Softwr

Healthcare · head to head

Epocrates vs Included Health

Epocrates logo

Epocrates

Healthcare

Mobile clinical reference and decision support app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Included Health logo

Included Health

Healthcare

Care navigation and virtual care in one contract for self funded employers and health plans

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Epocrates has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Epocrates pricing page not publicly accessible; Included Health owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.
  • They diverge on capability: Epocrates covers Drug Reference, Included Health covers Care navigation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Epocrates and Included Health actually diverge.

Attributes where Epocrates and Included Health differ
AttributeEpocratesIncluded Health
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsMobileWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2000Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Epocrates

  • Drug Reference
  • Interactions
  • Dosing Calculators
  • Disease Information
  • Medical Procedures
  • Patient Education
  • EHR Systems
  • HIPAA

Only in Included Health

  • Care navigation
  • Provider quality steerage
  • Expert medical opinion
  • Virtual primary care
  • Virtual behavioural health
  • Virtual urgent care
  • Benefits integration
  • Employer reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Epocrates

  • Patient Carenot Included Health
  • Medical Recordsnot Included Health
  • Practice Managementnot Included Health
  • Telehealthnot Included Health

Included Health

  • A large self funded employer whose members cannot tell which specialist to see and who currently absorbs the cost of poor referral decisionsnot Epocrates
  • An employer that has bought several point solutions and needs one front door that routes members to the ones already paid fornot Epocrates
  • A self funded plan wanting expert second opinions before high cost elective surgery, where a changed recommendation pays for the programmenot Epocrates
  • An employer replacing separate navigation and telehealth vendors with one contract and one member experiencenot Epocrates

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Epocrates

  • Pricing page not publicly accessible

Included Health

  • Owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.
  • Pricing is per employee per month across the whole eligible population, so a plan with low navigation engagement pays for everyone to serve the minority who call.
  • Savings claims rest on avoided costs and changed referral decisions, which are counterfactual by nature, so performance guarantees need very careful definition or they measure activity rather than money.
  • The company is a merger of three organisations with different origins, and members and benefits teams still encounter seams between navigation, virtual primary care and behavioural health that the single brand implies are absent.
  • It sells primarily to large self funded employers, so mid market employers and fully insured plans find both the pricing and the implementation effort disproportionate to their size.

Pricing, plan by plan

Epocrates

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Drug references
    • Calculators
    • Interactions
  • Premium$99/year
    • Enhanced content
    • Offline access

Included Health

On request
  • Included Health$undefined/year
    • Per employee per month across the eligible population, quoted not published
    • Navigation and virtual care modules priced separately or bundled
    • Some components offered with performance guarantees tied to measured savings

Which should you pick?

Choose Epocrates if

  • You need drug reference.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Mobile.
  • You also want interactions.
Epocrates review

Choose Included Health if

  • You need care navigation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want provider quality steerage.
Included Health review

Questions people ask

Is Epocrates or Included Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Epocrates starts at Free and Included Health at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Epocrates or Included Health?
Epocrates has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Epocrates and On request for Included Health.
Does Epocrates or Included Health run on more platforms?
Epocrates runs on Mobile. Included Health runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Epocrates for free?
Yes. Epocrates has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Included Health starts at On request.
What is Epocrates best used for?
Epocrates is most often used for patient care, medical records, practice management, telehealth. Of those, patient care and medical records are not what Included Health is typically brought in for.
What can Epocrates do that Included Health cannot?
Epocrates covers Drug Reference, Interactions, Dosing Calculators, Disease Information. Included Health covers Care navigation, Provider quality steerage, Expert medical opinion, Virtual primary care.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Epocrates: How much does Epocrates cost?

Epocrates pricing information is not available to public access. Users must authenticate or contact the vendor to view pricing details.

Source
Included Health: What exactly is Included Health?

The combination of Grand Rounds Health navigation, Doctor On Demand virtual care and the original Included Health concierge service, operating under one brand since late 2021.

Included Health: Who pays for it?

The self funded employer or the health plan pays a per employee per month fee. Virtual care visits may also carry member cost sharing depending on plan design.

Included Health: Is there a minimum size?

No published minimum, but it sells primarily to large self funded employers and the pricing and implementation effort do not suit small organisations.

Included Health: How does it recommend providers?

Through data driven quality analysis rather than a plain directory. Ask specifically how those recommendations are produced and how often they resolve to the company own virtual clinicians.

Share

Related pages

More on Epocrates

More on Included Health

Keep looking

Other head to heads