Pepid for iPhone??? Still not out?

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I heard that Epocrates was going to have the full version available in January too, but haven't seen it. As an EM physician, is PEPID better than Epocrates?
 
polygonal said:
I thought they said the native version would be available by January? Is it still not out?
Click to expand...

I've been waiting for this too--I don't like the mobile version at all. When I emailed them, they said by the end of the first quarter of '09, so hopefully it's getting close . . . .
 
Dr. Ditka said:
I heard that Epocrates was going to have the full version available in January too, but haven't seen it. As an EM physician, is PEPID better than Epocrates?
Click to expand...
ePocrates Essentials is available for the iPhone. You have to purchase it from their website. When you update the free version already installed on your iPhone, it will update it to Essentials.
 
Do any of your residency programs provide access to these services? My school pays for our uptodate subscription and I've heard of other schools providing Epocrates Essentials for their students. How are your residency programs about providing subscription services?
 
I run the free ePocrates on my iPhone as a drug reference. I'm a PEPID subscriber and love it. I still carry my old Treo with me just for PEPID.

I ran into a PEPID rep at a conference last month. They swore up and down it would be out by the end of February. I'm beginning to doubt that now.

Now that the phone on my Treo is turned off, it is amazing how long the battery lasts. 🙂

Take care,
Jeff

PS, are there any former PEPID users out there that switched to the full ePocrates version on the iPhone? What do you think?
 
Our program paid for 3 years of PEPID and made it available on the computers we use in the ED. It is a great tool that I use countless times everyday. At this point, I couldn't imagine using anything else.

Now, if only the iPhone would switch to Verizon and Pepid would be released for the iPhone, the moons would align and I would become a super-duper resident instead of the duper resident!

JJ
 
If your hospital/institution provides uptodate access, it's also worth trying on the iphone. It's nowhere near as concise and useful (articles written to be an authoritative review of a topic vs quick & dirty), but UTD has a nice iphone-specific site running now. It's a nice holdover until pepid hits the streets.
 
I just got off the phone with them. They said it's finished and waiting on approval from Apple. They said 1 week.
 
polygonal said:
I just got off the phone with them. They said it's finished and waiting on approval from Apple. They said 1 week.
Click to expand...

Now THAT'S the inside skinny I expect from SDN.

Outstanding. Let's hope Apple doesn't take forever to approve it.

Take care,
Jeff
 
will this work on an iPod touch? I'm not all that keen on paying for the iPhone service packages...
 
polygonal said:
I just got off the phone with them. They said it's finished and waiting on approval from Apple. They said 1 week.
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I just got an email from the ACOEP, saying members get 15% off a subscription. When I went to sign up, it said "iPhone coming this week", but who knows how long that has said that.
 
I just sent a pretty pointed letter to them regarding this issue. For those of you who haven't been in this in the long-run, this product has been in development since at least the end of summer. They've missed two self-imposed deadlines.

The email bounced. Figures. The Pepid SMTP server rejected my address.

I'll call them in the morning. I'm getting frustrated b/c my Treo is dying.

KK
 
It's now available for the iphone/ipod touch in the App store. But get this... $240 a year! An $80 premium over mobile internet access version of Pepid. Damn. For that kind of cash, this non CME-getting academic faculty member will keep using the free institutionally purchased subscription to UpToDate whose iphone version is quite snazzy.
 
I think ACEP membership is about $50 for students. Cancels out the Pepid savings unfortunately.
 
bartleby said:
It's now available for the iphone/ipod touch in the App store. But get this... $240 a year! An $80 premium over mobile internet access version of Pepid. Damn. For that kind of cash, this non CME-getting academic faculty member will keep using the free institutionally purchased subscription to UpToDate whose iphone version is quite snazzy.
Click to expand...

This pricing is ridiculous - for your iphone plus internet Pepid, it would be $340/year -- almost 30 bux a month. Insane. And I don't see anything official from the ACEP site regarding a discount - you can find PEPID in the ACEP store but the price still comes up as $240 in the shopping cart for the iphone version.
 
When I checked the other day, there was a message after clicking on the link for iPhone users stating that if you bought the online version, they would convert your version to the iPhone version for free when it came out.
 
Just got an email and Pepid is available on the phone but really very pricey would like to hear if anyone has tried it. I feel eppocrates is a bit sluggish on the iphone and wonder if this will be the same. Any opinions?
 
