free doctor visit online

Disclaimer: If your situation constitutes a medical or mental health emergency, if you are in immediate physical distress, or if physical harm to yourself or others is at all a possibility, please call 911. Telehealth cannot provide emergency assistance.

Free healthcare, no insurance needed.

Hermes Telehealth is a non-profit that connects volunteer physicians with patients in a completely free, confidential, virtual healthcare visit. 

Choose a service to get started:

Book a free, virtual doctor visit today 

Hermes partners with licensed physicians to care for underinsured or uninsured patients through completely free online medical appointments!  

Free therapy appointments 

Hermes is partnering with Betterhelp to provide vouchers for 3 months of free therapy   for those struggling with access to care in any way. 

Free therapy for your community organization

If you represent a community organization that serves underserved individuals in any way, partner with us to provide free therapy to your communit y .

• BOGO 50% off select skin care and sun care
• Extra 15% off $40+ select beauty & personal care with PRIDE15
• Up to 60% off clearance
• Your Account
• Walgreens Cash Rewards
• Prescription Refills & Status
• Vaccination Records
• Order Status & History
• Buy It Again

Select a store

Walgreens virtual healthcare: online doctor & prescriptions.

Online doctor visits, on demand

See a doctor or nurse practitioner online, get a diagnosis and fill prescriptions, if needed, from the comfort of home.

Walk-ins welcome

How it works

Quickly connect with a clinician using our efficient intake process.

What condition can we help with?

Get high-quality care from U.S.-licensed doctors and nurse practitioners for nonemergency conditions.

Illness & infection

Women’s health

Allergy & asthma

Heart health

Sexual health.

Skin & hair

Urgent care

Type of visit: Video visit

Required for treatment: N/A

Live urgent care visits offer personalized discussions with a healthcare provider for a variety of conditions.

We recommend you see an in-person provider for your care if:

• You are experiencing chest pain or palpitations, difficulty speaking or slurred speech, facial droop or numbness, difficulty breathing, difficulty moving or feeling arms or legs, problems with your eyes (other than pink eye), or recently have fainted.
• You are seeking care for ear pain or dental pain.
• You are seeking care for a UTI and your sex assigned at birth is male
• You are pregnant or breastfeeding
• You are seeking controlled substances or durable medical equipment
• You are seeking a physical exam, lab work, or imaging orders
• You are seeking medications for pain, sleep, ADHD or anxiety
• If you are seeking care for strep throat, please note that based on recent clinical guidelines, in-person strep testing is required in many, but not all cases. We do not offer in-person strep testing; however, we can provide guidance on whether it would be appropriate based on your symptoms.

Commonly prescribed medications:

Varies based on patient symptoms. Recommended treatments may include online prescriptions, over-the-counter treatment recommendations, and/or self-care strategies.

Cough, Cold, Sinus Infection

You may be a good candidate for virtual care if:

• You are currently experiencing symptoms consistent with sinusitis, such as runny nose, stuffy nose or congestion
• You have had 3 or more sinus infections within the past year
• Your symptoms have been ongoing for more than 1 month or your symptoms have returned after having recently been treated for sinusitis with antibiotics
• You are having difficulty breathing that is unrelated to nasal congestion, you have pain or stiffness in your neck, changes in vision or a fever greater than 101°F

Depending on your symptoms, our providers may recommend prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, home remedies or seeking in-person care. Prescriptions may include antibiotics (such as Amoxicillin or Augmentin) for sinus infection, Benzonatate (Tessalon Perles) for cough or other symptomatic treatments for colds.

Type of visit: Chat

Required for treatment: Photo of left and/or right eye

• You are experiencing symptoms consistent with pink eye, such as redness, itchiness and crusting of the eye(s)
• You wear contact lenses
• You have a recent history of trauma to the eye or concern about something in your eye
• You have had eye surgery within the past 2 months
• You are experiencing blurred, impaired, or changes in vision, sensitivity to light, flashing lights or floaters, headache with nausea, inability to open eye or keep it open, redness beyond the eye, pain or tenderness in or around the eye

Commonly prescribed medications: Antibiotic eye drops, such as Erythromycin, trimethoprim-polymyxin B and ofloxacin

Required for treatment: Photo of lips

If you are also experiencing an outbreak of genital herpes, please start a genital herpes visit where we can address both oral and genital herpes.

• You have a current oral cold sore outbreak
• You have had 3 or more cold sore outbreaks within the last year
• Your last outbreak was within the past 2 weeks
• You are seeking cold sore suppression/prevention treatment or refills

Commonly prescribed medications: Valacyclovir, Acyclovir, Famiclovir

Type of visit: Chat (ages 18–64); Video Visit (ages 18+)

Required for treatment: Photo of a positive COVID test result from within 5 days of first symptom (such as an at-home test, a test result from Walgreens or another healthcare provider)

• You are interested in a COVID treatment plan that may include Paxlovid
• You are able to upload a photo of your positive COVID test result and you are within 5 days of your first symptoms
• You are experiencing a fever of 103°F or greater, dizziness or lightheadedness, chest tightness, chest pain or wheezing, difficulty urinating, lower leg, ankle, or foot swelling, problems with memory and/or confusion, or problems eating/keeping down food or liquids
• You have hepatitis, cirrhosis, elevated liver enzymes or severe renal impairment

Commonly prescribed medications: Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir)

Typical number of refills if prescribed: 1 pack, 0 refills

Required for treatment: Photo of a positive flu test result. If you don’t have a positive flu test, you can schedule a Flu & COVID test for $19.99 at Walgreens.

If you were exposed to someone who tested positive for flu, such as a household member, and you have not been tested for flu, please select Video Visit and you can discuss treatment options with the provider.

• You are able to upload a photo of your positive flu test result with your name, date of birth and date. Or, you were in contact with someone who was diagnosed with flu and you are at high risk for complications from flu (please select Video Visit if you do not have a positive flu test result)
• You have had flu-like symptoms for less than 48 hours, you are at increased risk for complications from flu or you are in contact with someone who is immunocompromised

Commonly prescribed medications: Tamiflu (Oseltamivir)

Birth Control

Required for treatment: Documented blood pressure reading within the last 12 months, such as a photo of a medical record from a patient portal or an at-home blood pressure monitor reading. Photo should include your name, date of birth and date of reading. Don’t have a recent blood pressure reading? Get a blood pressure monitor from Walgreens with 30-minute Pickup or FREE 1-hour Delivery on orders $35+.

