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View Full Version : Epocrates SxDx Released


Darius Wey
01-13-2006, 03:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www2.epocrates.com/products/sxdx/index.html' target='_blank'>http://www2.epocrates.com/products/sxdx/index.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Epocrates Inc., provider of mobile and desktop clinical applications, today announced the launch of the Epocrates SxDx disease diagnosis and treatment reference and symptom assessment tool. This unique application, developed in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital's Laboratory of Computer Science, provides intelligent decision support to clinicians throughout the diagnosis process. Developed for mobile devices, including personal digital assistants, the new product allows healthcare professionals to enter patient symptoms and findings to generate a clinically useful diagnosis index to the Epocrates disease reference. Epocrates' newest product allows clinicians to enter an unlimited number of symptoms, examination findings, such as lab results, and key patient demographics, to generate a list of the plausible diagnoses in the Epocrates disease reference. A key differentiating feature of Epocrates SxDx, is the ability of the application to prompt clinicians to refine their input list based on the prevalence and likelihood of patient symptoms and findings. Potential diagnoses are then seamlessly integrated with more than 1,200 disease topics and 3,300 continually updated drug monographs."</i><br /><br />Epocrates has just released SxDx, a combined disease and symptoms assessment tool for medical professionals. It replaces the stand-alone Dx tool in the Essentials suite I <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,35004:dont_paginate,1">reviewed</a> in December 2004. Alone, SxDx is available on a one-year subscription for $69.99 USD or a two-year subscription for $109.99 USD. Alternatively, you can acquire it as part of the Essentials suite on a one-year subscription for $149.99 USD or a two-year subscription for $244.99 USD.

Phronetix
01-14-2006, 08:14 AM
Enter your patient's symptoms, physical findings, lab results, and history
Generate a diagnosis index organized by likelihood (based on a unique set of algorithms)

This is an odd product from the standpoint that I don't see its value. Physicians are not trained to group a collection of symptoms and signs before deciding upon a list of possible diagnoses. Rather, in the course of assessment, there is an ongoing collection of possible diagnoses that are tested and measured by the process of assessment itself. Perhaps it may be a useful tool for reflection, but who has time to reflect upon an evaluation? Or as a training tool, albeit artificial.

Of course, I'm now curious and wanna check it out. :wink:

Darius Wey
01-14-2006, 08:26 AM
Physicians are not trained to group a collection of symptoms and signed before deciding upon a list of possible diagnoses. Rather, in the course of assessment, there is an ongoing collection of possible diagnoses that are tested and measured by the process of assessment itself.

Hmm, good point. Now I'm curious too. :)

I used to be subscribed to Epocrates, but not anymore. Not because I didn't like the product, but rather, it was a bit too expensive for my liking.