EDMDDOC said:
Just got an email and Pepid is available on the phone but really very pricey would like to hear if anyone has tried it. I feel eppocrates is a bit sluggish on the iphone and wonder if this will be the same. Any opinions?
Click to expand...

Downloading right now . . . If it's anything like Pepid for the Treo it's going to be a steal.

Bye bye Treo!
 
I just got my email that the iPhone version is available. I'm downloading now and will give a report as soon as possible.

I've been a PEPID subscriber throughout residency and can tell you it is well worth the subscription price. I have been very, very pleased with the content and outline of the product on my Treo. I've been eagerly awaiting its release on the iPhone.

I switched from ePocrates years ago because I felt the content in PEPID was much more comprehensive and geared to my needs as an EP.

I got the free version of ePocrates for my iPhone because it was available. The drug content is OK it is pokey.

Take care,
Jeff
 
Just letting everybody know that regardless of whether you have a subscription to pepid or not, you still have to buy a new subscription to the iphone version because it's part of the "platinum" package or some bs.

With that said, when you buy the new subscription, they will add all the remaining time you had onto it from your original plan rather than having both the old and the new count down at the same time.
 
The free app from the App Store is Pepid Elements. It is essentially the toxicology module from the full version.

It loads very quickly, the search engine is very fast and much more responsive than ePocrates. Of course, it is only the tox database and not the full drug database so perhaps that will slow it down.

The information is the same as my Treo version, ie very comprehensive and EM focused. If you're in EM and have an iPhone, this is a no brainer. Get this app.

I'm in the process of downloading the full ED Suite and Dictionary Suite. I clicked on the Add button from the home screen of the free app. I entered my account email and password. I was then presented with the two products for which I was already registered. So far, nothing about having to pay anything extra for the new platinum package. I'm not sure how what I have is different than that. Perhaps I'll find out as I play.

More review to come.

Take care,
Jeff

PS, the first download failed when my iPhone locked down after 1 minute. There's a note on the web site saying turn off the Auto-Lock feature during the installation.
 
Update:

Installation not going well. After downloading the ED Suite and Dictionary Suite, I received the following message:

Download Failed
Unable to download PEPID: ED Suite
Registration Failed. This product does not exist in the user account.

I also saw on their web site that existing user's accounts would be updated in the next 48-72 hours. Perhaps this has something to do with it.

I'll keep trying and keep updating.

Take care,
Jeff
 
Jeff698 said:
Update:

Installation not going well. After downloading the ED Suite and Dictionary Suite, I received the following message:

Download Failed
Unable to download PEPID: ED Suite
Registration Failed. This product does not exist in the user account.

I also saw on their web site that existing user's accounts would be updated in the next 48-72 hours. Perhaps this has something to do with it.

I'll keep trying and keep updating.

Take care,
Jeff
Click to expand...


You have to go to their website and get a free trial for the program using your account info. Then follow the instructions. You can't just get to it after downloading the ipod app, if that makes any sense
 
Tiger26 said:
You have to go to their website and get a free trial for the program using your account info. Then follow the instructions. You can't just get to it after downloading the ipod app, if that makes any sense
Click to expand...

Thanks. That part I understood. When I initially tried to download the 'expanded' content based on my existing license, I thought it recognized my account b/c it let me try to download the update. Obviously, that didn't work.

I bought a 1 year subscription and was then able to download it through the App without difficulty. My 12 month subscription now expires in 17 months which is about right, I had 5 months remaining on my prior subscription.

The app takes a bit longer to load than the Elements version but still seems faster than ePocrates. All the same content is there from my prior Palm version.

The interface doesn't feel nearly as well iPhone-ized as ePocrates' though. It very much looks like a ported html file. The content is very useable, just not as sexy as I would have liked.

Some things haven't fully implemented the interface. The eponyms section, for example, doesn't allow me to search by eponym; rather I have to scroll through each letter to find what I'm looking for.

The text isn't "zoomable" like most other iPhone text. You can't spread your fingers to expand the text.

Anyway, that's my review/experience to date. The content is still outstanding and what I paid for and use every shift. The interface implementation needs work, though.

Take care,
Jeff
 
Last edited:
Has anyone gotten this to work yet? I've downloaded the app from iTunes and paid for the subscripion. Then I went to the login on my phone and put in my email/password. Its now been "loading" for over an hour. Any thoughts?
 
NateintheED said:
Has anyone gotten this to work yet?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is working on my iPhone. See my post above.

BTW, after more use, I've also found that many of the illustrations don't load.

It seems this got rushed to market and might have needed to stay in the oven a bit longer. The content is still outstanding but the interface could use some work.