• You are interested in the following forms of birth control: oral pill, patch, vaginal ring, diaphragm and internal condoms, starting a new type of birth control or refilling your current form of birth control
• You are a biological female of reproductive age
• You can provide documentation of a blood pressure reading from within the past year
• You use tobacco and are 35 years or older
• You have a history of breast cancer, bariatric surgery, stroke, heart disease, cirrhosis or lupus
• You are seeking Depo-Provera, Phexxi, temporary menses delay, IUD or Nexplanon.

Commonly prescribed medications: Sprintec, Junel, Norethindrone (such as Ortho Micronor), Nuvaring

Typical number of refills if prescribed: One-year supply

Urinary tract infection

Type of visit: Video Visit

• You have had symptoms for less than 2 weeks (pain with peeing, urgent need to pee and/or frequent peeing)
• This is your first UTI in the past 3 months
• Your sex assigned at birth was female
• You are experiencing fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, flank, back, or abdominal pain or unusual vaginal discharge

Commonly prescribed medications: Macrobid, Bactrim, Cephalexin

Emergency contraception

Type of visit: Chat or Video Visit, varies by state. Before you pay for your visit, we will let you know if we need to conduct a Video Visit in your state.

Required for treatment: Height and weight

• You are a biological female
• You had unprotected sex within the past 5 days
• You are vomiting
• You have a history of malabsorptive bariatric procedures

Commonly prescribed medications: Ella (ulipristal), Plan B (levonorgestrel)

Plan B and Ella are both safe and effective forms of emergency contraception to reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy. Plan B is available over the counter while Ella is only available via prescription. Ella can be taken up to 5 days after unprotected sex and has a higher effectiveness rate compared to Plan B. Cost of over-the-counter versus prescription medications may vary based on health insurance coverage.

Yeast Infection

• You are currently experiencing symptoms consistent with yeast infection, such as itchiness, burning and irritation of the vagina
• You have had a yeast infection in the past
• Your sex assigned at birth is female
• You are experiencing abdominal, pelvic or back pain
• You are experiencing nausea, vomiting, fever or chills
• You have a concern for STIs or bacterial infection
• You have visible vaginal lesions
• You experience recurrent yeast infections (4 or more per year)
• You have a recurrent yeast infection within 7 days of recent treatment
• You are seeking preventative treatment

Commonly prescribed medications: Fluconazole

Asthma medication refill

Required for treatment: Photo of your most recent asthma prescription (pill bottle, inhaler or medical record)

• You need a refill (30 day supply) of your most recent asthma medication
• You do not have a prior history of asthma
• You have poorly controlled asthma
• You are currently experiencing an asthma exacerbation
• You have concern for an underlying infection
• It has been more than 1 year since you have last had an asthma management visit with your PCP or specialist

Please note:

• We do not offer treatment adjustments
• We do not offer steroids for exacerbations
• Daily medications will only be refilled if you have been less than 2 weeks without medication
• Episodic medications (such as inhalers) will only be refilled if you have been less than 6 months without medication

Commonly prescribed medications: Albuterol inhaler refills, refills of your current daily medication for asthma

Typical number of refills if prescribed: 30 day supply with 0 refills per year

Patients may not receive more than one prescription every 12 months through this service

Seasonal Allergies

Required for treatment: Photos of eyes, nose and back of throat

• You have recurring seasonal allergy symptoms, which may impact the eyes, nose, sinuses and skin (such as clear nasal discharge, past history of seasonal or environmental allergies and seeking symtomatic relief) (If you are not sure what is causing your symptoms, we recommend seeking care through the Urgent Care visit or Cold, Cough, Sinus Infection visit.)
• You have eye or facial pain, fever or chills, are coughing up yellow or green phlegm, or have yellow or green drainage from the nose
• You are having a severe allergic reaction (such as, shortness of breath, wheezing, swollen lips or tongue)
• You may have a viral infection, eye injury, abrasion or ulceration
• You have a history of asthma

Commonly prescribed medications: Montelukast (Singulair), Fluticasone nasal spray (Flonase), Cetirizine (Zyrtec)

Providers may prescribe medications that are also available over-the-counter. OTC medications may not be covered by insurance and it may be cheaper to get medication through a prescription. Insurance coverage and pricing varies by plan. Typical number of refills if prescribed: Montelukast: 90 tablets, 1 refill

Blood Pressure Medication Refill

Required for treatment: Photo of current prescriptions for high blood pressure (picture of pill bottle(s) or medical record)

• You have been previously diagnosed with hypertension and are seeking a refill of your current medication
• You are on 3 or more high blood pressure medications
• You are experiencing headache, blurry vision, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, severe back pain, confusion, lightheadedness, fainting, dry mouth or thirst, shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness, palpitations or racing heart
• You are seeking a refill of a blood thinner medication
• You have been off of your current medication for more than a week

Commonly prescribed medications: Diuretics, ACE inhibitors, ARBs, Beta Blockers, & Calcium channel blockers, including combination pills

Typical number of refills if prescribed: We provide one 90-day refill within a 12 month period if your provider determines it is clinically appropriate for you. If you need another refill within 12 months, please follow up with your primary care provider.

Erectile dysfunction

Required for treatment:

• Proof of most recent ED prescription (photo of pill bottle or medical record)
• Proof of documented blood pressure reading within the last 12 months (such as a photo of a medical record from a patient portal or an at-home blood pressure monitor reading) Don’t have a recent blood pressure reading? Get a blood pressure monitor from Walgreens with 30-minute Pickup or FREE 1-hour Delivery on orders $35+.
• You have been previously diagnosed with erectile dysfunction and are overdue for a provider visit or need a refill of your medication
• You are a biological male
• You have a documented blood pressure reading within the last 12 months
• You can provide a photo of your most recent ED prescription (pill bottle or medical record)
• You have had elevated blood pressure in the past 12 months
• You have a family history of heart attack or heart disease in persons less than 55 years of age
• You have recently experienced chest pain, dizziness, fainting or seizures or have heart disease

Commonly prescribed medications: Cialis (tadalafil), Viagra (sildenafil), Levitra (vardenafil)

Typical number of refills if prescribed: 90 day supply with 3 refills. Early refills will not be provided.

