SIMPL OR vs ASCRS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SIMPL OR
This app helps medical professionals evaluate residents after procedures. It collects feedback and aggregates data for faculty to track resident experience and tailor supervision. The system is designed for efficiency and provides meaningful evaluation insights.
- Procedure evaluation for residents
- Formative feedback dictation
- Aggregated resident experience data
- Faculty access to evaluation data
- Individualized teaching and supervision insights
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SIMPL: System for Improving and Measuring Procedural Learning makes it feasible to evaluate residents after every procedure they perform. The SIMPL app, used by residents and faculty, is designed from the ground up for efficiency and ease of use while still providing meaningful evaluation data. Each evaluation consists of 3 questions plus the option to dictate formative feedback. Aggregated evaluation data is accessible to faculty who can use it to see how much experience a resident has with any given procedure or with a group of procedures. This knowledge can, in turn, serve to inform a conversation with the resident prior to each operation so as to better individualize both teaching and supervision in the operating room.
ASCRS
This app provides a comprehensive educational resource for colon and rectal surgery. It includes a textbook, self-assessment exams, video mentorship, webinars, and a question bank to enhance surgical knowledge and patient care.
- ASCRS Textbook of Colon and Rectal Surgery
- CARSEP XI self-assessment exam
- Fundamentals of Rectal Cancer (FRCS) resource
- Video mentorship series recordings
- Webinar recordings
- Question bank
- ASCRS Toolkit (guidelines, statements, presentations)
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ASCRS U Contains: THE ASCRS TEXTBOOK OF COLON AND RECTAL SURGERY (4th edition) One given definition of the word textbook is “a book used as a standard work for the study of a particular subject.” Our collective goal for the fourth edition of The ASCRS Textbook of Colon and Rectal Surgery was to make this volume the standard for the study of colon and rectal surgery, providing a valuable resource for surgeons and health care providers at all stages of their career caring for patients with colorectal disease. This edition provides all newly written chapters, organized around the “pillars” of colorectal disease: perioperative (including endoscopy); anorectal disease; benign disease (including inflammatory bowel disease); malignancy; pelvic floor disorders; and a “miscellaneous” section that covers aspects both inside and beyond the operating room. CARSEP XI The Colon and Rectal Surgery Educational Program (CARSEP®) series is one of the most valued educational tools offered by ASCRS. Test your knowledge with this self-assessment exam to prepare for the qualifying examination of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery (ABCRS) or to earn continuing medical education (CME) and stay current with the latest practice recommendations. FUNDAMENTALS OF RECTAL CANCER (FRCS) To improve rectal cancer outcomes, our patients need us to work together in a standardized multidisciplinary approach to their care. The goal of FRCS is to be a definitive resource for all surgeons who care for rectal cancer patients, to promote high-quality, evidence-based surgical and perioperative care. The program also meets standard 8.1 for NAPRC hospital accreditation and is eligible for CME credit. VIDEO MENTORSHIP SERIES RECORDINGS The ASCRS video mentorship series aims to build a community of learners who regularly engage in intraoperative video-based coaching sessions using a learner-contributory moderated format with the goal of sharing operative techniques and improving procedural confidence. WEBINAR RECORDINGS Almost 30 webinars covering a variety of topics related to colorectal care. Up to 16 CME credits can be earned. For upcoming live webinars and what will be added here soon, visit the webinar page. QUESTION BANK Practice tests organized around the “pillars” of colorectal disease: perioperative (including endoscopy); anorectal disease; benign disease (including inflammatory bowel disease); malignancy; pelvic floor disorders; and a “miscellaneous” section. ASCRS TOOLKIT * Clinical Practice Guidelines * Pelvic Floor Consensus Statements * The Best of Annual Meeting Presentations * QASC PRIME PUBMED Quickly search journal articles from the PubMed database on your smartphone and tablet. Results contain abstracts, citations, and links to available full text articles that can be read on device and shared with classmates and colleagues. Additionally, Prime PubMed contains Grapherence®, an exclusive way to visually explore interrelationships and relevance in the medical literature. Features of ASCRS U: * Advance searches of the medical literature * Links to relevant PubMed articles * Full text search helps find topics fast * Custom notes and highlighting within entries * “Favorites” for bookmarking important topics PUBLISHER: American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons POWERED BY: Unbound Medicine, Inc
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: ASCRS at 100% against SIMPL OR's 50%. ASCRS also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.5) and ads (none vs shown). SIMPL OR's advantage is monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ASCRS holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ASCRS has 215 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of SIMPL OR's written reviews are positive against 100% of ASCRS's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SIMPL OR | ASCRS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (12 ratings) | 4.9 (215 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 215 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | +17 |
| Developer | Procedural Learning and Safety Collaborative, Inc | Unbound Medicine, Inc. |
Customer experience
SIMPL OR
ASCRS
In-app purchases
SIMPL OR
No in-app purchases
ASCRS
No in-app purchases







