01
The problem
Looking up a drug or a symptom online gets you either clinical documentation written for practitioners or SEO content farms optimized for ad revenue. Neither is what you want at 2am with a pill bottle in your hand.
ArchivedOwn Work2024Solo build
Medscope
Drug and symptom lookup built only on FDA and NIH data.
02
The decision
Build on authoritative sources only — the FDA's OpenFDA and the NIH's MedlinePlus — and do no interpretation on top of them. Surface the official record, formatted to actually be readable on a phone.
03
The tradeoff
Refusing to interpret means the app can't answer the question people actually have, which is "should I take this?" It gives you the record and stops. For anything touching medical information that's the correct limit, even though it makes the product less satisfying to use.
04
What shipped
A React Native app for drug lookups, symptom checking, and disease research, sourced entirely from public health APIs.
05 Built with
React NativeJavaScriptOpenFDAMedlinePlus