Genital herpes

Required for treatment: Photo of your most recent prescription medication used for genital herpes

• You have a current outbreak of genital herpes
• You have previously been diagnosed and treated for genital herpes
• You are seeking genital herpes suppression/prevention treatment or refills
• This is your first genital outbreak
• There is concern for a concurrent bacterial infection
• You have atypical lesions on areas of the body that are not the genital or oral region
• You have lesions near the eye area
• You have neck pain, fever, severe headache, nausea or vomiting
• You have had 3 or more outbreaks within the last 12 months

Commonly prescribed medications: Valacyclovir tablet, Acyclovir tablet, Famciclovir tablet

Acne, anti-wrinkle & dark spots

Required for treatment: Photo of front of face, left side of face and right side of face

• You are interested in topical treatment for mild-moderate facial acne, wrinkles, or dark spots
• You have severe scarring, acne on multiple parts of your body or cystic acne
• You need the following prescriptions: isotretinoin (also known as Accutane, Zenatane, Absorica, Myorisan, Claravis, or Amnesteem), oral antibiotics or spironolactone

Commonly prescribed medications: Tretinoin (for acne & anti-wrinkle), Benzoyl Peroxide (for acne), Topical Clindamycin (for acne), Birth control (for hormonal acne), Hydroquinone (for dark spots)

Typical number of refills if prescribed: 2 refills

Men’s hair loss

• Photo of hairline and scalp
• You have male pattern balding (hair loss around your hairline and on the top of your head)
• You are interested in regrowing your hair or preventing future hair loss
• You have significant hair loss on other parts of your body
• You have pain, itching or burning of the scalp
• You have HIV, a weakened immune system, a rheumatological disorder or autoimmune diseases

Commonly prescribed medications: Propecia (finasteride); we do not prescribe Oral Minoxidil

Typical number of refills if prescribed: 90 day supply, 3 refills

When you need care now, not later

No appointment needed

Most visits start within 15 minutes of your request being submitted.

Extended hours, 7 days a week: 8 am-midnight EST (5 am-9 pm PST)

Currently available in: CA, FL, GA, IL, MI, NV, NC, OH and TX

Low & upfront fees

Transparent pricing before your visit with low-cost services from $33 to $75.

Pay with credit card, debit card, HSA or FSA card. Insurance currently not accepted.

Prepare for your visit

To begin your visit, you’ll need to:

• Upload a government-issued photo ID and your photo to verify your identity
• Answer a few medical questions to determine if this service is a good fit for your needs
• Enable your video camera and microphone access for treatments that require a live video visit
• Use the current version of Chrome, Firefox or Safari for best results when accessing the service

Prescriptions made easy

Frequently Asked Questions

• Start a visit request anytime. Select your treatment area and answer clinical intake interview questions regarding your condition. Some treatment areas require you to provide photos, for example, of the affected area or of a previously filled medication.
• The next available provider licensed in your state will send you a message through your patient portal when they are ready to connect. Doctors and nurse practitioners are available between the hours of 8 am to midnight EST (5 am to 9 pm PST), seven days a week. If you request a visit overnight, a provider will reach out to you as soon as they are available, which may be the following morning.
• To get started, click on a treatment area above to learn more about our visit types, what we treat and typical wait times.

All treatment areas require you to upload a government-issued photo ID, as well as a selfie, to verify your identity. All visits require patients to be age 18 or older. Each treatment area has unique requirements to receive care. Please click on a treatment area above to learn more about its requirements.

To access this service, you must be physically located in one of the following states at the time of the visit: CA, FL, GA, MI, IL, NV, NC, OH or TX. Urgent care is not yet available in MI. Please check back soon to learn where we are growing next—we plan to offer virtual care to patients in additional states in the future.

Visits can be conducted on a mobile device, tablet or desktop computer. We recommend using the most recent version of Chrome, Firefox or Safari to access the service. Microsoft Edge is known to cause issues in video-based visits. Internet Explorer is not supported. For video visits, you will need to enable video camera and microphone access to interact with a clinician. Video visits are conducted on a HIPAA-compliant platform. Click on a treatment area above to learn more.

Patient support can be reached at 866-740-7721 between the hours of 8 am to midnight EST (5 am to 9 pm PST), seven days a week. You may also send a message through the patient portal in your Walgreens Virtual Healthcare account.

Payment & insurance

Walgreens Virtual Healthcare visits are $33 - $75. Click on a treatment area above to see the price of each visit type. Insurance is currently not accepted for virtual care visits; however, you may pay for your visit with your HSA/FSA card. Insurance may be used to purchase your prescription, if applicable. We plan to accept insurance for virtual care visits in the future.

Yes, you can use insurance to pay for most medication. Insurance coverage for prescription drugs varies. Please talk with your insurer or pharmacy directly about any questions regarding your prescription drug coverage. The cost of medication is not included in the cost of your visit. Looking to pay for your medication out of pocket? Find lower prescription prices at Walgreens with our free search tool, Walgreens Rx Savings Finder , powered by RxSense ® .

We accept debit, credit and HSA/FSA cards.

The fee you pay is for a clinical assessment, which may be conducted via a live visit or an offline (asynchronous) review of your clinical records by a Walgreens Virtual Healthcare provider. They will review your clinical situation and use their independent clinical judgment to recommend the most appropriate treatment option for you. This may include prescribing medication, recommending over-the-counter medications or home care strategies and/or recommending that you visit an in-person provider for further evaluation (such as an urgent care center, emergency department, primary care provider or specialist). We cannot offer refunds solely because the provider determines a prescription medication is not the best option for you, cannot be safely prescribed based on the information available, does not prescribe your preferred medication or due to issues related to pharmacy medication pickup.

If you are unable to complete your visit, please let us know right away by logging in to your Walgreens Virtual Healthcare account and sending us a chat message, or by calling us at 866-740-7721, so we can cancel your consultation before a provider reviews your intake. Your credit card will be charged after the provider reviews your intake and shares their recommendations for next steps.

If you have questions about your care, please log in to your Walgreens Virtual Healthcare account and send us a chat message or call us at 866-740-7721.

Our provider team is made up of experienced doctors and nurse practitioners who offer high-quality treatment and care. You will be matched with a doctor or nurse practitioner licensed in the state where you are located at the time of your visit. Service availability varies by state.

Providers & prescriptions

After your visit, if you would like your records sent to your primary care physician, you can use the Walgreens Virtual Care patient portal to send us a message and request that a copy of your records be sent to your primary care physician.

Please click on a treatment area above to learn more about what medications are commonly prescribed, as well as common exclusions. We do not prescribe any medications that are listed as controlled substances by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) or state law. This includes narcotics, amphetamine stimulants and benzodiazepines.

Disclaimers

Prescription based on medical evaluation and not guaranteed.

Walgreens-affiliated medical practices are independently owned and operated by licensed physicians who provide services using the Walgreens virtual care program telehealth platform. For more information about the relationship between Walgreens and the medical practices click here .

