Comparison

The Chief Complaint vs NIHSS+

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

Head to head
About

The Chief Complaint

This emergency medicine guide offers an algorithmic approach to over 50 common complaints. It provides decision support, links to medical resources, and includes a drug guide and calculators. A clinical community forum is also available for collaboration.

Highlights
  • Algorithmic approach to common ER complaints
  • Clinical decision support algorithms
  • Links to medical resources (PubMed, EM:RAP, etc.)
  • Emergency medicine drug guide
  • Medical calculators and scores
  • ESCAVO Clinical Community forum
Features
Read full description

The Chief Complaint app now includes access the new ESCAVO Clinical Community, a forum where clinicians can exchange ideas, ask questions and collaborate on sepsis and other clinical topics. How would you like to walk into the ER confident that you knew what to do, no matter what comes through the door? The Chief Complaint app uses an algorithmic approach to over 50 of the most common complaints encountered in emergency medicine. Never feel lost or overwhelmed again, not knowing what the next step in the work-up is. Not sure what tests to order or if the patient can go home? The Chief Complaint helps you answer all those questions and more! - Algorithm based approach to the most common emergency medicine complaints - Based on the #1 bestselling emergency medicine clinical guide "The Chief Complaint" - Used by the residents of LA County + USC emergency medicine program, one of the top emergency medicine programs in the world - Color coded by organ system for easy navigation - Exhaustively referenced to the most important studies and articles in emergency medicine (over 400 citations!) with direct links to PubMed abstracts for easy access to original sources - Over 60 high resolution clinical management and decision support algorithms - Direct subject-specific links to EM:RAP, Essentials of Emergency Medicine and theNNT.com for further resources and deeper dives on all subjects - Journal club feature allows you to dive deeper into the evidence basis of your decisions - Peer reviewed by leading physicians in emergency medicine - Important medical calculators and scores commonly used in the ER - Emergency medicine drug guide easily accessible right from the content pages - All content, including treatment algorithms, is built-in, network access is only required for content updates - Automatic content updating keeps app's contents constantly up to date free of charge The Chief Complaint is an invaluable resource for doctors, residents, medical students, nurses and other healthcare professionals working in emergency medicine and other acute care settings. Please send your feedback, questions or bug reports to info@escavo.com, we'd love to hear from you! Reviews: "The Chief Complaint is simply indispensable, carry it with me every shift. Excellent algorithms, concise, practical, clinically relevant explanations citing the current best-evidence for management decisions; without doubt Chief Complaint it is THE pocket Emergency Medicine reference to have with you at the bedside." -Manuel Montano, MD, PGY-3, LAC+USC EM Residency "...is really top notch. I really like how it organizes complaints in a flow pattern type way. This has allowed me to quickly adjust my decision making and makes it actually useful when I feel super pressured at work. The further detail located later has been helpful to one, get some good initial learning in and two, look to the resources cited for more in depth discussion." -David Benaron, UCSD Resident "Chief complaint is AWESOME...I think every single intern in the country should have one of these...SO COOL!" -James Grieme, UCSD Resident "The aptly named Chief Complaint is simply excellent. I really like the way it is laid out by cc and it's concise enough to be useful on a regular basis. I take it with me to every shift and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a streamlined, functional, real-time guide for working up patients in the ED" -Nick Aldridge, UCSD Resident "... really something totally new in the medical education world. This app does something many have tried to do but few have achieved, which is to create an orienteering guide to the med-ed landscape while launching your thought processes AT THE BEDSIDE when confronted with a new undifferentiated and undiagnosed patient." -William "Billy" Mallon MD, Foreword

About

NIHSS+

This app provides a digital learning format for evaluating stroke symptoms based on the established NIHSS scale. It offers guidance for accurate stroke assessment, tips, and support for telestroke situations, intended for educational purposes.

Highlights
  • Stroke symptom evaluation
  • Digital learning format
  • Accurate stroke assessment guidance
  • Tips and tricks for assessment
  • Telestroke situation support
  • Educational training
Features
Read full description

Since the initial release in 1990, the NIHSS has been a standard for evaluating stroke symptoms in patient diagnosis. With the proven success in quickly identifying patients using the Stroke Scale, NIHSS+ utilizes the same fundamentals in a different learning format more suited for today's technology. Guided by Dr. Lyden, in digital form, you can quickly explore all possible deficits for an accurate stroke assessment, get tips and tricks, and be guided through telestroke situations. The information provided in this training and certification app is for educational purposes only, and does not substitute for professional medical advice. If seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, consult a medical professional or a healthcare provider.

Screenshots

The Chief Complaint4 screens
NIHSS+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: NIHSS+ at every 2 weeks against The Chief Complaint's every 9 months. NIHSS+ also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 88%). The Chief Complaint's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (649 vs 8). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

The Chief Complaint holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Chief Complaint has 649 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 88% of The Chief Complaint's written reviews are positive against 100% of NIHSS+'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Chief Complaint ships an update every 9 months, NIHSS+ every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 17, 2026 and August 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
The Chief Complaint versus NIHSS+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Chief ComplaintNIHSS+
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (649 ratings) — better4.4 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews88.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings649 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size157 MB1.2 GB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperEscavo, IncApex Innovations

Customer experience

The Chief Complaint

All ratings649 ratings
Positive96.3%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive88.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative8.0%

NIHSS+

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

The Chief Complaint

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • App crashes when deleting bookmarks

Requested features

3 requests
  • iPad landscape orientation support
  • Additional drug information in complaint categories
  • Expanded content for OB/GYN and toxicology sections

NIHSS+

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

The Chief Complaint

No in-app purchases

None

NIHSS+

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Chief Complaint free?
The Chief Complaint is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NIHSS+ free?
NIHSS+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Chief Complaint or NIHSS+?
The Chief Complaint is rated higher. The Chief Complaint averages 4.8 out of 5 from 649 ratings, while NIHSS+ averages 4.4 from 8 ratings.
Do The Chief Complaint or NIHSS+ have ads?
Neither The Chief Complaint nor NIHSS+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Chief Complaint or NIHSS+?
The Chief Complaint ships an update every 9 months, and NIHSS+ every 2 weeks. Most recently, The Chief Complaint was updated on July 17, 2026 and NIHSS+ on August 30, 2026.

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