Bates' Pocket Guide vs Nurse's Fast Facts
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bates' Pocket Guide
This app provides essential information for obtaining health histories and conducting physical exams. It features step-by-step techniques, updated images, and differential diagnoses for quick and accurate interpretation of findings. Ideal for students and professionals needing a fast reference.
- Over 130 detailed topics
- Step-by-step instructions
- Updated photographs and illustrations
- Two-column layout
- New Algorithms for symptom approaches
- Differential diagnoses
- Highlighting and note-taking
- Advanced search
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*Featuring the latest content from the latest edition* ABOUT THE BATES' GUIDE: The Bates’ Pocket Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking contains the critical information needed to obtain a meaningful health history, conduct a thorough physical exam, and interpret the findings quickly and accurately. Locate answers fast and review step-by-step techniques and possible findings using the distinctive two-column format with updated images. Bates’ Pocket Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking is the ideal quick-reference resource for today’s medical, PA, pharmacy, and nursing students. FEATURES: • Over 130 detailed topics with step-by-step instructions • Updated photographs, illustrations, and references reinforce key content based on the latest evidence-based information • Two-column layout optimized for smartphones and tablets • New Algorithms provide helpful starting approaches for patients with common presenting symptoms. • Differential diagnoses for common, normal, and abnormal findings • Highlight and take notes within any entry • Advanced Search helps find topics quickly • “Favorites” for bookmarking important entries Authors: Lynn S. Bickley MD, FACP, Peter G. Szilagyi MD, MPH, Richard M. Hoffman MD, MPH, FACP, Rainier P. Soriano MD Publisher: Wolters Kluwer | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Powered by: Unbound Medicine Unbound Privacy Policy: www.unboundmedicine.com/privacy Unbound Terms of Use: https://www.unboundmedicine.com/end_user_license_agreement
Nurse's Fast Facts
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"Try before you buy"-Download the FREE App,which includes sample content. In-App purchase required to unlock all content. Nurse's Fast Facts: Your Quick Source for Core Clinical Content, 3rd Ed. provides mobile healthcare practitioners with the latest in trusted clinical information for more accurate, confident and informed decision-making at point-of-care. Nurse's Fast Facts is a compilation of all of those hard-to-remember procedures, calculations, lab values, and interactions in a quickly accessible PDA reference. This essential reference offers the most important but difficult to remember clinical information for nine nursing content areas as well as age-specific guidelines for assessing health problems and interpreting lab values. Get speedy access to information by specialty, and the many charts, graphs and illustrations. Topics include: * Medical-Surgical * Gerontological Care * Maternal-Infant * Pediatric * Mental Health * Emergency and Critical Care * Long-Term Care * Home Health Care * Nutrition With Skyscape's patent pending smARTlink™ technology, RNFastFacts3™ can easily cross-index with other clinical and drug prescription products from Skyscape to provide a powerful and integrated source of clinical information that you can carry with you wherever you go! Content licensed from printed ISBN 10: 803611617 Content licensed from printed ISBN 13: 978-0803611610 If you have any questions or comments,email us any time:customersupport@skyscape.com or call 508-299-3000 Privacy Policy-https://www.skyscape.com/terms-of-service/privacypolicy.aspx Terms & Conditions-https://www.skyscape.com/terms-of-service/licenseagreement.aspx Author(s): Brenda Walters Holloway, RN, MSN, CFNP Publisher: F. A. Davis Company
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Bates' Pocket Guide at none against Nurse's Fast Facts's shown. Nurse's Fast Facts's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 14 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, in-app purchases 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. Bates' Pocket Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Nurse's Fast Facts sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Bates' Pocket Guide ships an update every 14 months, Nurse's Fast Facts every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bates' Pocket Guide | Nurse's Fast Facts |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (302 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 40.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 302 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 14 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 151 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Unbound Medicine, Inc. | Skyscape Medpresso Inc |
Bugs and requests
Bates' Pocket Guide
Reported bugs
9 issues- Sectional information is wrong
- Topics do not correlate to information
- Asterisk information is incorrect
- App information needs updating and reviewing
- Software is glitchy
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- Hard to navigate between topics
- Algorithm images are mismatched with titles
- Doesn't take Bates account
- Didn't work (iOS 7)
Requested features
5 requests- Update and review app information for accuracy
- Improve content layout and navigation
- Offer better preview options before purchase
- Provide discounts for existing textbook/resource owners
- Clarify product offerings to avoid buyer confusion
Nurse's Fast Facts
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Bates' Pocket Guide
- Bates' Pocket Guide 9th ed.$69.99
Nurse's Fast Facts
- Nurse's Fast Facts$37.95
Questions
Is Bates' Pocket Guide free?
Is Nurse's Fast Facts free?
Do Bates' Pocket Guide or Nurse's Fast Facts have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bates' Pocket Guide or Nurse's Fast Facts?
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