Sick while on vacation? Want to avoid dragging a sick kid to the ER at night? Tap the Pager app to get a board-certified, on demand doctor to your doorstep, so you can focus on getting better.
My quick take:
If you can get booze, cupcakes or even, ahem, mary jane, delivered to your door, why not a doctor? Founded by an Uber engineer, the Pager app sends a doctor to your home with just a few taps in an app, almost faster than you can say amoxicillin.
What it is:
Available currently in New York and San Francisco, the Pager app is proving a great solution for urgent health care needs, helping you to avoid a lengthy visit to an urgent care clinic. Why wait until the doctor office opens in the morning or deal with horrific emergency rooms and the sordid crowds they attract (ask me about the time when I sprained my ankle while running, ended up in an NYC emergency room because I was unable to walk, and witnessed a drug deal going down in the waiting room…I almost considered crawling out of there)?
Pager solves a great business problem for doctors too, allowing them to work part time or supplement their work and income. All available physicians are board certified and you can read profile details about any one of them, with specifics including experience, educational background, specialty and a blurb on their bedside manner.
For those with kids, this is a life saver, preventing you from dragging a puking kid to urgent care at 9pm at night in the rain (I shiver at the thought of that nightmare). If you are sick and visiting a city served by Pager, this is the perfect solution to finding a doctor and getting you better while you are away from home.
When you need a doctor, simply pull up the app and pick the doctor you want to talk to or see. The physician will call for a consultation and will show up for a visit, if necessary. Your credit card is charged directly by the app, so no need to worry about paperwork or co-pays. If you need a prescription, you can get that through the app too from the physician.
Fine print:
The app doesn’t accept insurance and since this is considered an out-of-network provider, the visits will cost you out-of-pocket via your credit card, though if you enter your insurance information, the app sends you an itemized receipt or the support team can submit claims on your behalf. Visits cost a minimum of $50, with physicals running $100 and urgent care visits costing$200. If you end up getting treated with a phone call, the consult only costs $25. Doctors are only available from 8am to 10pm, so this is not a middle-of-the-night solution.
Get it now:
Get the app here. Enter promo code WELCOMEVISIT for a personalized consultation
