Is there a Doctor in the House?

 

drUnfortunately, it has not been a very healthy Life as Us couple of weeks.  Last week one morning KC’s left eye started to look a little red.  By mid day it was beginning to ooze not-so-wonderful yuckiness and by evening her whole eye was starting to swell.  Alli had texted me a pic earlier in the day and we both were thinking it could be pink eye, but it didn’t get really bad until early evening.   By the time I got home KC was pretty pitiful.  We decided to try and get her in to be seen at an urgent care and called to book the earliest appointment of 9pm.  Just the thought of that late of an appointment meant we were going to have her out way past 10pm while waiting in a room full of other sick people.  But at the same time we really wanted her to get on medicine as soon as possible so KC could get relief AND we could stop it from spreading.

 

Then I remembered a random Instagram post about a new company based in San Francisco that offered online or app doctor appointments.  Wasn’t quite sure if I remembered it correctly so I began to scan through the old IG posts and then I found it…Doctor On Demand.  Could this really be legit?  I downloaded the app and within minutes had completed a profile and was logged in.  I followed the prompts and answered some questions about KC’s health history, allergies and current symptoms and then made an appointment to video chat with a physician in 20 minutes.  “Just leave the app open and your scheduled appointment will begin when the doctor is available,” stated my iPhone.  Sure enough, 20 minutes later I received a notification that the time had arrived and the video would start automatically when the pediatrician  was ready.  Soon after, Dr. P was on my iPhone introducing himself and asking about KC.  He went through the same questions we would be asked if we had gone into her pediatrician office, asked KC some questions, and had us hold the phone up closer to her eye to examine.  In about 8 minutes he diagnosed her with Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) and offered to call in a prescription for her.  We gave him a pharmacy we thought was open late, but while driving there that night Doctor On Demand customer support called my cell phone to inform me that pharmacy was actually closed AND they had taken the liberty to forward it to another pharmacy that was still open!  We still had the medicine in KC’s eye within an hour after our Doctor On Demand appointment.IMG_9118

 

Fast forward a few days and I started to feel something coming on.  Started as the standard sore throat and cough and got a lot worse on Monday while at work.  By the time I was crossing the bridge to go home the sinus pain and pressure had gotten so bad that my face, teeth and even right ear was starting to ache.  This was all too familiar to me since I often get sinus infections after a cold or virus infection.  Once again, I knew my primary doctor was closed and the thought of enduring urgent care was painful in itself when all I wanted to do was go home and go to bed.  So, I pulled over on the side of the street and open the Doctor On Demand app.  It must have been a busy night when we used it for KC, because this time I didn’t even have to wait for an appointment.  Within three minutes I had completed the questions and was talking to Dr. H…on video…in my car…parked on the street.  “Ohhhhh…you don’t look so good,” Dr. H greeted me.  Any other day I would have taken offense, but that day I welcomed the validation that I…was…sick!  Four and a half minutes later I put the Prius into drive and was on my way to pick up the antibiotics from Walgreens before going home to have dinner with my family and then straight to bed.

 

Now, both of these incidents were fairly simple to diagnose and if it had been anything where we had felt better off actually having a doctor examine KC or I by touch we would have gone another route.  I am also confident that Doctor On Demand is strict about what and who they will diagnose and what needs more thorough medical attention.  You can see a list on their website.  But what I appreciate most is the partnership they are willing to provide with mine and my family’s healthcare.  I’m not a doctor, but I know my body pretty well and have had enough sinus infections to know when I’m getting another.  If I can save time and money AND get medicine quicker so I can get better sooner by just pulling out my iPhone…why the heck not!  Just the almost immediate access to healthcare anywhere you are is amazing to me.  How many times have you decided you needed to see a doctor and was then in front of one (albeit virtual) within minutes?  In addition to physicians they also have psychologists and lactation consultants available.  Visits begin at only $40.00 which is less than our $50.00 urgent care co-pay!  Alli and I were so impressed with Doctor On Demand that we contacted them about giving us a promo code for our followers to try out the service.  Even though they have a Free Visit promo code when you download the app you can also use promo code LIFEASUS to get an additional free visit up to a $50.00 value.  Download the app from Apple App Store or Google Play and enter the promo code LIFEASUS even before you need it as it has NO expiration (unlike the other) and will be waiting there for you when you do need it!  Just promise to come back and comment on this post and let us know what you think!

 

Be well!

 

-lifeasus

 

 

 

 

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