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Skip to main contentNothing critical missed.
The modern EM pocketbook
Nothing critical missed.
Anywhere.
In 1976 a plane crash gave trauma care its system — ATLS. SymptomDx is the same idea, finished: a physician-written standard for 192 symptoms and 912 diagnoses, built for the doctor working alone at 2 AM.
FIG. 1 — HEBRON, NEBRASKA, 1976. WHERE SYSTEMS IN MEDICINE BEGAN.
Door № 1
I have a symptom.
→ a systematic diagnostic approach: history, red flags, exam, workup.
Door № 2
I know the diagnosis.
→ an evidence-based management protocol: treatment, disposition, next steps.
Born from the story of ATLS
Every patient becomes an open-book exam.
After the 1976 crash that inspired ATLS, trauma got a shared system. SymptomDx gives you one for every symptom that walks through the door — physician-written, checklist-fast, free.
192
diagnostic approaches — one for nearly every chief complaint an ED sees.
912
management protocols — treatment and disposition, guideline-current.
742
Deep Dive reviews — in-depth clinical reference, updated as evidence changes. Browse →
Fifty years ago, one bad night gave medicine its first system.
1976
The crash
Dr. James Styner crash-lands in rural Nebraska. His children receive worse care in a hospital than he could give in a field. “The system has to change.”
1978
ATLS
Advanced Trauma Life Support launches: one shared, systematic approach. Trauma survival changes worldwide — because the plan is the same everywhere.
2026
SymptomDx
Built by an emergency physician, SymptomDx extends the same idea to every chief complaint — a repeatable standard of practice for symptoms, free for every clinician.
Browse the pocketbook
The index.
Field notes
Questions, answered.
Everything clinicians ask before their first shift with SymptomDx.
Yes, SymptomDx is completely free. No subscription, no credit card, no hidden fees. Access all 450+ clinical decision support tools for emergency medicine at no cost.
UpToDate provides comprehensive medical reference content designed for in-depth reading. SymptomDx delivers rapid, checklist-based clinical decision support optimized for point-of-care use in the emergency department. When you have a patient with undifferentiated chest pain at 2 AM, SymptomDx gives you a systematic approach in seconds, not a 40-page review article.
We continuously update clinical protocols as new evidence emerges and guidelines change. Each approach displays its last review date and references current society recommendations and peer-reviewed literature.
Yes. SymptomDx pairs seamlessly with AI documentation tools including Freed, Heidi, Abridge, Nuance DAX Copilot, and Sunoh. Run SymptomDx in your browser alongside your AI scribe. Our systematic questions guide your patient encounter while your scribe captures the documentation.
Absolutely. SymptomDx works standalone as a rapid clinical reference and guided history-taking tool. Many emergency physicians use our checklist view as their go-to resource for systematic differential diagnosis and risk stratification.
Yes. SymptomDx is an excellent clinical reasoning tool for medical students and EM residents. Our systematic approaches teach the structured thinking that attending physicians expect — useful for clinical rotations, structuring patient presentations, shelf and board exam prep, and building differential diagnosis skills.
Even experienced pilots use checklists on every flight. SymptomDx provides systematic backup for atypical presentations, keeps you current with evolving clinical guidelines, and ensures cognitive rigor during high-volume overnight shifts. It's not about what you don't know — it's about ensuring nothing gets missed when you're managing 30 patients.
No. SymptomDx is a clinical reference tool. We don't collect, store, or transmit any patient information. Your clinical decisions stay in your EMR where they belong.
SymptomDx doesn't handle protected health information. We're a clinical reference tool, not an EMR integration. No patient data ever touches our platform.
“I built SymptomDx to do for symptoms what ATLS did for trauma — so the doctor alone in a rural ER has the same system as a downtown trauma centre.”
Dr. Lucas Mastropaolo · MD, CCFP(EM) · Founder
OPEN THE POCKETBOOK →Free forever. No subscription. No patient data.