Comparison

PatientTouch Communications vs DocUpdate

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

Head to head
About

PatientTouch Communications

This mobile solution connects frontline clinicians to patients, care teams, and EHRs to improve safety, quality, and efficiency. It supports medication administration, specimen collection, infant care, and real-time documentation of vital signs and procedures.

Highlights
  • Positive Patient Identification (PPID)
  • Clinically contextual communications
  • Medication administration workflows
  • Specimen collection verification
  • Infant care matching and safety
  • Real-time vital signs documentation
  • HIPAA compliant communication
Read full description

The PatientTouch® system is a Mobile Care Orchestration™ solution that enables you to orchestrate people, processes, and data in real time. By connecting frontline clinicians to their patients, care team, and existing EHR infrastructure, the PatientTouch system improves safety, quality, efficiency, and nursing satisfaction, while reducing costs. Ultimately, the PatientTouch system allows you to spend more time on direct patient care. The PatientTouch platform delivers Positive Patient Identification (PPID) workflows, clinically contextual communications, and configurable care interventions. With the PatientTouch system, you can leverage a single, easy to use device for: • Medication Administration—PPID barcode medication administration through intuitive workflows designed with clinical depth to ensure patient safety and adherence to the seven-rights • Specimen Collection—Enforce patient identification and care verification, document in real time, and optimize care team workflows to increase safety, accuracy, and efficiency of lab order processing and fulfillment • Infant Care—Ensure accurate mother and baby matching, safety of breast milk feedings, and accuracy of breast milk labeling • Care Interventions—View, collect, and document vital signs, I/O, hourly rounding, assessments, and clinical procedures in real-time • Communications—Facilitate care team collaboration through clinically contextual communications. • Facilitates patient assignment, alert management, and care delivery planning The PatientTouch system is fully HIPAA compliant and communicates directly to your existing HIS infrastructure via secured wireless networks. To use the PatientTouch application, your healthcare facility needs to license the PatientTouch system. The PatientTouch system includes an authorized server that is integrated with other hospital systems and the PatientTouch electronic mobile medication appliance (eMMA™) handheld. Innovated with the Apple iPod Touch® at its core, the eMMA handheld is designed for the clinical environment and meets the needs of hospital regulations. Learn more at patientsafesolutions.com

About

DocUpdate

This app provides busy clinicians with mobile-first tools to streamline their workflow. It offers free e-prescribing to numerous pharmacies, patient communication features including a medical translator, and access to a concierge service for pharmaceutical company interactions.

Highlights
  • Free e-prescribing to 65,000+ pharmacies
  • DocUpdate Concierge for sample requests
  • Medical translator in 20+ languages
  • Patient communication tools
  • Mobile-first tools for busy clinicians
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

DocUpdate is a free e-prescribing app building mobile-first tools for today's busy clinicians. We help physicians, nurse practitioners, and PAs get more done in less time. From e-prescribing and patient communication, to connecting with reps and manufacturers, our tools are designed for real-world workflows, whether you're in the clinic, rounding, or on the go. What you can do with DocUpdate: • E-prescribe to 65,000+ pharmacies nationwide. 100% free. • Access DocUpdate Concierge, your assistant for requesting samples, rep visits, and other support directly from pharmaceutical companies. • Communicate clearly with patients using our medical translator in 20+ languages Download DocUpdate now to access all these features and more right from your phone!

Screenshots

PatientTouch Communications1 screens
DocUpdate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: DocUpdate at 61% against PatientTouch Communications's 0%. DocUpdate also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.7) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 3 months). PatientTouch Communications's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). 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

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

DocUpdate holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DocUpdate has 2.8K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of PatientTouch Communications's written reviews are positive against 61% of DocUpdate's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PatientTouch Communications ships an update every 3 months, DocUpdate every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
PatientTouch Communications versus DocUpdate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPatientTouch CommunicationsDocUpdate
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (6 ratings)4.8 (2.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews60.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings62.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 11 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#206 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB96 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperPatientSafe SolutionsDocupdate

Customer experience

PatientTouch Communications

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

DocUpdate

All ratings2,777 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews186 reviews
Positive60.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

PatientTouch Communications

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

DocUpdate

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Registration process fails for some users
  • Prescriptions not reaching pharmacies as expected
  • Inability to prescribe to certain pharmacies or areas
  • App crashes or freezes during use

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize prescription quantities
  • Support for veterinarians and other non-physician prescribers
  • Improved pharmacy search functionality
  • Prescription database/formulary integration
  • Ability to document prescription notes

In-app purchases

None

PatientTouch Communications

No in-app purchases

None

DocUpdate

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PatientTouch Communications free?
PatientTouch Communications is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DocUpdate free?
DocUpdate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PatientTouch Communications or DocUpdate?
DocUpdate is rated higher. PatientTouch Communications averages 3.7 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while DocUpdate averages 4.8 from 2.8K ratings.
Do PatientTouch Communications or DocUpdate have ads?
DocUpdate shows ads; PatientTouch Communications does not.
Which is updated more often, PatientTouch Communications or DocUpdate?
PatientTouch Communications ships an update every 3 months, and DocUpdate every 11 days. Most recently, PatientTouch Communications was updated on September 28, 2026 and DocUpdate on October 12, 2026.

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