I'm hoping for quick updates.

Take care,
Jeff
 
Got mine to work today. Turns out it was a wireless network issue since I'm staying in a hotel at the moment. Got it downloaded via the WiFi at work.

Haven't tried the illustrations yet, though.
 
Yet another update.

After speaking with the tech support people (who were very responsive), I discovered that my installation, for whatever reason, left out many of the images. They had me re-install and it worked. My subscription was still in their system so I had no grief at all about redownloading.

All the illustrations are there now and work well. There is also a Steadman's dictionary included in the Platinum price. It was easy to download and works well.

The program now takes a bit longer to load than the free toxicology app, presumably b/c of the much larger size. It takes about 4-5 seconds each time. It can't be left open in the background but this is an Apple thing. They don't let anything run in the background for stability reasons.

The program works well for me now. It is faster then the free version of epocrates. It has the same content as my Palm version, something I consulted almost daily in the ED.

I would still prefer it to be more iPhone-ized. Specifically, I'd like the text to be zoomable and rotate-able like web content. Not that I'm having trouble reading small text or anything. It would also make clicking on embedded links with fat fingers easier.

Take care,
Jeff
 
I've been playing around with it and I still prefer Epocrates. At this point, anything that is web-based is useful, so there's no need for a standalone application on the iPhone or iPod touch.
 
Thanks for the updates, this is useful! Since I'm on neuro right now I thought I'd wait a bit before buying it, hopefully between your help and (fingers crossed) a quick product update I'll be alright! :grin:

Jeff698 said:
Yet another update.

After speaking with the tech support people (who were very responsive), I discovered that my installation, for whatever reason, left out many of the images. They had me re-install and it worked. My subscription was still in their system so I had no grief at all about redownloading.

All the illustrations are there now and work well. There is also a Steadman's dictionary included in the Platinum price. It was easy to download and works well.

The program now takes a bit longer to load than the free toxicology app, presumably b/c of the much larger size. It takes about 4-5 seconds each time. It can't be left open in the background but this is an Apple thing. They don't let anything run in the background for stability reasons.

The program works well for me now. It is faster then the free version of epocrates. It has the same content as my Palm version, something I consulted almost daily in the ED.

I would still prefer it to be more iPhone-ized. Specifically, I'd like the text to be zoomable and rotate-able like web content. Not that I'm having trouble reading small text or anything. It would also make clicking on embedded links with fat fingers easier.

Take care,
Jeff
Click to expand...
 
mdjkim said:
I've been playing around with it and I still prefer Epocrates. At this point, anything that is web-based is useful, so there's no need for a standalone application on the iPhone or iPod touch.
Click to expand...

Nice thought. My ED doesn't have WiFi for staff (there is a password protected net for our in-patients) and my cell phone reception is hit or miss.

Web-based solutions for me suck.

So, I think you're wrong. There is absolutely a need for a standalone application. YOU may not have a need, but take a look at how many of us want these apps and use them daily and I think you'll see there are many who disagree with you.

Take care,
Jeff
 
After many years of Pepid subscription, I am STUNNED at how terrible the new iPhone version is. Basically, it's a re-hash of that lousy "over the air" version they released a few months back.

The drug interactions, medical calculators, and dosing calculators WILL NOT WORK unless you have an active internet connection, and even then they are slow.

This dependence on an internet application has crippled what used to be a great product. It won't work in the ortho suite at one job, or in any of the critical care beds in another - two places where I need those calculators the most. It still works great on a Palm, where everything is self-contained, but for some reason they can't make it work on an iPhone.

DO NOT BUY IT. Don't waste your money. It's absolutely usless unless you work in an ER that has WiFi everywhere (and you know how JCHO feels about WiFi). From what I understand they have been sold a bill of goods that "over the air" is the way to go, and will not be making the transition to a fully native version.

Anyone have an alternative product that might be useful?
 
After trying Pepid iPhone over and over, it still remained a turkey - wouldn't work in the radiology suite, in our ortho room where we do our sedations, our critical care wing of the ED, etc. etc. Doesn't work in the PACU, SICU, or OR floors at my old hospital. All because the calculators are now web-based for some dopey reason, so if you don't have a solid connection they just won't run.

Going back to my Palm. Ugggh.

However, I will say that Justin and Adam from technical support were very helpful in getting me a full refund. They even forwarded my email to the VP of technology Ed Reynolds who wrote me back personally. Even though the product is unusable at my hospitals, and it sounds like they're sticking with web-based, the staff at Pepid is still very personable and responsive. Too bad they dropped the ball on this one.
 