Walgreens Health Medical Group California P.C. is a California professional medical corporation utilizing the fictitious name “Walgreens Health Medical Group California P.C.” pursuant to Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 2415. To view the Fictitious Name Permit click here .

Online doctors for Free. Research, compare and schedule a virtual appointment with an online doctor for Free on JOY MD. Search trusted online doctors on JOY MD. Cash paying and insurances accepted.

23andMe lets patients discover where in the world their DNA is from across 1500+ regions — in some cases down to the county level. Patients can learn how genetics can influence their chances of developing certain health conditions. Patients can discover what makes them unique. With reports like hair photobleaching and freckles, they learn how their DNA can influence their physical features.

AbleTo provides behavioral health care proven to help people overcome barriers to better health. Patients can feel better by working one-on-one with AbleTo's specially trained professionals from the comfort of their home. AbleTo’s personalized programs are delivered one-on-one, privately and confidentially, with a professional therapist and coach via phone or video chat. AbleTo’s care is proven to help people feel better through positive thinking, behavior change, and mindfulness.

Hello Alpha

Alpha is all about women taking control of their healthcare. Connect to a doctor online for everything from a single visit to long-term health management. Alpha Offers memberships and exclusive healthcare benefits.

Amwell is comprehensive teletherapy for all of your healthcare needs. Their telehealth services include primary care, women and men's health, therapy, pediatrics, cardiology, nutrition, and more. Available 24 hours a day, Amwell is covered by many insurance providers.

Apostrophe brings the dermatologist's office to patients' couch, so patients can get the treatments they need, all shipped to their door. With a few pictures, patients can receive a diagnosis from one of Apostrophe's board-certified dermatologists in just 24 hours. No more scheduling limbo, confusing referrals, and pharmacy runs. Apostrophe has patients covered with science-backed products, giving patients the confidence in knowing what they're putting on their skin works.

Ava is a digital health aid for women’s health including cycle tracking, fertility, and pregnancy. Ava is a sensor bracelet that tracks your vital signs such as skin temperature and pulse to track your health and send real-time data to the platform. Monitor your health and cycle to optimize your health and increase your chances of conception.

Bend specializes in providing the industry’s best health savings accounts for individuals, employers and partners. As HSA experts, Bend is here here to empower them to maximize HSA benefits while eliminating headaches. From Bend's innovative use of AI, to its always-available Bend Advisor, the Bend Difference can help them reach their HSA goals. Online HSA program can be setup in 30 minutes or less.

Better Help

BetterHelp provides patients with the world's largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced counselors who can help them with a range of issues including depression, anxiety, relationships, trauma, grief, and more. With BetterHelp's counselors, patients get the same professionalism and quality they would expect from an in-office counselor, but with the ability to communicate when and how they want. Patients will get matched to the best counselor for them. Patients will be able to have therapy when they need it.

Blink Health

Blink Health is a digital health provider offering health solutions to patients. Learn more about them and how they can help you here.

Boulder Care

Boulder Care offers long-term support and treatment for opioid addiction. The program is backed by science, driven by data, and provided by caregivers who lead with the heart. Unlike most traditional treatment programs, Boulder’s program is delivered entirely online – with secure video visits and messaging through our smartphone app. The program is designed to fit into a patient's life—no more wait lists, long commutes, or taking time away from work or family to get treatment.

Brain Check

BrainCheck is tailored cognitive care that provides patients and providers with comprehensive brain health data. Track your memory and cognition with BrainCheck to monitor early signs of memory loss. Data from BrainCheck can be shared with your doctor and used to monitor you or your loved one’s cognitive health over time.

Buoy Health

Buoy is an online symptom checker that helps you make decisions about your healthcare. Users chat with Buoy and answer questions about their symptoms to form a treatment plan. Using A.I., Buoy helps you answer your health questions when you need it most.

Calm is the #1 app for sleep, meditation and relaxation, with over 50 million downloads and over 700,000 5-star reviews. The guided meditation app helps to reduce stress and enhance wellbeing. Calm helps users sleep better, learn to meditate, become more mindful, and boost confidence and decrease anxiety. Calm also has a timer and a huge catalog of calming music, sounds, bedtime stories, and ambient noises.

Care Predict

CarePredict @Home notices small changes in seniors that can indicate serious issues, before they happen. CarePredict @Home uses AI to learn and follow daily habits so you can rest assured your loved one is safe, wherever you are and whatever they’re doing. CarePredict @Home watches over the daily patterns and identifies changes that could signal a health concern such as falls, malnutrition, depression, and UTIs – enabling early attention days before something happens. The app delivers a convenient recap of activities and trends, charting them against past days and weeks so you can stay ahead of any changes or declines.

Carrot Fertility

Carrot helps employers give their employees the fertility benefits they want. Fertility benefits are a growing demand among workers and Carrot makes it simple to connect employees with fertility care like egg freezing, IVF, surrogacy, and adoption. The fertility solutions offered by Carrot are fit to your company’s needs.

Get Cerebral

Cerebral offers expert help for a patient's emotional heath. Patients are able to receive help for anxiety and depression. Cerebral offers online provider visits, care management, and prescriptions delivered to a patient's door. Cerebral's providers are licensed prescribers and well-trained to be empathetic and help clients select the best medication for their specific needs.

Connect with a doctor by phone or video to treat common conditions. Whether you need a prescription, lab order, or doctor's note—DrSays can help. Get started with the online clinic in a few minutes.

Cue Health helps you manage problems in the early stages. Starting with influenza, Cue allows for consumers and healthcare providers to screen early through self-tests that deliver results to mobile devices. Great for telemedicine, self health management, and prescription services—Cue gives you your lab data right to your device.

Curology has helped tens of thousands of people clear their skin. From occasional spots to full-on breakouts, Curology's simple once-a-day cream has patients covered. Curology uses patients' photos, patients' history, and patients' goals to pick powerful active ingredients just for them. Curology providers see more acne sufferers every year than any other team in the country. With their combined 107 years of experience, they’re also resources for questions on cleansers, sunscreens, and how dairy affects patients' skin.

Derm Consult

DermConsult is a Digital Dermatology Clinic offering medical dermatologic and skin care services via a HIPAA-secured, telemedicine platform. Patients can call, email, text or send an in-app message to their doctor instantly. DermConsult utilizes the most secure and advanced teledermatology platform to deliver care to their patients. All of DermConsult's dermatologists are currently practicing, board-certified, US-based dermatologists.

