Online doctor consultation nowadays is increasingly popular as patients conveniently receive professional diagnosis, medical advice and prescription without even visiting the medical facility. In doing so however, there’re certain risks involved especially when it comes to legal medicines/drugs and fake doctors. A little bit of research and knowing what you’re looking for is the key to find the right online doctor. The steps below would further clarify things so read on!
1. Searching the internet
Since itsonline doctor consultation, it all starts searching through the internet so you should know what you’re looking for to proceed right. Search for terms like “online doctor”, “online/internet medical diagnosis”, “telemedicine” so on and prefer the results that appear on top of the search result. You may also conduct search from the symptoms or prescription. There’re paid services as well to help you search for the right online doctor.
2. Be clear with “telemedicine” jargon
The very industry of telemedicine is full of unique medical terminologies you’re probably unfamiliar with. Online glossaries and electronic health centres are there to help you out either for free or at a nominal fee to widen the search. Understanding of telemedicine jargons is very important if you wish to seek the right diagnosis and doctor’s advice.
3. Determine the subscription service
Some online doctor’s services ask for one-time subscription fee for consultations while others go for long-term subscription. To proceed on track and know you’re getting what you actually want, be sure to read the terms and conditions of the services and carefully look for terms like “annual OR monthly charges”.
4. Determine the insurance coverage
Also note that a typical online doctor consultation mightn’t be covered by standard health policies! Here you need contacting the insurance provider if it’s really necessary for a medical advice rather than elective. There’re revised insurance policies as well that actually cover different aspects including telemedicine diagnosis for minor and non-serious conditions for convenient of the patient as well as a means to save money. Don’t forget discussing the options in detain with insurance provider!
5. Verify the credentials
All doctors in practice; whether online or at the physical facility require board certifications and operating license issued by the government. On the contrary, illegitimate professionals posing as credible doctors are likely to play foul especially with online consultations so you need being very careful! Look for patient’s reviews, testimonials and also seek advice from your immediate relatives or work colleagues who’ve already used online medical consultancy.
6. Understand the local laws
Even though online medical consultancy and telemedicine is now common, not every state allow doctors to conduct treatment or prescribe medicines via internet. And even those who do, certain medicines and prescriptions are banned by the state laws especially those dealing with sensitive drugs. Understand the laws in your area pertinent to online doctor consultation and you’re likely to find the right thing.
7. Patient’s reviews
Nowadays, there’re many free online resources that you can put to good use when reviewing about a particular doctor and online medical service. Be sure to check as many resources as possible to proceed undoubtedly. For patients and individuals lacking medical expertise, it’s important to learn from other’s experience especially those with likewise symptoms.
8. Independent resources
Indeed patient reviews come in handy; you should always consult professional, independent resources to confirm legitimacy of the doctors and their practice. The more resources the better but, there’re some criticising reviews as well to deliberately compromise the objectivity of the service. Terms such as “sponsored by” would surely help you move on the right direction.
9. Query some more
A true sign of a good doctor is answering as many questions that pour in from the patient’s end. Same goes for online service; if one needs to have a proper diagnosis and actually utilise the purpose appropriately, come up with as many questions as possible however, don’t sound insulting or offensive.
Conclusion
The above steps would surely help you land the right online doctor’s service.