I have to admit, I haven't tried to use my PEPID iPhone at work yet (I'm on vacation right now) so everyplace I've tried it has WiFi.

I just went into airplane mode (cell and wifi off) and found exactly the problem that Peanutty describes.

Knowing how crappy the coverage is in my ED, this is going to be a huge deal for me. I love PEPID and, despite it's poor implementation of the iPhone interface, could easily use it if it all worked natively.

I think I may be going in the same direction as Peanutty. I hate to abandon PEPID but this is a stupid, stupid idea to have the product rely on an internet connection for the iPhone but not the other platforms.

Has anyone tried the full ePocrates version that is comparable to PEPID? Thoughts?

Take care,
Jeff
 
I have been using PEPID on my treo and it is so clunky compared to full epocrates (I think it is all the colorful pics that I don't need anyway). Takes forever to open. And what a pain to download. I am going back to epocrates when my contract is done. Just an fyi comparison on a totally different device. (I have no financial ties to either program 🙂
 
Jeff -

If you run into the same problems, please email or call pepid (at the support email, not customer service) and tell them what you think. The only way they'll get their act together on this one is if they hear complaints.
 
peanuttygood said:
Jeff -

If you run into the same problems, please email or call pepid (at the support email, not customer service) and tell them what you think. The only way they'll get their act together on this one is if they hear complaints.
Click to expand...

I'll do it. I did contact ePocrates support to clarify their reliance on an internet connection. They said the only thing you need it for, after installation of course, was the picture part of Pill ID. I'm of the opinion that Pill ID is sexy but not terribly useful.

Take care,
Jeff
 
I have the full ePocrates on my iPhone (it's free for med students) but only really use the drug guide. It does download the whole database to the phone and does not seem to require any connection to access the clinical content, but it's also pretty slow. It's fairly usable once it has loaded, but probably takes 3-5 seconds to load, which I find very irritating.
 
I'm keeping my eye on Pepid's site to see if they ever release a version with the dosing calculators, medical calculators, and drug interactions built-in as they are with the Palm. (As mentioned in my posts above, these features depend on a 3G or wifi connection at all times in order to work - a total disaster).

They have a new version out, but it's still web-dependent. Part of the reason they released it may be because at the Apple App store the rating was down to two stars. It was quite a bit higher when it first came out. Putting out a new version "resets" the rating system.

I know I'm being pretty negative about those guys now, but I'll be more than happy to heap praise on them once they get an iPhone product that functions consistently.
 
peanuttygood said:
I'm keeping my eye on Pepid's site to see if they ever release a version with the dosing calculators, medical calculators, and drug interactions built-in as they are with the Palm. (As mentioned in my posts above, these features depend on a 3G or wifi connection at all times in order to work - a total disaster).

They have a new version out, but it's still web-dependent. Part of the reason they released it may be because at the Apple App store the rating was down to two stars. It was quite a bit higher when it first came out. Putting out a new version "resets" the rating system.

I know I'm being pretty negative about those guys now, but I'll be more than happy to heap praise on them once they get an iPhone product that functions consistently.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more--with this web-based nonsense, I think their product got worse with the port over to the iphone.

That, and I don't know if anyone else had this problem, but typing in it to look things up had incredible delays.
 
pseudoknot said:
I have the full ePocrates on my iPhone (it's free for med students) but only really use the drug guide. It does download the whole database to the phone and does not seem to require any connection to access the clinical content, but it's also pretty slow. It's fairly usable once it has loaded, but probably takes 3-5 seconds to load, which I find very irritating.
Click to expand...

I guess your school subscribes to it for ya'll? We have dynamed subscriptions, but ePocrates isn't free in general for students.
 
peanuttygood said:
I'm keeping my eye on Pepid's site to see if they ever release a version with the dosing calculators, medical calculators, and drug interactions built-in as they are with the Palm.
Click to expand...

When I contacted them to bitch and moan about the web enabled requirement, they told me they were working to put it all on the device and remove the internet requirement.

I'd guess two things. First, they rushed the port to market because ePocrates had soundly beaten them with a quicker release and a better port. Second, they've gotten tons of negative feedback about the poor interface and web requirement.

I'm a huge PEPID fan and am holding off on switching (it turns out I do get some signal in my ED so I can use it...it's just ugly) but I'm hoping they'll get their act together and release a strong port.

Take care,
Jeff
 
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