It seems that many services are utilizing the internet for convenience these days. With the ability to reach all over the world in the matter of seconds the internet has become popular for services helping everything from your closet to your kitchen, and as of recently your family’s health. Online pediatric care is becoming more and more popular but if you are anything like me, you are wondering if it’s a good fit for your family. I am going to share an experience I had with Blueberry Pediatrics, a Pediatric Telemedicine company, to help shed some light on the what this service actually provides and hopefully help you decide if it’s a good fit for your family.
Last week my daughter complained about some ear pain in the middle of the night. Typically that would have meant a long night in the emergency room or urgent care and a couple hundred dollars out-of-pocket.
I know this because I just did it a month back when all three of my girls had a pretty bad virus. My co-pay for a sick visit is $40 and if I have to go to urgent care? well that looks more like $200.
It’s the worst feeling in the world when you are hesitant to get your child the care they need because it’s too expensive.
With my daughter this time my experience was a little different. I had already signed up for an amazing and affordable new service with Blueberry Pediatrics about two weeks prior to her ear pain incident. This time I wasn’t worrying about hour-long waits in germ infested waiting rooms and ridiculous costs. My experience was completely different with Blueberry Pediatrics than it was a month prior when my family was sick. Pediatric Telemedicine empowered me to make the best decision for my daughter by giving me the tools right at my fingertips. Plus a pediatrician on-demand from the comfort of my home!
Is Pediatric Telemedicine right for you?
With Pediatric Telemedicine you don’t have to wait hours to been seen or even leave your home for that matter. You can speak to a pediatrician from your computer or phone. One of the reasons a service like this is priceless for me is because I don’t have to be constantly second guessing myself. What if my daughter really wasn’t sick and I spent all that time and money anyway? What if she was really sick and I didn’t take her in because of the time and money?
Since I had my Blueberry Pediatrics account already set up I didn’t have to worry about blowing it out of proportion or making light of a serious situation. I simply logged on and asked the doctor. Depending on the severity, you can receive a call or start a chat.
Even though I believe Telemedicine is so beneficial, not all companies are created equal. This service can provide so much piece of mind but if it’s not done correctly it can waste time and money as well. I know this because I have had the benefit of working with two different pediatric telemedicine companies. My first was through my insurance and they were never capable of making an informed choice for my family and always deferred us to the doctor. This was extremely expensive because each call cost us $40 only to refer us to urgent care which then cost us $200. It wasn’t the fault of the doctors with the first company, they just didn’t have enough information to make the proper recommendation.
Here is where Blueberry Pediatrics comes in. One of the things I adore about this company is the tools they provide you to make sure you can provide the most accurate information to the doctors during your call. You receive a tool kit almost immediately after you join and here is what you can expect in that kit.
I was shocked to get a call from the pediatrician less than 10 minutes after I submitted my sick visit.
