The Merck Manual dates to 1899, but Merck Publishing marches along with the 21st century, with the November 2013 release of an app to accompany The Merck Manual Go-To Home Guide for Symptoms. Editor-in-chief Robert S. Porter says that the Merck Manual Home Symptoms Guide app, which is available for iOS and Android, offers consumers information that isn’t readily available elsewhere: “You can easily find books about diseases, disorders, and diets, but symptoms are what get people worried.”

Square One has seen success with the app developed for The Acid-Alkaline Food Guide by Susan E. Brown and Larry Trivieri Jr. “The book is in mass market format, so it was already designed as an easy-to-carry tool,” says publisher Rudy Shur. Other publishers embracing technology for health and wellness apps include Shambhala, where, says marketing communications manager Steven M. Pomije. “We are developing apps tied to our top meditation books, like the app we just released for Pema Chodron’s When Things Fall Apart.” Available on iTunes, with an Android version in development, the app includes audio and daily inspirational quotes from the author.