Comparison

Emergency Manual vs EBMRef

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

Head to head
About

Emergency Manual

This free medical app provides cognitive aids and checklists for 25 critical perioperative events. It serves as a drug dosing reference and includes crisis management tips for clinicians. Designed for self-study and real-time use during emergencies.

Highlights
  • Cognitive aids for 25 critical perioperative events
  • Checklists for emergencies
  • Drug dosing and concentration reference
  • Crisis resource management tips
  • Suitable for self-study
  • Real-time cognitive aid during crises
Features
Read full description

Despite best intentions, well-trained clinicians often miss known key steps during crises. This free perioperative Emergency Manual by the Stanford Anesthesia Cognitive Aid Program (SACAP) includes a set of cognitive aids and checklists for 25 critical perioperative events including cardiac arrest, bronchospasm, LAST, malignant hyperthermia, unanticipated difficult airway, and the rest of the key perioperative chief complaints. It includes crisis resource management tips, and serves as a drug dosing and concentration reference for relevant medications. The app can be used for self-study, and most importantly, as a cognitive aid during perioperative crises. The Emergency Manual has been used by thousands of anesthesiologists around the world, and is now available on the iPhone! Disclaimers: The material in this app is not intended to be a substitute for sound medical knowledge and training. Clinicians should always use their clinical judgment and decision making for patient management. Departure from the information presented here is encouraged as appropriate, since situations can vary widely.

About

EBMRef

Access summaries of landmark medical research across specialties. Quickly find key trial details like interventions, outcomes, and clinical relevance for bedside reference. Intended for educational use, it's a supplement to, not a replacement for, professional medical advice.

Highlights
  • Landmark research summaries
  • Organized by medical specialty
  • Key trial details (name, year, interventions, outcomes)
  • Clinical relevance distilled
  • Quick bedside access
  • Educational and informational
Features
Read full description

EBMRef provides summaries of landmark research across various medical specialties. Built for quick access at the bedside, it organizes pivotal trials by specialty and distills key details, including trial name, year, interventions, outcomes, and clinical relevance. As with all scientific literature, users should review the complete study to appreciate its methodology, potential biases, and limitations. This app is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, and never disregard or delay seeking professional advice because of information provided by this app. About Rishi Kumar, MD, FACC ("RK.MD") I'm an adult cardiothoracic anesthesiologist and cardiovascular ICU intensivist practicing in academic medicine. I'm passionate about teaching with free, open-access medical education. Learn more on my site: https://rk.md

Screenshots

Emergency Manual4 screens
EBMRef3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Emergency Manual at 16.0 against EBMRef's 26.0. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 Emergency Manual against 5.0 for EBMRef. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 21 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Emergency Manual versus EBMRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmergency ManualEBMRef
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (12 ratings)5.0 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1221 — better
Update frequency—Every 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB8 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperRobert ArrigoRishi Kumar

Customer experience

Emergency Manual

All ratings12 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

EBMRef

All ratings21 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Emergency Manual

No in-app purchases

None

EBMRef

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Emergency Manual free?
Emergency Manual is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is EBMRef free?
EBMRef is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Emergency Manual or EBMRef?
Emergency Manual and EBMRef are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 12 and 21 ratings respectively.
Do Emergency Manual or EBMRef have ads?
Neither Emergency Manual nor EBMRef shows ads.

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