Pocket ICU vs The Clinical Problem Solvers
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pocket ICU
This app offers concise critical care guidance written by attending physicians. It covers diagnosis, treatment, and management across various subspecialties, with detailed images and decision support algorithms. Advanced search and bookmarking features allow for quick information retrieval.
- Concise guidance from attending physicians
- Diagnosis, treatment, and management details
- Subspecialty coverage
- Detailed images and algorithms
- Pharmacological data and formulas
- Advanced full-text search
- Bookmarking and note-taking
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New topics address bioweapons, disaster preparedness and critical care challenges of an air-transmissible, pandemic-causing pathogens like COVID-19. POCKET ICU FEATURES • Concise guidance written by attending physicians for everyone in critical care • Entries with diagnosis, treatment, and management details • Coverage of subspecialty areas including pediatric, neuro, cardiac, transplant, burn, and more • Detailed images, figures, and decision support algorithms • Overview of Statistics and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) • Helpful appendices provide pharmacological data, respiratory formulas, and cardiopulmonary relationships • Advanced Full Text Search helps find topics quickly • “Favorites” for bookmarking important entries • Highlighting and note-taking MORE ABOUT POCKET ICU With content from the highly regarded Pocket Notebook series, Pocket ICU provides users with an essential tool for quickly locating information from every subspecialty area of critical care. Entries have been written by attending physicians and are presented in brief but broad format so anyone in an ICU setting can quickly find answers and save time. This powerful resource can be downloaded to your smartphone and tablet and is great for preparing for rounds or consulting expert recommendations while on the ICU floor. Editors: Gyorgy Frendl, MD, PhD; Avery Tung, MD Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Powered by: Unbound Medicine
The Clinical Problem Solvers
Access expert diagnostic reasoning tools, including schemas, illness scripts, and practice cases. Save content for offline use, quickly link to explanation videos and podcast episodes, and stay updated with new materials added monthly. Share resources with colleagues.
- Browse schemas and illness scripts
- Access practice cases and videos
- Save documents for offline access
- Link to podcast episodes
- Stay updated with new content
- Share resources
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This is the official companion app to the Clinical Problem Solvers podcast, you would be able to: - Browse schemas, illness scripts, practice cases, videos, and blog posts crafted by the Clinical Problem Solvers team - Save all documents for offline access - Quickly access the explanation video and podcast episode associated with each schema - Stay updated with newer versions of schemas - Share the documents with your friends and colleagues We are adding 4 to 5 new schemas and illness scripts per month as part of our ongoing podcast episodes. This app is closely tied to what is discussed on each podcast episode, and not meant as a comprehensive reference. For a taste of what is in the app, please check out our podcast! The name of our podcast is "The Clinical Problem Solvers". URL at: https://apple.co/2m4cIT2 Our website: https://clinicalproblemsolving.com/ Twitter handle: @cpsolvers
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Pocket ICU at Free against The Clinical Problem Solvers's $14.99. The Clinical Problem Solvers's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (90% vs 64%). On rating, ratings volume, ads 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
Pocket ICU is free to download; The Clinical Problem Solvers costs $14.99 up front. Pocket ICU sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. The Clinical Problem Solvers asks for nothing beyond the download.
The Clinical Problem Solvers holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 317 and 204 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Pocket ICU's written reviews are positive against 90% of The Clinical Problem Solvers's.
Pocket ICU ships an update every 5 months, The Clinical Problem Solvers every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pocket ICU | The Clinical Problem Solvers |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $14.99 |
| Rating | 4.6 (317 ratings) | 4.8 (204 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.3% of reviews | 90.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 317 — better | 204 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #144 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Unbound Medicine, Inc. | THE CLINICAL PROBLEM SOLVERS INC. |
Customer experience
Pocket ICU
The Clinical Problem Solvers
User reviews
Pocket ICU
From 317 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Quick reference material
- 👍 Well-laid out and written material
- 👍 Useful for reviewing previous cases
- 👍 Resourceful and to the point
- 👍 Good preview/summary
Room to improve
- 😞 No access for duration paid
- 😞 Not user friendly/confusing
- 😞 Disappointed content (nursing school without experience)
- 😞 Bait and switch (expensive, not well thought out)
- 😞 Content is limited
The Clinical Problem Solvers
From 204 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💡 Excellent diagnostic frameworks and schemas
- 🎯 Highly useful for clinical reasoning and differential diagnosis
- 👍 Easy to navigate and user-friendly interface
- 🚀 Quick access to information with minimal clicks
- 📱 Offline functionality without premium paywall
Room to improve
- 📉 Limited number of diagnoses and topics covered
- 🔍 Search functionality needs improvement
- ❌ Not updated regularly with new schemas
- 📱 Technical issues on certain devices (iPad compatibility)
- ❓ Schemas sometimes too vague without podcast context
Bugs and requests
Pocket ICU
Reported bugs
2 issues- No information loads after purchase
- Issues with download/access
The Clinical Problem Solvers
Reported bugs
5 issues- App doesn't work properly on iPad 5
- Download all feature doesn't function
- Search function not working
- Content not displaying under illness scripts and practice cases sections
- App crashes or freezes on certain devices
Requested features
7 requests- Expand library with more diagnostic schemas
- Improve search functionality
- Add more content for internal medicine and internists
- Include podcast episodes within the app
- Regular updates with new schemas
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Add more practice cases
- Expand content for specialty areas
In-app purchases
Pocket ICU
- Pocket ICU2 variants$69.99
- Pocket ICU 2023$69.99
The Clinical Problem Solvers
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Pocket ICU free?
Is The Clinical Problem Solvers free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket ICU or The Clinical Problem Solvers?
Do Pocket ICU or The Clinical Problem Solvers have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket ICU or The Clinical Problem Solvers?
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