Read Ask a Doctor Reviews to learn how to register, eligibility, cost and prices, when you should use this service, pros and cons, customer feedback, etc.
Contents
Introduction
What do you usually do when you ‘think’ you are going to fall sick? Rush yourself to the nearest hospital or the clinic? Well, the next time you are unsure of your symptoms, take a moment and look for a doctor online before rushing yourself out to the hospital or clinic only to be told that, it was a ‘minor’ sickness or so!
But of course, with the birth of many fraudsters and scammers, it is justified that you will certainly have second thoughts about consulting a doctor online. However, this is not to say that, not all websites are frauds or are going to scam you! You just have to go for the one which has an official and authorized website is that your life gets easier and you don’t have to rush to the hospital every time you have a symptom scare or for any other medical-related questions!
What is Ask a Doctor?
Ask a Doctor is an online website where you can virtually chat with doctors from all over the country by sending in your health and medical concerns. One can even attach relevant documents and photos for reference. Since the website is open 24 hours and 7 days a week, you will get replies from the available doctors instantly which is very convenient especially if it is an urgent matter. [s]
Suppose you have had a symptom scare of a particular illness and is unsure whether or not to take a doctor’s appointment for further investigation, you can always consult and turn to the doctors at Ask a Doctor. They will help to determine your symptoms and give you an idea of what illness it may be. And whether or not, you should proceed with further consultation and treatments from the hospitals or clinic.
All of the doctors registered on this platform are officially licensed and verified to practice across the United States. Therefore, you can trust the authenticity of their consultations and advice. Furthermore, they are even eligible to prescribe medications when necessary. Moreover, you can even consult them when the prescriptions you were taking, have finished and whether or not you should continue with it!
How to register for Ask a Doctor?
The registration process at Ask a Doctor is more or less similar to when you have to fill out the basic details of your medical history reviews at the hospital or any clinic! The doctors with whom you connect, on the website, will be granted access to your attached files and the information which you have filled in.
To complete the registration process for Ask a Doctor, you will be required to provide your:
- date of birth
- email address
- health plan member ID number which is most likely located on your member ID card
After which, you will receive further instruction on your verified email address detailing how to complete your account profile. Once this process is completed, you can now log in to your account and start chatting with doctors from all across the country for any health-related queries!
Installation of Ask a Doctor app from a mobile device:
- If you have an iOS mobile device (iPhone 5s/iPad 4th generation or newer) with the latest operating system (iOS 10+), you can install the Ask a Doctor from the Apple app store.
- If you are an Android mobile user, your device should at least have Nougat 7.0+. And you can install the Ask a Doctor app from the play store.
Installation of Ask a Doctor app from a computer:
- The operating desktop or laptop computer should be less than 3 years old minimum.
- The PC operating system must be Windows 7+ and for Apple operating system: OS X 10.6+
- The web browser of the computer should preferably be Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox
- Must have a working built-in Webcam.
- The built-in Microphone should be working as well.
- The internet connection should be running on high speed with at least 3.0 Mbps for downloading and 1.0 Mbps for uploading the relevant materials!
Eligibility of users at Ask a Doctor
Any adult above the age of 18 years is eligible to register at the Ask a Doctor website. They can create their own respective accounts and generate their unique member ID number for future logins. There are many depressed teenagers who need counseling these days. And in the cases of minors below 18 years of age, a parent or legal guardian can open accounts for them. They will also need to participate in and attend any consultations that happen between the minor and the doctors at the Ask a Doctor platform.
Get your answers instantly!
When you make an offline appointment to see a doctor, it is highly possible that you may need hours or even days to get the chance to meet your doctor! And as such, Ask a Doctor becomes reliable in such situations. This is because you can get answers to all your medical questions instantly without having to wait for long hours and days! And since the app is open for 24 hours and 7 days a week, it just gets better and better.
The only work you have to do here is to voice out your health concerns and attach any relevant medical documents and pictures. This will then be accessed by the doctors for further investigation of your medical concern. And since there are thousands of doctors registered on this website, you can trust the process and be assured of getting your questions answered instantly!
Costs and Prices at Ask a Doctor!
For starters, everyone is welcome to use the Ask a Doctor website to get any medical advice and solutions free of cost and without any additional fees. The only patients who are charged are the ones enrolled on the Health Saving Account (HSA) Plans and by which they may be billed $5 for every visit.
You can even download the app for free and pay to use the services wherever applicable. The prices of the purchases made in the app range from $17.99 for a General Physician up to $34.99 for a Specialist.
When should you use the Ask a Doctor Service?
Here are some of the reasons of why you should turn to the Ask a Doctor website:
- When you are not feeling well, but is not an emergency case. For instance, mild fevers, sore throat, colds and coughs, stomach pain, diarrhea, ear aches, skin rashes, allergic reactions and bites from an animal or insects.