Discover the power of telemedicine with Heal. Using the app or your phone, talk with a doctor and get lab orders, prescriptions, referrals, and more from home. Heal offers primary, urgent, pediatric, and preventative care.

Discreet birth control delivered to your door. After completing an online consultation, Pill Club’s medical team will recommend a birth control for you, including oral contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, internal condoms, and vaginal rings. Their birth control deliveries come with surprise goodies like stickers, chocolates, and more.

Dispatch Health

DispatchHealth is healthcare delivered. Users request a visit from the app, online, or by phone, and a medical team is sent to their home to treat them. DispatchHealth treats injuries, illnesses, and common concerns you would go to the urgent care for from the convenience and safety of your home.

Doctor On Demand

Doctor on Demand connects patients with physicians and psychiatrists 24/7. This telemedicine platform is app-based and can help patients treat and manage health concerns from home. Doctor on Demand has been used by over 1 million patients and is supported by many insurance providers.

Dynamic Health

DynamiCare Health is a personalized telehealth recovery program that fits in your pocket. DynamiCare Health's approach of rewarding healthy activities is scientifically proven to increase a patient's chances of recovery. DynamiCare Health’s easy-to-use technology includes random breath and saliva tests submitted through the app, verified treatment attendance check-ins, a supportive Recovery Coach, rewards for healthy progress, and a dashboard for supporters. DynamiCare health makes healthy behavior change convenient through accountability and encouragement.

Direct Derm

For all skin, hair and nail problems, DirectDerm is as close as one's computer or mobile device. All DirectDerm consultants are board-certified dermatologists trained at the top medical institutions in the United States, such as Stanford and Harvard. Many remain involved in research and teaching at these universities. Accessible from anywhere at any time, DirectDerm's dermatologists will provide a full report with diagnosis and treatment plan within 48 hours max- usually within 24.

Free Womens Clinic

Free Women’s Clinic offers resources to those facing an unplanned pregnancy. The clinic provides services such as free ultrasounds and abortion and option consultations and support. All services are completely free and confidential.

Gryt Health

GRYT connects those suffering from cancer with community. The Gryt community is connected through an app and is made up of patients, survivors, providers, and advocates who can provide support. The purpose of GRYT is to empower those with cancer and help them make choices that are right for them.

Gali Health

Gali is a well-informed mobile friend and personal health guide who helps patients learn about, track and proactively manage their Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Gali is on a mission to make sure nobody ever feels isolated, lost or powerless in the face of existing or potential disease. Advanced AI algorithms allow Gali to create a highly personalized feed of vetted, timely and relevant health-related content. Gali enables a smart disease community by collecting the experiences of medical professionals and IBD patients from around the world.

Galileo Health

Galileo is comprehensive healthcare from the convenience of your phone. With their affordable memberships, you have 24/7 access to healthcare professionals to answer your questions and help manage your health. Galileo is self healthcare that combines expertise, technology, and you.

Genome Medical

Genome Medical delivers genetic expertise to support everyone — from health care providers who need a trusted partner for genomic medicine to individuals interested in exploring their DNA. Genome Medical is the first and only nationwide telegenomics practice serving health systems, providers, employers and individuals. Genome Medical delivers easy and seamless genetic expertise in the following areas of clinical care: Cancer, cardio, proactive, reproductive, pediatric, and pharmacy. Genome Medical's clinical team includes medical geneticists, genetic counselors, primary care doctors, pharmacists and other specialists who can provide medical services in all 50 states.

Get a beautiful smile without the office visits. Byte uses FDA-cleared technology and connects you with board-certified dental professionals to get you a straight smile, fast. Offering two different plans and financing, Byte has an option for everyone looking to improve their teeth.

Get an on-demand medical exam that is backed by data with Tyto. A device is connected to the TytoApp which is used by your doctor to diagnose treat and manage common illnesses.

Get the best prices and find savings on your prescriptions with GoodRx. Did you know that the cost of your prescription can vary between neighboring pharmacies? GoodRx compares prices for you and gives you coupons for your prescriptions. GoodRx is the #1 free medical app for iOS and Android.

Ginger is a telepsychiatry platform that offers an on-demand mental health system through the Ginger app. The platform allows members to conveniently connect with Ginger’s team of behavioral health coaches anywhere and at any time. For those in need of additional support, a therapist or psychiatrist can be added to their care team. Currently, over half a million people are using the digital platform.

Glooko syncs data from patients' diabetes devices and shares it with their care team for confident decisions about the patients' diabetes. Glooko syncs with 95% of all diabetes devices, delivering trusted data, in a simple and usable platform. Glooko is used by health systems around the world to help their patient populations achieve better outcomes. The Glooko Mobile App is free* for all people with diabetes.

Join Groups

Groups offers an opioid addiction treatment that works. Groups' counselors will help patients make a deep personal transformation, and their physicians will help patients safely taper off medication when they feel ready. Patients get the medication they need to stop feeling sick, and a community that fights for them to succeed from the comfort and safety of their home. Members attend weekly group therapy where they find a safe space to be honest with other people going through the same thing.

Happify Health is a digital therapeutics platform that diagnoses mental health conditions and offers support that is grounded in science. Happify Health makes managing mental health and well-being, not just possible, but fun. The platform is based on the sciences of positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and other proven behavior change disciplines. When new research is acquired it’s then validated through published peer-reviewed research.

Headspace is one's guide to everyday mindfulness in just a few minutes a day. Patients can choose from hundreds of guided meditations on everything from managing stress and anxiety to sleep, productivity, exercise, and physical health — including short SOS meditations for when they're on the go. Patients learn to manage feelings and thoughts with the lifelong skill of everyday mindfulness, any time of the day. Patients can train their body and their mind at the same time with exercises to strengthen their mental and physical well-being.

HealthTap is comprehensive telehealth. Get your questions answered, diagnosed, treatment, and follow-up care from a single app. All of HealthTap's doctors are board-certified and committed to quality care.

Hers personalizes women’s health in a single platform. Simply create a profile and connect with a physician to get tailored recommendations about sexual health, birth control, skin care, supplements, and other women’s health issues. Hers also offers telehealth visits for primary health concerns.

Hims is the ultimate men’s health platform. Take charge of your wellness with customized solutions for erectile dysfunction, hair loss, skin care, and performance anxiety. Hims also offers primary care health services through their telehealth platform.

