Trailing Thoughts

I have a few different programs that I have purchased to have for my rotations this semester and I would like to share my opinions on the different software options.
First, the most bang for the buck: Tarascon Pharmacopoeia. This software is only about 30 dollars and has a lot of great features. It has some common calculations, and a drug interaction tool too. They organize the drugs by class or by an index, which makes finding the right drug easier. I especially like that this program will give average pricing. They also provide a small list of reference websites.
In addition to this I would download Archimedes, a free medical calculator offered by Skyscape. This is an excellent product, and the best thing is that it is free…. I have used this many times during my rotations and it has an extensive formula database.
I did not purchase Lexi-comp and I sort of regret it. It has a nice collection of books, but it is expensive (over $300). But it has many things that others have, but it is easier to find information.
I did purchase a few books from handheldmed.com instead. This is a nice source, but it was incomplete. They had a special that you can purchase 5 books for about $200. I got the Merck Manual, 5 minute clinical consult, Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, A to Z Drug Facts, and Davis’s Guide to IV Medications. I personally have not used this as often as I thought. I use Taber’s the most. Having a medical dictionary is a great thing to have for all of those unfamiliar terms. But if I did it differently I would have purchased Lexi-comp. The reader provided by handheldmed is not a good reader. It is easy to use and everything, but I get a lot of errors and I have to restart the PDA.
I also purchased PDR Drugs, Applied Therapeutics, ABC Lab Data, and Essential Diagnosis from Skyscape. These were pretty expensive also, but I needed a few additional sources. PDR Drugs is a really great book. It is organized well and it is easy to find information. The only problem is that it is not all inclusive. ABC Lab Data is also nice, but I would try to see other options about lab tests.
Applied Therapeutics is good for NAPLEX study purposes. I thought it is a great book, but it is heavy to carry around and so this is a good alternative. The problem here is the case study questions are not included in the Pocket PC version.
MICROMEDEX is the best software option if you belong to an institution that uses this because you can get it free. The University of Toledo provides access to this. It is pretty awesome because it comes with treatment overviews for some conditions, a herbal information database, toxicology information, drug information and interaction tools. This is organized well and has a special heading for dosing adjustment, which is important when you are checking for renal adjustments.
Well these are just my opinions of the software as I actually use them for my rotations. Hopefully this review can help guide others looking to purchase reference materials.