在最好的时候去医生办公室可能是一种尝试，但在全球大流行期间，这可能是非常危险的。多亏了智能手机和互联网，您现在可以远程访问医疗专业人员，获得所需的帮助，甚至可以交付处方。这些是当今一些最好的远程医疗应用程序(telehealth apps today)，它们都接受多家保险公司。
Teladoc提供多种类型的护理。大多数人可能会使用他们的一般医疗服务，让您在非紧急情况下全天候 24/7 咨询医生或儿科医生。
Teladoc还提供初级保健服务，包括医生的定期检查、心理健康服务、专家意见和一般健康。
Teladoc指出，“许多健康计划和雇主在保险方面提供Teladoc作为其福利的一部分。” 其各种服务的费用取决于您通过保险公司(insurance provider)获得的具体福利。
2.MDLIVE （安卓(Android)和iOS）_(MDLIVE)
MDLIVE提供对董事会认证医生和持牌治疗师的即时访问。咨询医生后，您甚至可以开处方药。有三种主要类型的护理，每种都有自己的价格范围(price range)。这些是紧急护理、行为护理和皮肤病学。
紧急护理(Urgent care)包括尿路感染(UTIs)、耳痛、过敏、感冒、流感等疾病。行为护理(Behavioral care)包括大多数类型的心理健康状况，而皮肤科基本上涵盖了与您的皮肤相关的所有内容，包括对可疑痣的评估。
MDLIVE表示它支持大多数保险计划，但用户只需创建一个帐户并输入他们的详细信息即可快速检查他们是否符合条件。
3.按需医生(Doctor On Demand)（安卓(Android)和iOS）
(Doctor)按需医生将自己称为“(Demand)全面虚拟护理”，并提供紧急护理、行为护理、预防性护理和慢性治疗。他们与许多不同的健康计划合作，包括大多数主要名称。您当前的保险很有可能已经将按需医生作为一项福利包括在内，尽管(Doctor)在(Demand)某些情况下会更名。
LiveHealth提供一般医疗保健、过敏治疗和心理健康服务。他们的心理健康产品涵盖心理和精神治疗。访问费用最多为 59 美元，但如果您的保险涵盖部分或全部费用，则可能会便宜得多。一些雇主还与LiveHealth签订了协议，因此可能值得检查一下您的是否有。
LiveHealth尤其值得注意的是，它提供有执照的心理学家提供的在线治疗，或者有一位随时待命的精神科医生，可以开出抗抑郁药等药物。
LiveHealth的设置方式，您会在承诺之前看到一次访问将花费您多少。因此，如果您的保险或雇主(insurance or employer)将承担部分费用，您只会看到您实际支付的金额。
咨询费用不会随(t change)时间变化，因此 24/7、周末和节假日，您支付统一费用。还值得注意的是，您可以与讲西班牙语的医生交谈，但您的设备设置必须设置为西班牙语才能获得正确版本的应用程序，并且这些医生仅在特定时间可用。
Healthtap标榜自己是最实惠的虚拟初级保健提供者(primary care provider)，其自付费用似乎非常合理。值得庆幸的是，他们还接受各种保险提供商，因此您的共付额将更少，甚至可能为零！
Healthtap特别强调男性或女性特有的健康问题，以及性健康问题。但是，它是一个通用的虚拟健康提供者，可以满足(health provider and caters)儿童的健康和一般慢性病的需要。
Healthtap 的一个显着特点是Healthtap AI(Healthtap AI)。这是一个由真正医生的诊断知识训练的症状检查器，可以帮助您缩小问题范围，或者让您知道您是否有更严重的需要专业关注的问题。
Plushcare拥有超过 300,000 名用户的用户群，可在美国各地使用。Plushcare从排名前 50 的医学院聘请医生，当然，他们都获得了董事会认证，可以合法行医(practice medicine)。
Plushcare 服务中一个有趣的问题是他们承诺，如果他们的在线医生(online doctor)无法为您治疗，该会话将是免费的。这是相当有信心的，但根据他们自己的估计，97% 的首次就诊都会发生治疗。
Plushcare接受大多数主要的保险提供商，并表示大多数被保险用户的共付额约为 25 美元。但是，没有保险的用户为虚拟访问支付的费用通常低于亲自访问的费用。
另一个不错的功能是他们有一个保险检查器(insurance checker)，因此您可以快速确定您是否在保险范围内。
Amwell为呼吸道感染、腹泻、流感、红眼病等紧急问题提供按需或预定的初级保健服务。然而，他们也提供心理健康服务，包括抑郁和焦虑治疗(depression and anxiety treatment)、丧亲、创伤、夫妻治疗，甚至离婚咨询。
这使得Amwell对于那些面临这些特殊生活挑战的人来说是一项有吸引力的服务。在精神科方面，除了治疗之外，您还可以获得治疗可能需要药物治疗的严重疾病的帮助，例如饮食失调、创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)和精神病。
Amwell还提供健康服务，包括针对体重控制(weight control)、过敏、高血压、怀孕饮食的营养建议，以及帮助为您的孩子计划膳食。妈妈们也可以从Amwell的哺乳咨询(lactation consulting)中受益，您对母乳喂养的担忧或问题可以得到关注。