- You can even consult the doctors when you start to have any types of back and abdominal pain; sports injuries or sunburns or any other heat-related illnesses.
- You can even opt for this app if you are curious about general or any serious medical-related questions.
- Patients who have had a minor injury or with Urinary tract infections can also consult the doctors at Ask a Doctor for any additional medical advice.
- If you are someone undergoing treatment with a prescription, you can consult the doctors here for their inputs on whether you should or should not continue with the prescription. However, this is only applicable where the illnesses are mild and not serious.
- Above all, you are most welcome to turn to this app or website, when you are lost and unsure of where to go and whom to turn to, to receive the medical attention needed.
Availability of Doctors at Ask a Doctor
Ask a Doctor is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. And hence, you can log in any time of the day to avail the services!
Pros and Cons
The Pros
- This is an easily accessible website to get your medical questions answered quickly and instantly!
- Users can try this app for free. It helps you to connect with more than 100 Doctors from all corners of the United States.
- Another advantage is that this app is available 24/7 so, you can log in any time of the day.
- The doctors at Ask A Doctor providers are board-certified and credentialed physicians. All of them are licensed to practice across the United States. The doctors at Ask a Doctor are part of Cirrus MD Provider Network or the CMDPN, LLC in short!
- There are many reliable reviews on Ask a Doctor app and website from users that proves that it is helpful and responsive.
- You can download and use the Ask a Doctor app by searching for ‘Ask a Doctor, Secure Messaging’. It is available in the App Store for iOS mobile devices and the Google Play store for Android devices.
The Cons
- The costs and prices at Ask a Doctor fluctuate a lot. This makes it difficult to predict the real costs of the consultation fees!
- You cannot get all the answers for your medical problems. Therefore, it is very inconvenient when you want detailed answers during medical urgencies.
- The website may sometimes crash or fail due to viruses and bugs!
Ask A Doctor Customer Reviews
Some verified reviews from Customers of Ask a Doctor!
“I absolutely love using this app. I have received lots of helpful advice that doesn’t require me to go to urgent care unless necessary. This app is great for general questions and for helpful medical advice.”
Katie D
“Great app. I got a quick and effective feedback from specialist. The feedback was very detailed. I decided to cancel the subscription after a one month use. The team was quick in sending a confirmation within 2 minutes of my request to the customer care mail. Use it if you are in need for a quick health related feedback. You won’t be disappointed.”
By A K
“Crashes when I try to pay via PayPal… no further info. It spontaneously exited when I clicked “Report a problem.”. It somehow turned on OneTouch through PayPal, which is maybe normal but maybe a bit sketchy. The web site is just as unreliable. Scared me away.”
Kenzi Mudge
“The app is better than the website which is riddled with bugs and dead links. But, it still has lots of design problems. For example if you accidentally click “accept answer” there is no way to undo it. You have to start all over again. And they advertise 24×7 doctor availability. But it’s been 36hrs and I still haven’treceived any response. So I guess its 24×7 Monday to Friday 8-5pm.”
Anonymous
“The overall treatment was good sound advice if I already didn’t have the treatment the doctor suggested. I suggest putting a reminder to the patient, what course of action has been taken already. Sometimes we don’t explain what we have done already or don’t remember to.”
Anita Singh
Is Ask a Doctor a secured service?
This is a question most of us ask ourselves when using any services online! And the answer regarding this app is, “yes”, it is a secured website. According to their official website, the “Ask a Doctor” providers are board-certified and credentialed physicians. Moreover, all of them are licensed to practice across the United States. The doctors at “Ask a Doctor” are part of Cirrus MD Provider Network or the CMDPN, LLC in short!
And because they are part of that group, they make use of the Cirrus MD technology and comply with the rules and regulations set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). And therefore, it has been officially certified for security by the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST). Moreover, there are many reliable reviews on Ask a Doctor from users that their service has been helpful. Hence, you can be assured of the authenticity of this service.
Final Verdict: Ask a Doctor Reviews
Oftentimes, when we talk about using the services online, it is a misconception that we are replacing them with the services we can find offline. Likewise, using the Ask a Doctor app or website does not in any way mean that, we are replacing it with the primary care physician or doctors available at our disposal nearby. And most importantly, the prescriptions that you get from that particular website may not be the same as the ones you got from the clinic or hospital.
And although you may not get definite answers, this is a good alternative to turn to, when you are not able to get hold of your doctor or when you need urgent answers to your medical-related questions. The Ask a Doctor app is available in devices like iPod touch, iPad, and iPhone. There have been mixed reviews on Ask a Doctor by customers with both good and bad experiences. Regardless, to know if it is a positive medical alternative to turn to, you can use the app and find it out yourself today!
