additions will be coming later in the year. I hope you like it! I am now in the process of updating the styling for EVERY section within Bedside EM to align with the new layout and support dynamic text and dark mode. This is a very time-consuming process. Thus far I have updated the “pediatric tape” and all of the clinical decision rules, as these tend to be quite popular. The other sections will all be updated over the next few months. Once that is completed, the plan is to go back and UPDATE EVERY SECTION with the latest evidence-based medicine recommendations before then adding some brand new stuff. Exciting times!!! FREE 30 DAY TRIAL! To make the above possible/sustainable, a paid subscription is required to use this app starting 2024. All prior users will be granted lifetime access for free. App Subscription Options: ∙ Yearly (annual auto-renewable subscription) The subscription period will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. To turn this function off, simply go to your iTunes account and turn off auto-renew. Renewal payments will differ depending on subscription and pricing at the time of renewal. Your iTunes account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. Terms and Conditions: https://www.darkmedicalapps.com/terms-and-conditions Privacy Policy: https://www.darkmedicalapps.com/privacy-policy
gistalt
This medical game challenges players to quickly assess patient acuity by swiping left for stable patients and right for those needing immediate intervention. It's designed to make training clinical impression skills engaging and fun.
- Patient acuity assessment
- Swipe-based gameplay
- Vital signs and lab results
- Imaging interpretation
- Performance scoring
- Regular content updates
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Your clinical impression (or "gestalt") about a patient's acuity is both critical and difficult to train. gistalt was designed to make it fun! Your goal playing gistalt is to accurately identify which patients are sick (requiring hospitalization or immediate interventions for stabilization) or not-sick (conditions that can be safely treated with outpatient follow-up). gistalt games are simple and fun. You'll start with a stack of patient presentations including vital signs, laboratory results and imaging. Swipe each card left (for not-sick) or right (for-sick) to see the next question. At the end of the stack, review your responses and see your score. Your gistalt score specially gauges your ability to detect the most critically-ill patients and institute the treatments that will make a difference. New questions are added regularly and don't require an app update.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: gistalt at 4.9 against Bedside EM's 4.2. gistalt also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (100% vs 85%). Bedside EM's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 22 months) and ratings volume (60 vs 16). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Bedside EM sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. gistalt asks for nothing beyond the download.
gistalt holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 60 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Bedside EM's written reviews are positive against 100% of gistalt's.
Bedside EM ships an update every 5 months, gistalt every 22 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bedside EM | gistalt |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (60 ratings) | 4.9 (16 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 84.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 60 — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 22 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 | 13.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Dark Medical Apps LLC | Tom Fadial |
Customer experience
Bedside EM
gistalt
Bugs and requests
Bedside EM
Reported bugs
4 issues- Lost notes and bookmarks since update
- Categories reorganized and hard to find
- Temporarily lost access after rebranding
- EKG illustrations covered by back task bar
Requested features
10 requests- Update privacy label
- Add settings button to enlarge print
- Add an 'update' option for newest information
- Support French language
- Add more categories
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Add a notes section
- Add more info to toxicology
- Improve content depth
- Fix orientation quirk
- Remove ad banner
gistalt
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Bedside EM
- Annual Subscription1 Month trial$9.991 Year
- Lifetime Access$199.99
gistalt
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Bedside EM free?
Is gistalt free?
Which has better reviews, Bedside EM or gistalt?
Do Bedside EM or gistalt have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bedside EM or gistalt?
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