I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Doctor on Demand. I received a free trial coupon code to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation, but all opinions included below are my own.
Lucky me! There’s a service called Doctor On Demand, and I had a chance to review it for free! (Don’t be jealous. YOUR first visit is free too. Keep reading).
I’m a homeschooling mom of 4 girls, so usually when I go anywhere, we’re rolling 5 deep. Obviously that’s not the ideal situation for going to a doctor’s appointment, which is why I rarely go to the doctor for myself. When I ask the hubby to stay home from work, or when I hire a babysitter, it had better be for something more exciting than a doctor’s visit. So I rarely see a doctor (unless I’m pregnant), I self-diagnose via Google, and I can’t tell you how many wrong illnesses I’ve diagnosed myself with! (You too?)
I jumped at the chance to try Doctor On Demand, and I’m glad I did. The online, video-based service is staffed with board-certified physicians, psychologists, and even lactation consultants. Insurance isn’t needed for the service, and Doctor On Demand doesn’t collect insurance information and doesn’t contact your insurance provider. Signing up was easy peasy. I use the Google Chrome browser, so I accessed www.doctorondemand.com from my computer, but an alternative to connecting would’ve been to download the Doctor On Demand app on my smartphone or tablet. My coupon code for the free visit was easy to apply, but the service still required my credit card number which conveniently stays on file for if/when a charge incurs in the future. By the way, because of their current promotion, everyone’s first visit is FREE when you use the unique coupon code WOODLANDS15. After your free first visit, your cost is $40 for a 15-minute Medical & Pediatrics visit and $50 for a 25-minute Psychologist session.
I visited the doctor for something that’s been bothering me for several years now. I’ve been to my in-person doctor several times since this problem began, but mainly for other reasons, and this particular issue has not received its deserved attention. Without giving you too much info about my personal medical problems, here are two words for you: hot flashes (I’m no spring chicken, but I’m quite young to be having those). When setting up my appointment, I was asked to enter my age (or date of birth, I don’t remember which), my gender, a bit of information about the issue I was having, and my preferred pharmacist. The system has a database of pharmacies and they were able to locate mine (CVS in The Woodlands) by the zip code input.
I could’ve requested to see a doctor immediately after I set up my info in the system, but instead, I scheduled an appointment for 10:00pm that same day. Can you imagine a regular doctor’s appointment that late in the evening? The girls were all in bed, and my husband was occupied with TV, and I came to my bedroom, opened my laptop, and waited for my doctor to log on. There was a 7-minute wait from the start of my appointment time to the time the doctor made herself available, but waiting in my own bed with a cup of hot green tea is far better than waiting in the waiting room of a cold bricks and mortar doctor’s office. The doctor was friendly and seemed knowledgeable.. The video interface was very clear, and I had the option of doing the visit with audio only (but I wanted video too). Because the doctor had already been provided with knowledge of the issue I was having, after she introduced herself and verified my name, she went right into, “So tell me about the hot flashes you’ve been having.”
We conversed for less than 10 minutes. She asked pointed questions, listened attentively to my answers and then gave me her expert opinion of what could be the issue as well as some possible treatment options. Turns out, there’s a possible diagnosis that I hadn’t considered (even with all that Googling). At any rate, blood testing is necessary, and unfortunately, according to the doctor, Doctor On Demand doesn’t currently work with labs. This means I need to go to my regular doctor anyway to have my labwork for blood testing ordered. Still, this wasn’t a wasted visit. With the information I’ve acquired, I feel more of an urgency to follow through and get to the bottom of the matter quickly.
I’m so glad I tried Doctor On Demand. I was a bit intimidated about a video visit, but it was very comfortable and I felt at home (maybe because I was). I will definitely use the service again, especially if the kids need medical attention that does not necessarily require that the doctor physically touches them – a cold, skin rash, etc.
If you’re interested in trying out Doctor on Demand for yourself or your child, use coupon code WOODLANDS15 for your first free visit!
DOD Website: www.doctorondemand.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/doctorondemand