Reviews Archives - Best Telemedicine Software

Teladoc: The OG of Telemedicine Platforms

Since the world continues to shift to a more remote and digital new normal, the continual rise of services transitioning online continues. This expands into the medical industry as well and Teladoc is one of the biggest players around.

About Teladoc

Teladoc was founded in 2002 in Dallas with the purpose of offering digital healthcare services. It steadily grew its network and partnerships through acquisitions of competitors. Eventually, in 2015 it became a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange and has continued to offer numerous telehealth services.

What it offers

Teladoc helps facilitate numerous types of medical examinations. It covers primary health care and maintenance through a dedicated team. There’s also the ability to run annual checkups and maintain a personalized medical team if needed for ongoing medical treatments. The system enables connections between patients and doctors directly within minutes and is available 24/7 for most medical needs and requirements.

Doctors are able to diagnose and prescribe treatments remotely through the system. They are able to also process and transmit requests for prescriptions to be dispatched.

It covers general medical issues, neck and back pain, nutrition, and dermatology. The software enables uploads of images directly to the doctor who can perform the examination remotely. There’s also the option to receive complex care support to help make those critical medical decisions based on a diagnosis.

It also offers a mental health support system to connect patients with therapists to help with support for a number of disorders and trauma management.

Pricing

Teladoc itself has a confusing pricing model as a patient will not know their cost upfront without checking with their health insurance plan through their employer. There are some discussions where the pricing can be $0 with certain insurance levels, to $75 without insurance. That also seems just for a general medical checkup and it isn’t completely clear if that covers the cost of the medical treatment itself.

Continuing along with the confusing pricing, there are also some subscription offers for treatment types, such as neck and back pain management, and they seem fixed, but again it’s hard to tell if that’s the cost of the intermediary through Teladoc or if there’s any additional cost or request.

The pricing can be a bit unclear and seems to appear as an additional cost to medical treatment. It doesn’t seem to discount medical treatment either such as prescriptions or advanced medical treatments, or surgeries. There are some indicators that any fees in the U.S. can be applied towards a deductible if there is one.

Keep in mind there is a global presence with Teladoc as the parent company, and countries have vastly different medical insurance schemes, so it’s always best to check on a local setting exactly how much Teladoc will cost in a specific area outside of the United States.

Where are the services available?

Teladoc initially began in the United States and slowly expanded to Canada. It then made acquisitions and rapidly expanded, growing to serve nearly 130 countries by 2019. The level of services that are offered are country-specific and are likely to be partnered with local entities due to medical privacy reasons.

An intermediary corporation

Teladoc is a for-profit service that is completely focused on maximizing its user base and increasing profits. There are some statistics that are showing services such as Teladoc help bring expanded access to medicine around the globe. But it is still up for discussion if there’s an added benefit to these services over medical teleservices that are directly serviced by insurers, or better yet hospitals.

With the unclear pricing and the contrary company goals, the level of technology and service may not be enough.

MDLIVE: Your Doctor Will See You Now – via Skype.

MDLIVE provides solutions for non-emergency conditions, pediatric, dermatologic and mental health issues through the largest network of providers in the US. Looking after the needs of 27 million users nationwide, it offers patient-to-doctor distant visits via mobile devices, using an online video call system built on Skype. The Florida-based private telehealth service is a great option for people who, due to their location, don’t have access to the provider they would need, or their lifestyles make them too busy to visit a health practitioner. Offering cost-effective medical care tailored to the patient’s personal needs and health insurance plan, MDLIVE is in contract with Board Certified doctors and consultants who are registered and trained by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and the American Telemedicine Association. The providers are also verified by the National Physician Database and the American Medical Association.

MDLIVE claims to ensure discreet, safe, fast and effective healthcare, delivered at home or on the go. They also offer writing and sending prescriptions to your pharmacy of choice (if advised by the doctor). Sounds just about perfect – now let’s talk about expenses.
MDLIVE advertise their service as affordable, quality care which also helps you save on traveling to the doctor’s office. Looking at their price range, it indeed seems budget-friendly: according to their website, MDLIVE offers treatment for over 50 routine medical conditions starting from $75 or less, psychiatric care for an initial fee of $259 (with follow-up visits costing $99), and dermatology starting from 69$ or less. The company also provides counseling, dealing with a variety of issues from addictions to LGBTQ support, at a price point of $99 or less. Prices vary depending on the patient’s insurance. The idea behind MDLIVE is to offer revolutionary remote access to instant, convenient and high-quality medical care which doesn’t break the bank. The company also keeps the protection of personal data a priority which is essential in healthcare.

So how does it work? Signing up and activating an account is completely free and easy-to-do via their website, phone or MDLIVE’s free mobile app (for iOS and Android). The patient only has to pay following the visit, providing their credit card information. Through their app, MDLIVE also rethought the definition of a health assistant, using a virtual employee called Sophie, who helps to inform the patient while enhancing user experience. What we must mention, however, is that MDLIVE (or any telemedicine platform) cannot substitute your primary care doctor or any emergency care; in case of a life-threatening emergency, please dial 911 immediately.