Hubpsych provides tools & resources for clients searching for effective therapy in the greater Los Angeles area. With Hubpsych's personalized search tool and network of specialized mental health providers, Hubpsych is able to help patients find the mental health care they deserve. Hubpsych’s confidential 10-minute assessment process is designed to better understand a patient's unique mental health needs. Upon completion, Hubpsych’s smart match algorithm will make some therapeutic recommendations and empower a patient to find a therapist best fitting to their personal needs.

Human API is a digital self-health solution that allows you to streamline your health data into a single platform. Users can integrate all of their health accounts, medical records, lab results, prescriptions, and health apps into one place. Data can be shared with other people, providers, or health apps to help individuals monitor and reach their health goals.

If traditional conception isn’t working or isn’t an option in your relationship—try Mosie. Intrauterine Insemination(IUI) can be expensive and time-consuming. Mosie offers an at-home solution you can try first. The Mosie syringe is designed to maximixe your chances of conceiving, while remaining affordable.

Improve every aspect of your relationship with the help of a licensed therapist through Regain. Whether you need relationship support for yourself or both you and your partner, Regain is there to help with online therapy. Restore your relationship, intimacy, and communication.

Kaia Health

Kaia Health gives solutions to providers to help them manage patients with musculoskeletal pain and COPD. Using advanced technology, Kaia Health can make home therapy management possible for those with pain conditions. Physical assessments and training sessions are made possible anywhere with Kaia's mobile system.

Kindbody is a women’s health platform that offers in-person and virtual healthcare for fertility needs, gynecological care, and supportive services. The platform offers modern healthcare driven by data and personalization. Kindbody accepts most major insurance providers.

Kliit is on-demand women’s health. The app connects you in real-time to qualified medical experts to answer reproductive health questions. Chatting on Kliit is safe, convenient, and affordable.

Learn to Live

Learn to Live offers customized online programs based on the proven principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The programs are confidential, accessible anywhere, and based on years of research showing online CBT programs to be as effective as face-to-face therapy. Learn to Live with help patients identify the thoughts and behavior patterns that perpetuate their issues, so they can work through them. Learn to Live can help those with social anxiety, depression, insomnia, substance use, and stress, anxiety, and worry.

Lemonaid Health

Lemonaid offers ongoing personalized help at a fraction of the cost for anxiety and depression treatments. Lemonaid provides the best possible treatment for patients by offering full-cycle care - Lemonaid knows no one wants to take medicine forever, so Lemonaid helps patients work out how long they should continue treatment based on their unique situation. Lemonaid's service allows patients to have as many check-ins as they need, through messaging, or via phone call or video chat, whatever is most convenient for them. Lemonaid Pharmacy will deliver FDA-approved meds directly to a patient's door in only 2-3 business days.

Lensabl lets patients get the lenses they need, in their own frames, without leaving home. Patients can receive quality lenses they need, in the frames they already own, in about 2 weeks. Lensabl offers prescription, blue-light blockers, readers, sunglasses, and more. All of Lensabl's lenses are custom made, tested and fitted by certified opticians with generations of experience.

Life Access

Life Process Program is an online addiction treatment is built on simple human ingredients. Life Process Program's goal is to help patients recover from their addiction and learn to lead a joyful, meaningful life. Developed by Dr. Stanton Peele, the world leading authority on non-12 step addiction recovery, the program is a structured online program with 8 comprehensive modules and over 50 thought-provoking exercises. Life Process Program also provides regular feedback, advice and guidance from a patient's dedicated Life Process Coach throughout the program, private video coaching, and access to peer support.

Lion Rock Recovery

Lionrock is the most private way to get help for substance abuse. Lionrock's programs fit into a patient's way of life, not the other way around. Patients are able to keep their family and work commitments while they get help in Lionrock's online recovery program. In addition to professional treatment, Lionrock offers workshops and support group meetings that are completely free of charge— there’s no cost to participate.

Lively is the modern health saving account. Lively helps people prepare for tomorrow by making smart decisions about finances and healthcare today. Lively HSAs are free for individuals and families, so they never have to worry about hidden costs. Employers can build a better benefits package — without adding admin hours. With Lively, people can build a healthcare safety net and save more for the expected and unexpected.

Luna PBC is a digital health provider offering health solutions to patients. Learn more about them and how they can help you here.

MDLIVE allows you to access a qualified healthcare provider from wherever you are. Connect with a doctor from the app, your phone, or computer. MDLIVE offers primary care, therapy, psychiatry, dermatology, and more via telehealth.

Manage your health and get answers to your health questions and concerns with K. Using AI technology, K checks your symptoms and advises you on possible treatments. Need to chat with a doctor? K can connect you with one for a low cost who can treat you.

Maven Clinic

Maven offers comprehensive women’s health and family care through its telemedicine platform. Offering support for fertility, pregnancy, pediatrics, and more—Maven hosts an abundance of qualified healthcare providers to help you at every stage of your journey. Manage your reproductive health, mental health, nutrition, and more with Maven.

Maximize your chances of conceiving by tracking your ovulation with Proov. Proov is an FDA-approved test to confirm your ovulation with accurate at-home testing that measures PdG. Master your cycle and skip the wondering when it comes to ovulation.

Modern Health

Modern Health is a platform for innovative companies that value the emotional well-being of their workforce. Modern Health is the only comprehensive mental health platform that provides access to a full spectrum of resources, ranging from digital courses and meditations to a network of certified coaches and licensed therapists. Modern Health combines technology and human touch to guide individuals to the right level of care at the right time. Each employee has access to a full spectrum of support in a single platform to meet their unique needs.

Nebula Genomics

Nebula Genomics is the leading privacy-focused personal genomics service. Nebula Genomics' mission is to make direct-to-consumer genetic testing secure. With the Nebula Explore subscription, you can stay up to date with the most cutting-edge genomic research. Nebula Genomics' team curates the latest scientific discoveries to create personalized reports based on your Whole Genome Sequencing results.

Need an urgent care visit but don’t want to wait at the doctor’s office? Simplify the process with Remedy. Available 24 hours a day, Remedy connects you with qualified providers who can diagnose and treat common urgent care conditions such as colds, infections, prescription refills, and more. Get treated via telemedicine or with a house call.

NeuroTrack Technologies

Neurotrack Technologies is a digital platform that uses scientifically-validated cognitive assessments to strengthen and monitor brain health. The platform allows physicians to actively monitor their patients by using The Neurotrack Cognitive Health Program. The groundbreaking eye-tracking technology measures multiple cognitive domains to provide a report that tracks Alzheimer's.

