It’s hard to find an optometrist who doesn’t have a smartphone in their white coat pocket these days. Smartphones have absolutely transformed the way we access information. From navigating our commutes, to watching TV, to ordering groceries there is almost always “an app for that!”—and that includes apps that can aid in performing clinical eyecare. With millions of apps available no matter what kind of smartphone you have, it can still be overwhelming to find which are actually worth downloading and using day to day in clinic. We’ve made the search easy by putting together this list of the top eyecare related phone apps available for Android and iOS.
EyeDock
Platform: iOS only
Cost: requires $48 annual fee
If you’re sick of flipping through Tyler’s Quarterly, this is the app for you. The EyeDock app is a companion to Todd Zarwell, OD and Brian Chou, OD’s popular contact lens and medication reference website. Started as a side hobby by Dr. Zarwell in 2002, it has steadily grown to include more and more useful clinical tools over the years. The app has handy contact lens calculation calculators for things like spectacle vertexing and oblique cross-cylinder, a comprehensive and actively updated contact lens parameter database searchable by name, company, or parameters; and topical medication lists that can be searched by manufacturer, generic name, trade name, type, and even pregnancy category.
The corresponding website also includes full soft and GP lens search, CRT selector, plaquenil calculator, an up-to-date blog on innovations in the industry, and more.
Parks Three Step
Platform: iOS only
Cost: free
This is the quickest and easiest app to use when you’ve got that vertical deviation sitting in your chair. Also created by Todd Zarwell, OD, this app allows clinicians to perform the Parks Three Step test quickly without having to draw ovals on a piece of paper. You simply input your observations of which eye, gaze, and head tilt make the hypertropia worse, and the app will suggest which extraocular muscle is underacting. If you are a paid subscriber to the EyeDock website, then you can access this calculator via that website as well.
Eye Handbook
Platform: Android and iOS
Cost: free
If you’re looking for the most extensive eyecare diagnostic and treatment reference app available, this is it. Created by Cloud Nine Development, Eye Handbook provides a comprehensive reference guide for eyecare practitioners. It includes calculators for everything from crossed cylinder to IOL calculations, as well as transposition and vertex conversion.
There are lists of CPT and ICD-10 codes as well as patient testing tools like Amsler Grid, OKN, and Worth 4 Dot. There is also an extensive searchable reference of ocular diseases, downloadable educational videos, audio and flash cards for topics from glaucoma to pediatrics to medical ethics and an active forum to interact with other eye clinicians from across the world. There is so much content crammed into one app that you could easily spend hours here.
Eye Emergency Manual
Platform: Android and iOS
Cost: free
This app, designed for emergency department providers, is an excellent quick reference for dealing with eye emergency cases. It's particularly useful for triage! Created by Agency for Clinical Innovation for clinicians in New South Wales, the Eye Emergency Manual has great information for history findings, examination findings, differential diagnoses, and treatment for a number of eye emergencies including trauma and red eyes.
It even has a cool diagnostic tree where you can click through various questions leading you to a likely diagnosis.
OCTaVIA
Platform: iOS only
Cost: free
OCTaVIA stands for Optical Coherence Tomography Visual Atlas, and is hands down the best visual OCT reference I have found. Created by a New England College of Optometry professor, this app is the only OCT app currently available. It is a very thorough OCT reference with high quality photos and descriptions of OCTs of both healthy retinas and those with various retinal diseases and disorders. Its simple and intuitive search function makes it super quick and easy to use in the middle of a busy clinic day. It also provides useful links to help with diagnosis.
Overall, a great app for both currently practicing clinicians and students learning how to evaluate OCTs.
OpTranslate
Platform: Android and iOS
Cost: free
This translation app is a must for practitioners who work with diverse populations and need to be able to perform exams in multiple languages. Created by Ocular Media, it has translations for all parts of an eye exam from case history to BV testing to diagnosis explanations in 12 different languages.
There are also patient education links in various languages as well as a corresponding podcast made in collaboration with Defocus Media. Check out this press release to learn more.
GoodRx Pro
Platform: Android and IOS
Cost: free
Cost is the largest barrier to access of prescribed medications, and the cost of medications can vary day to day. GoodRx is a very popular website and set of apps that can help you find your patients the lowest price for any drug you are prescribing. You can easily search drug prices, discounts and coupons, pill images, and FDA recalls for prescription medications. GoodRx Pro is their version for health professionals, and it provides lists of commonly prescribed drugs by specialty.
You can make your own list of commonly prescribed favorites for quick reference. You simply input the drug name and zipcode and it lists prices in nearby pharmacies, making it very easy to find the least expensive drug options for your patients, often at prices lower than their insurance co-pays. Absolutely essential for your patients without insurance or pharmacy coverage. Patients will really appreciate you taking that extra second to show them their GoodRx findings, and you can even send them coupons via email, text message, or print in office. You’ll be shocked to see how much prices vary from pharmacy to pharmacy.
Epocrates
Platform: Android and iOS
Cost: free
While GoodRx is helpful for drug pricing, in terms of general drug reference Epocrates is the only app you need. With over 1 million downloads, Epocrates is widely considered to be the most popular medical app available. It is a complete reference for drug prescribing and safety information including both prescription and OTC medications. You can look for adult and pediatric drug dosages, interactions and contraindications, pharmacology and mechanism of action, identify pills by color and physical characteristics, as well as search common formularies for coverage.
This app is a comprehensive, and easy reference tool, and all providers should have it on their phone. Their premium option costs $16.99/month, but also includes peer-reviewed disease, lab, and alternative medicine content.
iPrescribe
Platform: Android and IOS
Cost: free
Is your handwriting too illegible for handwritten prescriptions, but you don’t have time to call prescriptions into the pharmacy? Then use the iPrescribe app to e-prescribe anytime and anywhere with ease. Created by Dr. First, this app can be used by itself or in conjunction with your current EMR or e-prescribing system. It makes prescribing and renewing drugs as easy as a few taps on your phone. You can even access your patients current medication history as well as insurance formulary and patient copay and benefit information.
ICD10 Consult
Platform: Android and iOS
Cost: free
While your EMR will likely do the bulk of your coding for you there are always those conditions you can’t quite figure out on your own. Forget about searching through a 20lb reference book and use ICD10 Consult instead. Designed by cornea, cataract, and refractive surgeon Evan Schoenberg, MD this app is designed to be intuitive and simple to use with search flexibility so you don’t have to input exact wording.
ICD10 Consult also provides coding guidelines and converts from ICD9 to ICD10 by name or code number.
Lensify
Platform: Android and iOS
Cost: free
Created by Tecksoft Inc. for searching PAL engravings, Lensify is an extremely useful app for your opticians. You literally just draw the symbol on your screen and it lists any potential matches.
It also has calculators for prism combination, +/- cylinder conversion, vertexing, and decentering induced prism.
Other useful sites for ODs
While they aren’t apps, there are also some very useful optometry websites that are worth bookmarking. These include the full EyeDock and GoodRX websites mentioned above, as well as ODSpecs for a complete soft contact lens and ocular medication reference. Coopervision’s ToriTrack Calculator allows you to enter your spectacle Rx and it will give you the correct vertexed contact lens Rx as well as which Coopervision brand lenses are available in that parameter.
Finally, while not directly useful for us as practitioners, there are a plethora of apps designed to help those with low vision. We should be familiar with these so we are able to recommend them to those of our patients who may benefit. These include:
There are so many useful apps in the marketplace, from those for prescribing drugs to helping calculate contact lens prescriptions! This has been my list of most useful clinical eyecare apps.
