A wilderness medicine reference app
Photo: Liam Doran
Quick and easy access, wherever you are, to information providing first aid to problems that can occur in a backcountry setting.
Overview
Much of the main content of this app focuses on prevention education and strategies to reduce the risks of certain illnesses or traumatic events. Standard medical assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and specific evacuation considerations for many traumatic, medical, and environmental illnesses routinely encountered while in the backcountry are also presented comprehensively.
In addition, extensive content on subjective decision-making errors, first aid kit recommendations, patient assessment, trip checklist functions, and cardiac arrest management are included.
Prevention strategies.
Many accidents in the backcountry can be avoided, and a main focus in this app is on prevention strategies. Significant content unique to this app is the inclusion of “trip checklists”. Checklists have been utilized for a long time in the aviation industry to prevent and react to critical situations, so that important steps are not missed. In this app, the checklists are intended to ritualize discussion of, and provide a framework for, the consideration of common subjective decision-making errors and heuristic factors before, during, and after a trip. Most accidents, or medical care that results in a worse outcome for the patient, will prove to be significantly attributable to these factors, rather than solely a failure of the acquisition or performance of the right skills and knowledge.
Photo: Tim Baldwin
No medical training necessary.
This app is mainly geared to the person with little or no medical training, up to a person with a Wilderness EMT, but even people who routinely practice medicine may find useful information within regarding environmental illness, subjective decision-making errors, and checklist functions when venturing into the backcountry. Commonly accepted wilderness protocols normally considered outside the scope of non-physician or pre-hospital care providers are contained within.
Photo: Dave Mackey
Functions well outside with offline capability.
Text size may be conveniently increased.
Links contained within take you to relevant content referenced, like medication information.
Real life case studies included to illustrate key points about different content.
Photo: Craig Louis Perrinjaquet MD MPH
Get the App:
Photo: Dave Mathes
Photo: Kevin Sturmer
Photo: Jessie Longe
Photo: Kristen Hughes