Having listed all the claims and promises, we also have looked at customer reviews. On Glassdoor, MDLIVE has three stars out of five, many of the reviews claiming that although the professionalism of the medical staff isn’t to be questioned, the work ethics of the executive team and managers definitely don’t suit such a company. Some reviewers (including former employees) mentioned the lack of innovation when it comes to the technologies used by the service. Therefore we believe that, although the concept of MDLIVE is based on great ideas, the execution itself should be further improved and developed to ensure a top place for the company on such an ever-growing market.

Hale Health: How Good of a Service Is It?

In recent years, technology has rapidly made its way to the medical sector and shaken up a lot of things there. Not only is distribution now reliant on technology, but many other traditional practices in the medical world are now being rapidly changed to accommodate and utilize technology.

A prime example of this has to be the recent rise in telemedicine. Telemedicine is a term used to define a wide range of medical practices that fall under the umbrella of a single electronic management system. A Google search on the topic gives the following definition:

The remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology

To put it simply, thinking of telemedicine as an electronic clinic with where humans practice medicine would be a simple and effective representation.

At the forefront of the recent rise in telemedicine happens to Hale Health. As one of the leading telemedicine providers, Hale Health offers a number of unique and exciting opportunities for both patients and professionals to explore. Let’s take a look at what it offers.

What Hale Health Brings to the Table

Hale Health is one of the few fully operational telemedicine services that encompasses almost every single business aspect of the medical trade with the use of technology. One of its most exciting services is the video conference it allows between patients and doctors. It’s a service that allows doctor to work outside of their office hours and keep a check on their patients at any time and from anywhere.

Furthermore, it allows the medical professionals to receive payments right there and then, without having to open entire accounts and check the listings for each consultation. Hale Health offers a fantastic service of keeping a record on each and every patient in an expansive database that logs everything from the date of consultation to the time spent on it. This ensures that there no discrepancies in the billing and allows patients to check how much they owe and pay right from their homes.

Hale Health is a completely automated and optimized electronic tool that acts as the manager that your clinic has always needed. It offers immediate statistics on all clinical activities, allows you to analyze different services and judge their popularity, and also keep a record of everything related to your patients. From payments, to bills, to appointments, to everything in between, Hale Health covers it all and does in a way that’s easy for you to make sense of and employ.

If you are searching for a telemedicine service to ramp up your medical practice and bolster your connections with your patients, Hale Health is a great bet. It’s one of the finest telemedicine services in the market and comes in a number of great deals and prices for you to make the most of.

Doxy.me: Is the Telemedicine Service Worth It?

Telemedicine services have recently made their way into the medical sector and are increasing in popularity by the day. An increasing number of professionals are trusting telemedicine services more than traditional ones, with patients following suit as well. Much like with almost every other sector that’s been revolutionized by technology, everyone related to the medical world are embracing the flexibility and the ease of access that telemedicine services are providing them.

Not only do they allow clinics and professionals to operate more efficiently, but they also allow patients to connect with their doctors off the grid. It’s a service that works wonders for both doctors and patients. One of the leading names in telemedicine that’s being making waves everywhere is doxy.me. A trusted platform, doxy.me has earned its popularity because of a number of reasons. Let’s take a look at them and if they hold merit or not.

What Doxy.me Offers

The first thing that sets doxy.me apart from a number of its competitors is the fact that it’s a free service. Whereas other telemedicine services offer a number of different facilities for the customers to make use of, they often do so at a price. Doxy.me does it all for free, making it a great tool for just about anyone.

Furthermore, doxy.me is a platform that offers maximum flexibility and usability to anyone wanting to try it out. Unlike most other services, you don’t need to install doxy.me. Instead, you can just use the live version from anywhere and not have to worry about the security. It’s an on the go service that offers you complete control at any time and from anywhere.

Moreover, doxy.me is also available on more than just one platform. Each one of its facilities are designed and optimized to work smoothly on desktops, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. It’s a platform that you can use just about anywhere and not have to bother with having to install something at every other device. It’s a homogenous system that’s conducive to human interaction.

On the side of the facilities that doxy.me brings you, it’s just about everything a medical professional would need. Doxy.me allows you to keep records of every single patient, log and record data about consultations, view and schedule appointments, carry out video sessions, while also offering payment options and solutions on the platform itself.

Ultimately, doxy.me is a telemedicine platform that sets itself apart from the others based on just how easy and how simple it is to use it. If you’re looking for a telemedicine service that offers a large number of facilities but is free to use, doxy.me is the thing for you. More than just the fact that it’s cheap, doxy.me is also quite easy to use and performs its functions respectably well.