Comparison

Evidence vs NephRef

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

Head to head
About

Evidence

Features
Read full description

Evidence-Based Physical Diagnosis helps you choose the diagnostic approaches that have been proven most effective! Dr. Steven McGee puts the most current evidence at your fingertips, equipping you to easily select the best test for diagnosing a given condition and understand the diagnostic significance and accuracy of your findings. A remarkably easy-to-reference organization makes it simple to find the answers you need. Key features: • An evidence-based calculator that helps you determine probability ratios based on the evidence criteria. • Quickly review the history, pathogenesis, examination technique, and interpretation of physical findings for all areas of the body thanks to a very reader-friendly outline format, including more than 90 "EBM boxes" and accompanying "EBM ruler" illustrations. • Get expert advice from Dr. Steven McGee, an internationally respected authority in physical examination and assessment, pain management, and education in general internal medicine. • See exactly which studies document the significance of various findings thanks to thousands of up-to-date references. • Apply the latest knowledge on hot topics such as the value of physical examination in taking care of the ICU patient, accurately diagnosing the etiology of systolic murmurs, diagnosing osteoarthritis and acute vertigo in the dizzy patient, diagnosing hemorrhagic stroke, and diagnosing pleural effusions. • Implement the most current evidence-based approaches for evaluating stance and gait, Schamroth's sign (for clubbing), dementia, prediction of falls, hepatopulmonary syndrome, atrial fibrillation, relative bradycardia, tourniquet test (for dengue infections), acute stroke, and pleural effusion. • Assess the pretest probability of disease, given particular signs or symptoms, with new at-a-glance tables. • Make effective decisions thanks to updated content throughout, including new EBM boxes covering over 250 recent studies on physical diagnosis-ensuring that all diagnostic information (i.e., sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios) is up to date. This app is very intuitive and easy to navigate, allowing you to browse the contents or search for topics. The powerful search tool gives you word suggestions that appear in the text as you type, so it is lightning fast and helps with spelling those long medical terms. The search tool also keeps a recent history of past search terms so you can go back to a previous search result very easily. You have the ability to create notes and bookmarks separately for text, images and tables to enhance your learning. You can also change the text size for easier reading. There is also an interactive EBM Calculator that allows you to calculate posttest probability based on pretest probability and likelihood ratio. After the app has been downloaded, no internet connection is needed to retrieve the content of the app. All of the text and images are available to you on your device anytime, anywhere, and lightning fast. This app is also automatically optimized for whatever size device you are currently using, either phone or tablet. Check out https://usatinemedia.com to learn more and watch a video demo of this app. This interactive app contains the full content of Evidence-Based Physical Diagnosis, 3rd Edition by Elsevier. ISBN-13: 978-1437722079 ISBN-10: 1437722075 Author: Steven McGee, MD Professor of Medicine University of Washington School of Medicine Seattle, Washington Disclaimer: This app is intended for the education of healthcare professionals and not as a diagnostic and treatment reference for the general population. Developed by Usatine Media Richard P. Usatine, MD, Co-President, Professor of Family & Community Medicine, Professor of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of Texas Health San Antonio Peter Erickson, Co-President, Lead Software Developer

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

Evidence4 screens
NephRef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NephRef at Free against Evidence's $54.99. NephRef also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 17 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

NephRef is free to download; Evidence costs $54.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Evidence ships an update every 17 months, NephRef every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Evidence versus NephRef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEvidenceNephRef
Price$54.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 17 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size136 MB44 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperUsatine & Erickson Media LLCMedia Foundations LLC

In-app purchases

None

Evidence

No in-app purchases

None

NephRef

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Evidence free?
Evidence costs $54.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is NephRef free?
NephRef is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Evidence or NephRef have ads?
Neither Evidence nor NephRef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Evidence or NephRef?
Evidence ships an update every 17 months, and NephRef every 10 days. Most recently, Evidence was updated on October 10, 2026 and NephRef on September 18, 2026.

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