Health care no longer needs to be inconvenient and expensive.
Telehealth was in the early adopter stages before the pandemic. This form of medicine has been in overdrive ever since. Many new telehealth services have entered the market and some traditional providers have included some telehealth services.
General Telehealth
Telehealth services that treat most common ailments that don’t require an in-person visit are a cost-effective and convenient option if you need some advice or a prescription. Most offer phone or video appointments. Some telehealth services will allow certain things to be done via text. MD Live offers a wide variety of ailments they treat and also has a mental health service. Some appointments can cost close to $100, but that is still about 1/3 the cost for an in-person office call. Some insurance will cover MD Live with a $0 copay making this essentially “all you can eat” free health care if you need it.
Amazon Clinic partners with multiple telehealth services to offer a variety of care options. Appointments typically cost about $30, some more complex ailments may cost more. Amazon Clinic does not take insurance.
TeleDoc offers a similar variety of care to MD Live and is partnered with many health plans. The cash price for a general appointment is $75.
Telehealth Partnered With A Pharmacy
Some online pharmacies like Redbox offer doctor consultations mainly to renew or write prescriptions that the pharmacy then fills. This is a wonderful advance in care in the US. Many other countries allow pharmacists to consult and advise patients to then dispense a medication. The US limits this, so having easy brief doctor consults fills this gap at least somewhat.
Good RX offers a similar service to visit with a doctor to refill most prescriptions. The program won’t tell you the cost for the visit until you sign up. Further digging indicated that consults are $49. If you sign up for Good RX Gold they are only $19.
Sesame offers telehealth consults and an online pharmacy. Medication refill consults are about $30, many medications are $5.
Other Telehealth Services
ATI Physical Therapy offers a variety of physical and occupational therapy via video conference. This may be an option if attending in person physical therapy is inconvenient. They don’t clearly state how much appointments cost but they note they will work with your insurance whenever possible. They also don’t appear to require doctor’s orders to schedule a consult.
Benchmark Physical Therapy also offers virtual appointments and as ATI, does not clearly state their prices.
Plushcare offers birth control consults online. Plushcare accepts most major insurance but requires a $ 14.99-a-month membership. Consults without insurance are $129.00. Planned Parenthood also does online birth control consults.
Telehealth is changing quickly. To find out the newest information and new online providers check our ongoing blog posts.