Repertory app — desktop, mobile, web
"Repertory app" hides a platform decision inside a product search. The same repertory content — Kent, the Complete Repertory, Murphy — reaches practitioners through three delivery models: installed desktop suites, native or store-distributed mobile apps, and browser-based web apps. Each model trades something real away, and the right choice follows from how and where the practitioner consults, not from feature-list length.
The three delivery models compared
| Dimension | Desktop suite | Mobile app | Web app |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examples | RadarOpus, MacRepertory, Complete Dynamics desktop | Store-distributed repertory readers; vendor companion apps | Similia, OOReP, Vithoulkas Compass |
| Installation | Per-machine licence and install | Per-device install | None — browser login |
| Multi-device continuity | Weak to moderate; sync varies by vendor | Per-device data unless cloud-synced | Native — same account, any device |
| Offline use | Strong | Strong for readers | Requires connection |
| Edition updates | Versioned upgrades, often paid | Store updates | Server-side, continuous |
| Typical cost shape | Larger upfront licence | Small one-off or subscription | Free tier plus subscription |
| Screen fit in consultation | Full keyboard workflow | Pocket reference, cramped analysis | Scales from phone to desktop; home-screen shortcut on mobile |
Three points stand out. First, offline resilience is the desktop suite's remaining structural advantage; a clinic with unreliable connectivity should weight it heavily. Second, the web model has absorbed the mobile model's main job — a browser-based platform used through "Add to Home Screen" behaves like an app on the phone while keeping the full analysis workflow on the desk. Third, the cost shapes differ more than the totals: legacy desktop licences concentrate cost upfront, while web platforms spread it as subscription, with typical edition plans landing around $20–$30 USD per month and a usable free tier underneath.
What a repertory app must actually do
Four capabilities decide daily usefulness.
Carry the right books. The app is shelving; the repertory is the instrument. Verify the exact editions: a Kentian needs Kent or a Kent-derived synthetic edition; a Boenninghausen-method prescriber needs the Therapeutic Pocket Book rendered faithfully; a clinically oriented prescriber may want Murphy's alphabetical chapters. Edition years matter — the Complete Repertory revises annually.
Find rubrics the way patients talk. Keyword search assumes the practitioner can guess nineteenth-century index vocabulary. Semantic search retrieves by meaning — "headache better lying down" typed as said — which collapses the lookup step and makes the repertory usable mid-consultation rather than after it.
Run a real analysis. Adding rubrics to a list is not repertorization. The app should compute totality and sum-of-grades, support per-rubric weighting and elimination, and attach the analysis to a case record with notes and prescriptions. Look for 0–4 rubric grading, elimination filtering, and analyses that save automatically inside the case.
Let the data leave. Patient-adjacent records outlive any subscription. Before adopting, confirm export formats and post-cancellation behaviour: a defensible platform documents full export and reverts cleanly to a free tier with data intact. An app without an exit is a liability dressed as a convenience.
Matching model to practice
- Fixed consulting room, stable connectivity, deep legacy investment in Synthesis: a desktop suite remains defensible, with RadarOpus the canonical home of that repertory.
- Multi-site or home-visit practice, mixed devices: a web platform wins on continuity; the phone browser covers the bedside, the desktop browser covers the write-up.
- Student or early-career, budget-constrained: start free — public-domain classics plus semantic search and limited casework cost nothing on a free plan, and OOReP provides an open-source baseline.
- AI-assisted consultation workflows (live transcription to rubrics, notes parsing): currently a web-platform capability in practice — Live Audio Mode and notes-to-rubrics tooling sit behind the Pro tier and consume AI credits.
Verdict
For most practitioners in 2026 the web app is the right default — continuity across devices, current editions, and a free evaluation floor — with desktop suites reserved for offline-critical or Synthesis-committed practices. The cheapest defensible test is a fortnight of real casework on the platform you are considering; Similia runs that test on a 14-day Pro trial and reverts to a working free tier afterwards.
References
Boericke, W. (1927) Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica with Repertory, 9th edition, Philadelphia: Boericke & Tafel.
von Boenninghausen, C. (1846) Therapeutic Pocket Book, English translation by C. J. Hempel, New York: Radde.
Kent, J. T. (1897) Repertory of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica, Lancaster: Examiner Printing House.
Murphy, R. (2024) MetaRepertory, Lotus Health Institute.
van Zandvoort, R. (ed.) (1994 onward) Complete Repertory, IRHIS; annually revised editions.
Zeus Soft (2026) RadarOpus product documentation, https://www.radaropus.com/, fetched 2026-05-17.
Complete Dynamics (2026) product editions, https://www.completedynamics.com/, fetched 2026-05-17.
OOReP (2026) open-source online repertory, https://www.oorep.com/, fetched 2026-05-17.
Vithoulkas Compass (2026) service description, https://www.vithoulkascompass.com/, fetched 2026-05-17.
Similia (2026) Help Centre, https://similia.crisp.help/en/, fetched 2026-05-17.
Verdict
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