With today’s technology, you can see a doctor instantly in many cases, and in some cases even have the doctor’s prescribed medication, from your smartphone, no matter where you are. Telemedicine and telehealth apps are significantly making healthcare more convenient, more economical, more preventative, and in most cases downright better. The ten apps in this article are all exceptional examples.
The real charm of these apps is that, collectively, they are developing a more competitive marketplace for health and health services. More competitors typically means better results and lower costs. Telemedicine, and remote healthcare in basic, lower expenses by increasing preventative care, reducing time to access, and reducing fuel intake by removing unnecessary journeys to a medical practice. These apps and sites– and others like them– are really changing healthcare. Many of these services are for U.S. homeowners, although some of them enable U.S. homeowners to see their physicians virtually even when taking a trip overseas. Keep in mind that some states have limitations on medical treatment and prescription filling by video conference. The National Conference of State Legislatures has outstanding state-by-state information about telehealthcare here.
When medical diagnoses and treatment are provided through an app or website, the platform should be HIPAA-compliant, and all the apps noted here are. That suggests any information and images you provide your health professional must be stored and transmitted in a manner that satisfies federal standards set for your safety and privacy.
Here are few medical, health, and wellness apps and online services that are changing healthcare.
DoctorOnDemand
From $40 per examination.
Doctor OnDemand lets you see a doctor for a video assessment, have that doctor compose you a prescription, or just get your concerns responded to. New to Doctor OnDemand is the capability to see a psychologist and have a lactation examination. Board-certified physicians can treat non-emergency medical issues such as cold and flu symptoms, urinary tract infections, upper breathing infections, allergies, sports injuries, neck and back pain, heart burn, along with many pediatric concerns. They can also fill up existing prescriptions or prescribed medication relevant for travel. Video Visits with doctors for medical problems cost a flat rate of $40 per session. Psychologist Video Visit cost $50 for a 25-minute session and $95 for a 50-minute session. UpSpring Lactation Consultation cost $40 for a 25-minute session and $70 for 50-minute session. Doctor OnDemand has more than 1,400 state-licensed physicians in all 50 U.S. states, although a couple of states don’t enable medical diagnosis and prescriptions by means of video (yet). Available on Android, iOS, Web
HealthTap
Free to ask questions; $44 per check out with Concierge; $99 each month for Prime.
HealthTap is an app and website that lets you have a virtual medical consultation with a doctor, or just get your concerns answered. It’s up to you and your requirements. For live assessments, you can see your very own individual physicians, the very same ones you see now, when you inquire to sign up with HealthTap. Those virtual check outs cost $44 per see (called Concierge service). The crème de la crème is a HealthTap Prime subscription ($99 each month), which offers you 24/7 access to leading doctors around the nation through in-app messages, text chat, and video examination, even when you, the patient, are taking a trip overseas. HealthTap doesn’t accept insurance for payment. Available on Android, iOS, Web
HelloMD
Prices differ; physicians set their own rates.
HelloMD concentrates on in finding experts, but not in getting you instant care. When you have to see the very best professional, such as a neurologist or a radiologist, for an extremely certain condition, HelloMD links you with the right licensed doctor or specialist. A consultation, normally established within 24 hours, can then take location in the online platform via video call. HelloMD has two purposes. One is to link you to the ideal doctor so you can set up to see them in individual for follow-up care. The 2nd is to provide you fast access to experts for consultations.
Additionally, HelloMD can be the location to opt for a second opinion, because you can find a professional and have an examination. The docs set their own rates, and you offer a credit card number to secure the appointment, which normally occurs within a few days. Available on web and mobile phones via mobile-optimized site.
LiveHealth Online
Insurance coverage accepted; $49 per assessment with no protection.
LiveHealth Online is another telemedicine service that lets you see a doctor through video call as well as get a prescription composed based on that virtual go to in states where it’s permitted. One crucial differentiator with LiveHealth Online is that the service accepts some insurance strategies, so you may owe the exact same co-pay as if you entered into the doctor’s office. (During the account development process, you’ll be able to inform if your healthcare plan is accepted.) Each examination is a flat $49 if you have no coverage, if your strategy does not cover online sees, or if you have not met your strategy’s deductible. No matter whether your virtual see is covered, you’ll always see your cost before the visit.
