As the coronavirus pandemic continues, personal medical advice can be invaluable, but many people don’t have personal physicians. Now a new series of telemedicine apps can make a physician as close as your phone, tablet or computer.
One of the simplest telemedicine apps is AmWell: Doctor Visits 24/7. It charges users a flat rate of $69 per visit before insurance. The app connects you to board-certified providers on demand with scheduled appointments. Sometimes you can “see” a medical professional as soon as the next day.
Doctor On Demand will also connect you face-to-face with providers including psychologists. The app matches you with providers in your state and allows them to recommend treatments including prescriptions and lab work.
HealthTap takes a different approach. It lets you text or email questions to its staff of doctors for a yearly subscription fee for about $120.
Chicago-based Health Champion helps you manage your medical data. That is especially important now, according to company CEO Terrence Ryan. “COVID-19 has made it incredibly important that you understand your own medical data so you can share it and actually share it in a remote way," Ryan said in a FaceTime interview.
The medical analytics company has also developed a free coronavirus symptom tracker for everyone to use. “We are trying to empower and enable a consumer to, on a daily basis, check their temperature and basically follow CDC guidelines,” Ryan said.
One of the simplest and least invasive screening tools comes from Apple itself. There is a browser-based version and one built into every iOS device. You just simply ask: “Siri, do I have coronavirus?” The screener is done in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control, but Apple will not share any of your personal data with the organization.
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Apple has curated a collection of apps to connect you with healthcare providers during the corona virus outbreak. Here are their top selections:
AmWell: Doctor Visits 24/7 (American Well), Teledoc (Teladoc), Sydney Care (CareMarket Inc.), Doctor On Demand (Doctor On Demand, Inc) , HealthTap (HealthTap), PlushCare: Video Doctor Visits (PlushCare Inc), MDLIVE (MDLIVE, Inc), K Health | Telemedicine (K Health Inc), 98point6 (98Point6 Inc), HeyDoctor by GoodRx (Sappira Inc).