No braces, no orthodontic visits—get straighter teeth at home. Candid offers remote orthodontic care to provide you with top-quality teeth straightening. Simply send Candid photos and impressions of your teeth, get your clear aligners to begin your straightening your teeth, and monitor your progress remotely with one of Candid’s orthodontists

One Medical Group

One Medical offers everything from same-day in-office appointments to telehealth visits with qualified doctors. Their memberships include preventative care, everyday wellness, chronic conditions, pediatric and family medicine, and mental health.

Ophelia offers medication and support for opioid withdrawal. Ophelia brings treatment to the privacy of one's home in their own terms with support from Ophelia for life. Ophelia is based on the gold standard of science, Medication-assisted treatment (MAT), proven to be 6x more effective than most rehabs out there. Patients connect with an Ophelia provider via telemedicine through their phone or computer and manage withdrawal, stop cravings, and prevent relapse with medications like Suboxone and Vivitrol.

Oscar Health

Oscar has been focused on one mission – to be a health insurance company centered around the patient, engaging members and guiding them to the right care. Oscar has the most engaged members in the industry, with the highest mobile engagement of any insurer. With Oscar, patients can get prescriptions refilled right over the phone and sent directly to their pharmacy. Patients will also get their own Concierge team of experts to help them find doctors, answer questions, and more.

Parsley Health

Personalize your wellness with Parsley Health. Offering patients on-demand telemedicine care, Parsley Health pairs you with highly-trained doctors, nurse practitioners, and health coaches. Skip the rushed in-person office visit, and start with a 60+-minute appointment to begin your customized healthcare plan. Memberships include physician visits, biomarker testing, personalized health plans, prescriptions, messaging, and more.

Pivot is transforming how people quit smoking for good with its fresh approach and breakthrough tech. Pivot’s exciting new technologies, human coaching, and behavioral science turn quitting into an opportunity, instead of an obligation. Pivot users don’t have to quit smoking—they get to. Pivot even helps people who say they aren’t ready to quit.

Plushcare can help you manage everything from urgent medical needs to chronic illness online. This telemedicine platform offers direct messaging with qualified physicians so you can have your healthcare questions answered on-demand. Plushcare offers care in all 50 U.S. states and is covered by many major insurance providers.

Quartet Health

Quartet is a healthcare technology and services company with a focus on mental health conditions. The company has teamed up with leading health plans and systems to offer a free, HIPAA-compliant solution. The digital platform connects physicians, mental health providers, and insurance companies within their dashboard. The collaborative technology and range of services effectively improve patients’ health and helps drive down healthcare costs.

Ready to quit smoking for good? Let Zero help. Zero will connect with a doctor to create a customized plan to help you quit smoking. Their plans include cessation medications and replacement therapies through Zero’s telehealth platform.

Recover Together

Recover Together aims at helping the 23 million Americans with an opioid addiction. Recover Together has compiled a short list of virtual resources so people in recovery from addiction have access to critical recovery support groups. Recover Together features other information and resources opioid addicts and their loved ones can use to help in their recovery. The 'Recover Together" micro-site provides Google Maps-based search and in-depth resources for support meetings, pharmacies and more.

Medisafe App

Remembering to take your medications can be difficult, but Medisafe makes medication management easy. Keep track of your prescriptions, set reminders, and connect with providers and family in this easy app. Medisafe takes the stress out of your medications so you can live your life and stay healthy.

Ria Health is an evidence based alcohol treatment. Ria Health helps patients to quickly change their relationship to alcohol with its at-home program. On average, Ria Health members reduce their BAC levels by 75% after 12 months in the program. Ria Health physicians and coaches get patients started, help with every step of the program, and are available for consultation through its mobile app, 24/7.

Roman is comprehensive men’s healthcare made simple. Starting with an online visit, a physician will evaluate your health and prescribe custom solutions for all of your needs including sexual health, hair loss, skin problems, and daily health maintenance.

Rory is a digital health provider offering health solutions to patients. Learn more about them and how they can help you here.

SAMI-Aid offers comprehensive telemedicine solutions for patients. Their services include pediatrics, mental health, dermatology, internal medicine, and primary care. Once you’ve connected with SAMI-Aid, you’ll be put in contact with a doctor in about 15 minutes.

Simple Contacts

Simple Contacts is a digital health provider offering health solutions to patients. Learn more about them and how they can help you here.

Simple Habit

Simple Habit is a meditation platform that was designed by top mediation experts to empower people to live better. The app was rated as the #1 app for your wellness & sleep recommended by top mental health experts. It features more than 2,000 guided meditations for any situation and mood —including before sleep, taking a work break, commuting, and more. Simple Habit completion of mindfulness programs changed grey matter concentration of the brain regions for emotion regulation. 

Conceive Easy

Simplify your fertility journey with ConceiveEasy. This service offers kits designed by doctors for those trying to conceive. The kits include pregnancy tests, ovulation tests, supplements, and customizable options. New customers can try the kit free for 30 days.

Skip the office visit and utilize great virtual care with Teladoc. Simply set up an account and get connected with the medical care you need from your device. Teladoc offers comprehensive telemedicine services in the US and Canada.

SkyMD allows patients to go to an online doctor at their convenience with no doctor's appointment. Patients can consult a dermatologist anytime, anywhere in minutes. SkyMD's board certified dermatologists are treating patients every day across the country, 24 x 7, with many different skin diseases. SkyMD's dermatologists can treat a wide variety of skin, hair and nail conditions.

Smile Direct Club

Smile Direct Club provides clear aligners for up to 60% less than braces. Patients can safely straighten teeth 100% from home in as little as 4-6 months, for as low as $85 per month. Smile Direct Club straightens a patient's teeth gently and gradually with multiple sets of clear, thin, snug-fitting aligners, custom-designed and individually 3D-printed in BPA-free plastic. Smile Direct Club's custom clear aligners are easy to wear, and they straighten patients' teeth much faster than braces.

Smilelove offers affordable and convenient teeth straightening and whitening straight to your home. Straighten your teeth in 6-8 months with Smilelove’s customized kits, backed by orthodontic experts. Smilelove offers video support for customers for every part of their teeth straightening journey to make the process simple.

Sober Grid is a free iOS/Android app that connects patients with other sober people. Patients are instantly connected to a global sober community in their neighborhood and around the globe. Patients can build strong sober support networks and inspire others. Sober Grid now offers affordable 24/7 Certified Peer Coaches to assist individuals in their recovery. Sober Grid's peer coaches are trained and certified to help patients get sober and stay sober.​

Solv Health

Solv helps patients simplify their health insurance. Patients snap a photo of their card and Solv will instantly explain their benefits, track their progress toward their deductible and unlock personalized hidden insurance perks. Patients can say goodbye to confusion and hello to every dollar understood with Solv. Solv has partnered with high-quality providers across the country who share their goal of making access to high-quality convenient care simple, friendly and transparent for patients.