与其他一些虚拟提供商不同，不同类型的服务的收费可能会有很大差异。紧急护理咨询(care consultation)费用为 79 美元，但初步精神科评估费用为 269 美元（后续治疗费用为 90 美元）。这些是没有保险的价格，Amwell可以让您将保险信息(insurance information)放入他们的应用程序中，以提前查看您的费率。请注意，您不会有固定的共同支付率(co-pay rate)。
8. Zocdoc（安卓(Android)和iOS）
Zocdoc与此列表中的其他虚拟提供商略有不同，因为它们不仅仅专注于虚拟护理。Zocdoc可让您找到您所在地区的医生，查看有关他们的信息以确定您想看谁，然后预订亲自访问或安排(visit or schedule)与他们的视频通话(video call)。
另一个巧妙的功能是您可以扫描您的保险卡(insurance card)，Zocdoc会向您显示与您的保险合作的医生列表。因此，它确实可以帮助您快速找到您承保的医生，即使您实际上想去看一位医生。
此外，您可以根据您的症状筛选医生，只查看与您可能遇到的问题相匹配的医生。Zocdoc不是虚拟护理提供者(care provider)，而是快速将您的保险和健康需求(insurance and health needs)与合适的人匹配的中介。
医生来了！
远程医疗过去只是一个白日梦，但随着智能手机的广泛使用和宽带(smartphone ownership and broadband)，无论您身在何处，随时随地获得所需的医疗服务从未如此简单。
8 Best Telehealth Apps That Most Likely Accept Your Insurance
Going to the doctor’s office can be trying at the best of times, but in the middle of a global pandemic, it can be downright dangerous. Thanks to smartphones and the internet, you can now access medical professionals at a distance, get the help you need and even have prescriptions delivered. These are some of the best telehealth apps today, and all of them accept several insurance providers.
Teladoc offers several types of care. Most people will likely use their general medical services that let you consult with a doctor or pediatrician 24/7 for non-emergency conditions.
Teladoc also offers primary care services, including scheduled visits by a doctor for checkups, mental health services, specialist opinions, and general wellness.
Teladoc states that “Many health plans and employers provide Teladoc as part of their benefits when it comes to insurance.” The costs of its various services depending on your specific benefits through your insurance provider.
MDLIVE provides instant access to board-certified doctors and licensed therapists. After consulting with a physician, you can even be prescribed medication. There are three main types of care, each with its own price range. These are urgent care, behavioral care, and dermatology.
Urgent care includes conditions such as UTIs, ear pain, allergies, colds, flu, and so on. Behavioral care includes most types of mental health conditions, and dermatology covers basically everything related to your skin, including evaluation of suspicious moles.
MDLIVE says it supports most insurance plans but that users can quickly check if they qualify by simply creating an account and entering their details.