Microsoft HealthVault
Free
Microsoft HealthVault is an online service and mobile app where you can keep your own medical records safe and up-to-date, and share them firmly with healthcare specialists and individuals you trust. It’s been around for several years, with a devoted following, consisting of lots of people with persistent conditions who need to track day-to-day health metrics, such as high blood pressure, glucose, and oxygen saturation. You can input your data by hand or have it done instantly by connecting HealthVault to a long list of medical device, fitness trackers, Wi-Fi bathroom scales, and other apps. It’s a very valuable resource for both individuals and families.
PillPack
Cost based on rates of medications and co-pays.
PillPack is a prescription-by-mail service that puts your medications into date-and-time stamped single packets that come out of a dispenser in the order you need to take them. Each package is also identified with the name and dosage of each medication and any additional directions, such as “take with food.” PillPack works with your healthcare carrier to obtain your prescriptions instantly refilled four weeks before your supply goes out. You can also include self-prescribed vitamins and supplements, such as fish oil and multivitamins. The cost all depends upon the price of your medications, with no extra shipping costs whatsoever.
PingMD
Free for patients.
PingMD is a safe and secure messaging app for doctors to connect with other doctors, in addition to their patients. Clients usually download PingMD only when their medical professionals are already using it and suggest it to them. If your doctor recommends PingMD, she or he may use it to follow your sign progression, ask follow-up questions after you last check out or procedure, or help in disease management. It’s essentially a HIPAA-compliant app that lets you interact with your doctors the very same method you may communicate with pals and colleagues: via text messaging, asynchronous messaging, image-sharing, etc. Doctors using PingMD can also leverage other medical professionals on the platform to obtain their recommendations. For instance, your surgeon can ask another specialist to review your x-rays and offer a 2nd opinion.
RevUp by MD Revolution
Prices set by medical professionals; app is complimentary to download and use from patient’s perspective.
RevUp by MD Reveolution is an app and website where you get in touch with a team of health and health professionals who help you track pertinent health data and offer you with guidance and recommendations along the method. Just like PingMD, it’s a service that you sign up with when you’re invited by a doctor, healthcare network, or company health care that is currently a part of the MD Revolution network. Users get a distinct link from their doctor or healthcare company so enroll. When you’re in the system, you may be appointed other experts and coaches who can give you more individual attention and preventive care than any single doctor could. These health team members include physical fitness specialists, nutritionists, and nurse practitioners. The coaches monitor data you take into your account, which can be by hand added numbers like weight and blood pressure, or automatically tracked information from Fitbit devices and MyFitnessPal (a food and workout tracking app).
Text4Baby
Free; no messaging charges for almost all U.S. carriers.
Pregnant women and new mothers can turn to Text4Baby for all sort of health-related advice, tips, and assistance. Text4Baby is run by the National Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Coalition and utilizes SMS messages so it doesn’t matter what kind of phone you have. To sign up, you text BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411. When triggered, you reply back with your due date and ZIP code. That’s it. Users remain anonymous, and their information is private. Based on your due date, Text4Baby produces messages that are contextually relevant. For example, quickly after delivering, a new mom will get this message: “It’s time for baby’s 1-month Dr.’s visit. Your infant had blood tests right after she was born. At this see, ask your Dr. for the results.” You can expect to get a few messages each week, and you can leave the service at any time.
Vida Health Coach
$15 per week.
Vida Health Coach is an iPhone app that, for $15 per week, sets you up with an individual health coach. The coach’s location of proficiency and certifications depend upon what conditions you wish to resolve and handle, from weight loss to diabetes to stress. The health coach personalizes your app with different data points you can track, such as weight or nutritional fat intake, and swaps in-app messages whenever you need suggestions or inspiration. Coaches send extra resources and products, too, and will satisfy with you for a video conference or telephone call as soon as a week. Vida Health Coach produces a continuous relationship for managing illness and dedicating to lifestyle modifications which is very various from a telemedicine app that provides video-call consultations with physicians.
Source: pcmag.com
