Relief may be just a few touchpad swipes away with Doctor on Demand, a new app that lets you arrange video-based doctor visits on the fly, in the style of Uber.
The iOS and Android app promises to connect patients to a doctor and arrange a 15-minutes-or-less visit within minutes for $40. Doctor on Demand has a pool of about 1,000 doctors who can prescribe medicine, though the doctors will not prescribe narcotics or other potentially addictive drugs. The app is designed for short-term medical problems like the flu or a migraine, not something serious like cancer, says Pat Basu, an M.D. and company cofounder.
See also: AskMD Is a Health Dashboard For Your iPhone
Doctor on Demand is hardly the first startup to pursue "telemedicine." As far back as 2005, companies have been pushing the idea in one form or another. Thanks to the ubiquity of mobile video and consumer affinity for apps like Uber, though, some are convinced that the idea still has legs. Among those are Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures, who contributed in DOD's $3 million round of seed funding.
"We're not the first ones to do this and we're grateful to the ones that have come before us," says Adam Jackson, co-founder and CEO of DOD. Jackson says he believes that his company has an edge over competitors like Healthcare Magic and Interactive MD because of the quality of the doctors. Jackson says DOD has a stringent vetting program for its physicians. Moreover, patients rate their doctor on a five-point scale and if a patient rates any under four, they'll receive a follow-up call to ask why.
Still, not everyone is sold on the concept. Lyle Berkowitz, medical director of information technology and innovation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's primary care group in Chicago, says video-based visits are "pretty much a glorified conference call" and video is just a gimmick. Berkowitz says with a little effort and patience, you can set up a call with your doctor, who knows you well and can probably make a better diagnosis than a stranger.
That said, the concept could take off if enough doctors come on board. Jackson says that physicians can make about $120 an hour for four visits (DOD takes a $10-per-visit cut), which is on par or more than general practice M.D.s make on average. For the patient, there's something that's sorely lacking in our current healthcare system: immediate gratification.
Image: Mashable composite. iStock, exdez