Doctor on Demand bills itself as “total virtual care” and offers urgent care, behavioral care, preventative care, and chronic treatment. They are partnered with many different health plans, including most of the major names. There’s a good chance that your current insurance already includes Doctor on Demand as a benefit, albeit rebranded in some cases.
LiveHealth offers general medical care, allergy treatment, and mental health. Their mental health offerings cover both psychological and psychiatric treatments. Visits cost at most $59, but if your insurance covers part or all of this, it can be much cheaper. Some employers also have agreements with LiveHealth, so it may be worth checking if yours does.
LiveHealth is particularly notable for offering online therapy from licensed psychologists or having a psychiatrist on-call who can prescribe medications such as antidepressants.
The way LiveHealth is set up, you’ll see how much a visit will cost you before committing to it. So if your insurance or employer will cover a portion of the cost, you’ll only see the amount you’ll actually be paying.
The costs of consultations don’t change based on time, so 24/7, on weekends and holidays, you pay a flat rate. It’s also worth noting that you can speak to a Spanish-speaking doctor, but your device’s settings must be set to Spanish to get the right version of the app, and those doctors are only available during certain hours.
Healthtap advertises itself as the most affordable virtual primary care provider, and its out-of-pocket prices seem very reasonable. Thankfully they also accept various insurance providers, so your copay will be even less and perhaps even zero!
Healthtap puts particular emphasis on health issues that are specific to men or women, as well as sexual health issues. However, it is a general virtual health provider and caters to children’s health and general chronic conditions.
One notable feature of Healthtap is Healthtap AI. This is a symptom checker trained by the diagnostic knowledge of real doctors and can help you narrow down your problem or let you know if you have something more serious that requires professional attention.
Plushcare boasts a user base of over 300,000 users and is available across the US. Plushcare hires its physicians from the top 50 medical schools, and of course, they are all board-certified to legally practice medicine.
One interesting wrinkle in Plushcare’s service is their promise that if their online doctor cannot treat you, the session will be free. That’s pretty confident, but treatments happen in 97% of first visits by their own estimates.
Plushcare accepts most major insurance providers and says that most insured users have a copay of around $25. However, uninsured users pay less for a virtual visit than in-person visits usually cost.
Another nice feature is that they have an insurance checker, so you can quickly find out if you’re covered.
Amwell offers on-demand or scheduled primary care for urgent issues such as respiratory infections, diarrhea, flu, pink eye, and so on. However, they also offer mental health services that include depression and anxiety treatment, bereavement, trauma, couple’s therapy, and even divorce counselling.
This makes Amwell an attractive service for those facing these particular life challenges. On the psychiatric side of things, you can get help with serious conditions that may require medication in addition to therapy, such as eating disorders, PTSD, and psychosis.
Amwell also has wellness services that include nutrition advice for weight control, allergies, hypertension, pregnancy diets, and help with planning meals for your children. Mothers can also benefit from Amwell’s lactation consulting, where your concerns or problems with breastfeeding can receive attention.
Unlike some other virtual providers, there can be quite a difference in charges for the different types of services. An urgent care consultation costs $79, but an initial psychiatric assessment costs $269 (with $90 for follow-ups). These are the prices without insurance, and Amwell lets you put your insurance information into their app to see what your rates will be in advance. Just be aware that you won’t have a flat co-pay rate.
Zocdoc is a little different from the other virtual providers on this list because they aren’t laser-focused on virtual care only. Zocdoc lets you find doctors in your area, see information about them to decide who you want to see, and then either book an in-person visit or schedule a video call with them.
Another neat feature is that you can scan your insurance card, and Zocdoc will show you a list of doctors that work with your insurance. So it really can help you find a doctor you’re covered for quickly, even when you physically want to visit one.
Additionally, you can filter doctors according to your symptoms and only see ones that match the problem you’re likely to have. Zocdoc is not a virtual care provider but an intermediary that quickly matches your insurance and health needs with the right people.
The Doctor Is In!
Telehealth used to be nothing but a pipedream, but with widespread smartphone ownership and broadband, it’s never been easier to get the medical care you need at any time, no matter where you are.
