*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Well. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my own.
Online Doctor Visits 24/7
Google is my best friend. Why? Because I have an overwhelming amount of information at my fingertips. I’m the queen of using Google to find answers and information to anything I’m looking for. It’s actually a really horrible habit because when I’m sick, I often find myself Googling my symptoms in an attempt to find more information. What usually ends up happening is I end up thinking something is severely wrong with me. Everyone I know tells me to “Stop self-diagnosing myself on the internet” but I can’t help myself!
I recently learned of American Well through a SITS Girls campaign. They provide doctor visits 24/7 online via video chat or phone. For the purpose of this campaign I was given one free coupon code to redeem for a $49 Online Physician Visit or a $25 Nutritionist visit. I was very curious to try it out and see what type of value this experience could provide- especially at such a fair price point.
When I decided to try out and redeem my coupon code from American Well I decided to use the Online Physician Visit and ask about a female issue I’ve been having (I won’t go into detail but it involves “Aunt Flow”). I went on American Well to find a doctor. It was around 7:30pm at night when I used the service and most of the doctors I chose to speak to were offline. I was a bit bummed, but I was contacting them at an off time. I ended up finding a family doctor who was online and always specializes in women’s health. We were able to connect via video chat in about 3 minutes. So awesome! My sound wasn’t working so the doctor called me on my phone. The timer was set for 10 minutes and we got to talk away. When the 2 minute warning came up, my doctor was super nice and extended our conversation for 3 minutes because of the sound issues I was having at the beginning of the call.
I left the 10 minute call feeling relieved and glad I talked to an actual doctor about my symptoms vs. reading all sorts of scary stuff on the internet. Overall I found my experience to be really fascinating. I mean, I got to video chat with a doctor. How cool is that? I didn’t realize how much that face to face connection to a physician makes a difference. However, I did use the visit for something minor- meaning that I would not have gone to the doctor for this symptom, I would have just waited a couple days to see if my symptoms subsided. If I was in serious and severe pain, I would always go to the doctor or ER and I’m pretty sure any doctor on video chat would urge you to do the same thing.
Final Thoughts
Overall I was very happy with my experience trying out the doctor on-demand service via American Well and glad to know something like this exists. Technology is changing everything these days and I love it!
If you are interested in trying out American Well for yourself, the kind folks are offering you a free consultation between now and the end of April. Click here to visit the American Well homepage and use the coupon code SPRING to redeem your free visit.
What about you? Have you ever tried a service like American Well with On-Demand health care? Post in the comments and let us know!
This is super interesting. I think it’s a great idea — I know I sometimes have questions like “maybe I should ask a doctor about this” but am not in pain or discomfort enough to actually go.