This is a sponsored post with Mums the Word Network and Doctor on Demand. All opinions are my own.
Every mother knows the stress of having to take a sick child and possibly their siblings to a doctor’s office. If you’re not aware, the ordeal normally goes a little like this : It’s stuffy, your surrounded by people who seem irritated by the fact you have kids, the sick kid just wants to be held while the other non-sick kids are running around the office not listening to you, throw in that they asked you to arrive 15 minutes early only for you to be seen an hour after you’ve arrived and then having to wait another 30 minutes once you’ve been placed into a small, confined room with your 3 kids for the doctor to finally appear. Obviously, this isn’t something parents look forward to and if I could, I’d time travel back to the days where doctor’s made house calls just to avoid the whole situation.
Today’s technology may not provide me a way to travel back in time but it is providing parents and future patients everywhere the ability to be seen by a medical professional without ever having to leave their home or office. The new Doctor On Demand app is bringing the doctor to you and helping to relieve the stress of in office visits. Doctor On Demand provides Video Visits with board certified physicians, psychologists, and lactation consultants via smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. Simply download the free app for either IOS or Android on your smartphone, tablet or visit doctorondemand.com, create a free account, provide your symptoms and either schedule your appointment or be instantly connected to a physician in your state!
Visits start at $40 for 15 minutes but right now you can get your first visit for free with my exclusive code: FAIRY15!
We had the chance to test out the new Doctor On Demand app and it couldn’t have been at a more needed time. Last weekend my son woke up late at night with red, goopy eyes and complaining his ears hurt. Of course being the weekend it’s close to impossible to see a doctor and having 2 other kids, heading to an urgent care is a nightmare. I quickly set up my Doctor On Demand account, provided his symptoms, noted that I’d like to see a pediatrician and scheduled an appointment for 10 am the coming morning. Setting up the appointment was easy and 5 minutes before my appointment a text was sent to my phone to remind me to log into the app and my doctor visit would start. I sat down with my son, logged in and up popped a video chat with a local doctor!
I was able to speak with him about my son’s symptoms, show him where my concerns where and he was able to help give me a diagnoses. He did mention that since this was a video appointment that anything requiring an internal exam needs to be taken to a local doctor. He let me know that he believed my son’s symptoms were most likely due to a virus and that he was happy to send a script for a light ear drop to my local pharmacy for me but he suggested to hold off on it unless his ears seemed to really bother him. He also mentioned that most likely the issues would resolve themselves in the next few days and sure enough, they did!
We had a wonderful experience with the Doctor On Demand app. The physician was knowledgeable, very nice and great with my son. I could tell he was genuinely concerned about his well-being and it made me feel great knowing I was able to keep him in his normal environment and still get the care he needed and the answers I was looking for. If you’re looking for an easy way to take the stress out of doctor visits, I highly suggest taking your free visit test run of Doctor On Demand!
As a pediatric nurse, I can see how an app like this would be useful for some basic childhood illnesses. It allows the parent to talk to a doctor, discuss symptoms, be provided with reassurance and basic medical treatment if needed, be referred for further treatment if necessary, and it’s definitely got to be less stressful than going to the actual doctor’s office or urgent care with the whole family. My only concern would be that some less educated parents may decide to rely on an app like this because it’s more convenient, and then important and urgent medical issues start to get missed or postponed because they aren’t going to an actual urgent care or ER when it’s really needed. It’s an interesting idea though. I’m definitely intrigued.
Jennifer,
I too can see where some may start to rely too much on how easy it is to use the app. When we did our video call, the doctor made sure to say at the beginning and end of the call that if symptoms precede or get worse that we need to seek medical attention at a local facility. He also stressed that any diagnoses needing an internal exam needs to be taken to a local facility as well, so it’s nice to know that they are willing and working to let people know that there is still definite need to visit a real medical facility. I believe the app is more meant to provide fast medical attention to minor cases or for people to be able to ask medical questions to a professional in a way that’s faster then having to schedule an appointment and drive to an office. We did schedule my son for a regular Dr. appointment and luckily, his virus has subsided. But for weekend care when we couldn’t get an appointment, the app was a wonderful source of information. 🙂
Thanks for all of the info!
I think this is a wonderful app. Saves the times of driving to the doctor, especially when you’re not feeling well, or have a little one that’s sick. I also like the convenience of not waiting in a room full of other sick people. Sounds great for the minor illnesses.
Very informative app for those worrying mothers that fret at the slightest fever or symptom. Thanks
What a great app!
This is a great idea, not only for late-night or weekend needs, but also while on vacation or out of your regular doctor’s area.
I never knew they had an app like this. It sure could come in handy. Thank you so much for sharing with us.
I heard about this yesterday. Looks interesting. Thanks for sharing.
This app seems really convenient, but I’m not sure it is a good idea. Being at the doctor’s office allows them to check things like vitals, and listening to their breathing, and seeing inside of the ears, mouth and throat, all of which can give the extra information that they need. If something is missed because of the video appointment it can cause even more problems. I know that going to the Dr. can be a pain, but not going can bring on even bigger pain. There are a lot of convenient apps out there, but I don’t think this is one I’d be comfortable using.
I so wish we had all this when I was raising my young ones.
This seems like a very interesting app but I’m kinda wondering how the doctor could make a diagnosis without seeing the child. I’m not sure I would use the app but I think it could be helpful for some.
This is a great app. However, I hope people whom are having serious health problems will go straight to the emergency room and not turn strictly to the app. Simple and not complex health issues this app may be perfect, but not for people who just do not want to go to the hospital. I know it connects you with a doctor. But, a doctor can get a better idea by running labs and physically examining you.
I have seen this and I think this is pretty neat. This would be great for minor stuff when you get can’t get a hold of the doctor and when you call urgent care they just tell you to automatically come in. This is pretty awesome.