Sondermind helps patients find a licensed therapist who accepts their insurance and is available to see them either in-person or online. Sondermind will match patients with the right licensed therapist for video telehealth or in-person sessions. SonderMind is on a mission to redesign behavioral healthcare to become more accessible, approachable, and utilized. SonderMind is a valued partner with many leading insurance companies.

SteadyMD is about pairing patients with providers that are a fit for them. Get connected with a doctor who can treat you long term and focus on specific medical conditions and lifestyles. SteadyMD is tailored telehealth.

Stop dieting and start living a healthy, fulfilling lifestyle with Noom. Whether you want to get fit or lose weight, Noom uses psychology to help you change your behavior to lead a healthier lifestyle and reach your health goals. Noom makes weight loss easy through mobile-based wellness and one-on-one coaching.

Stride Health

Stride makes it easy to tackle the big, scary things in life like health insurance and taxes. Stride helps patients save time and money so they can get back to working on the stuff that really matters. Stride will find and recommend the perfect plan based on a patient's specific needs, help them get the most out of their health insurance, and help them get their application and payment submitted so they're all ready to go. Stride is available year round and will work directly with a patient's insurance company to resolve any issues, like an unexpected bill or finding an in-network doctor. Stride also sends monthly updates to ensure that everything is in working order.

Take control of your healthcare data with Ciitizen. Ciitizen allows you to compile all of your healthcare documents and data into one platform so you can share them with multiple providers, family members, or for research purposes. What you do with your data is in your control. Ciitizen is currently available to those with a diagnosis or history of breast cancer in the United States.

Talkspace is a digital health provider offering health solutions to patients. Learn more about them and how they can help you here.

Talkspace is a telepsychiatry platform that offers instant, affordable therapy. The platform connects a network of professionally licensed therapists with patients. Patients can have virtual consultations or they opt-in to get long-term treatment. Therapy can be done via your smartphone or the web.

Tempest is a modern, accessible, and empowering path to recovery that’s built around the patient. Through Tempest's online sobriety school and aftercare program, patients will get the education, tools, and community they need to build a life free from alcohol. Tempest makes all of that information easy to digest and gives patients space to see what fits best for them. Tempest offers a membership-based spectrum of care—from community-based learning to intensive, personalized recovery support—so patients can find the solution that works for them.

Tia is a New York-based women’s health clinic that offers video visits, care coordination, mobile health records, prescription management, and same-day appointments. Designed by women for women, Tia is made to cover all of your needs from gynecology to primary care.

Truepill powers telehealth solutions for providers to give patients the best digital experience. Offering platforms, onboarding, pharmacy API, health plans, and more—Truepill is helping to connect providers to their patients through digital healthcare.

USC Med is a telepsychiatry platform that offers an on-demand mental health system. The telemedical approach to mental health makes UCS a leader in mental health. USC Med has prescribing psychiatrists, psychologists, teletherapy, and counsel. The therapy sessions are available online or through the phone.

Uplift helps patients beat depression for good. A study of 80 Uplift users showed that Uplift can cut depression scores in half and keep them there. Patients answer questions, practice mental exercises, and receive feedback and guidance from the program. Patients are able to do sessions on their phone, whenever, wherever, however is best for them.

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Digestive Health
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Diet & Nutrition
• Supplements
• Health Insurance
• Public Health
• Patient Rights
• Caregivers & Loved Ones
• End of Life Concerns
• Health News
• Thyroid Test Analyzer
• Doctor Discussion Guides
• Hemoglobin A1c Test Analyzer
• Lipid Test Analyzer
• Complete Blood Count (CBC) Analyzer
• What to Buy
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Medical Expert Board

We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.

Best Online Doctors

MDLIVE is our top choice for the best online doctor

The rise in online doctors has made health care more accessible and affordable across the country. There are times when seeing a doctor face-to-face is necessary, but remote care is a great option for non-emergency medical concerns, such as colds, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and online therapy. Plus, telehealth helps free up in-person healthcare facilities, making it easier for severely sick patients to be seen by doctors promptly.

With so many telehealth options available, it can be challenging to know which virtual provider is right for you. Before you start your search, consider your symptoms, how often you’ll need care, your budget, and what your insurance—if you have health coverage —will and won't cover. To help you determine the telehealth services for your needs, we've compiled a list of the best online doctors available throughout the United States.

Best Online Doctors of 2024

• Best Overall: MDLIVE
• Best for Pregnancy: Maven
• Best for the LGBTQ+ Community: Folx Health
• Best for Pediatric Care: Blueberry Pediatrics
• Best for Psychiatry: Teladoc
• Best for Comprehensive Care: Doctor On Demand
• Best for Flexible Care Options: Sesame
• Best for the Uninsured: HealthTap
• Best for Affordable Care: LiveHealth Online
• Best Medication Refills: PlushCare
• Best Nutritionist: Tepper Nutrition
• Our Top Picks

Folx Health

Blueberry Pediatrics

• Doctor On Demand

LiveHealth Online

Tepper Nutrition

• See More (8)

Final Verdict

• Compare Providers
• How To Choose

Methodology

Best overall : mdlive.

• Price: Urgent care $0 to $82, behavioral health $0 to $284, dermatology $0 to $95
• Accepts Insurance: Yes
• Platform: Phone, web browser, and app

MDLIVE is an easy-to-use platform that allows you to schedule appointments within minutes. The service provides care for more than 80 different conditions across urgent care, mental health, and dermatology.

Accepts several insurance plans

Provides care for more than 80 conditions

Licensed physicians available 24/7

Responsive hotline for questions or concerns

Offers medication management services

Can be expensive without insurance

Doesn’t provide care for certain issues

MDLIVE offers on-demand specialists for urgent care, a transparent fee structure, and live support for illnesses, injuries, mental health concerns, and hair, skin, and nail conditions. You can speak with healthcare providers via phone, computer, or app-based appointments. It's important to note that the service provides urgent care for both children and adults, but for primary care, it sees patients only if they're older than 18.

To use MDLIVE, simply go to its website and create an account. Once you’re registered, you can input your insurance information to see if your plan is accepted. From there, you can search through providers and schedule an appointment. The medical doctors are available 24/7, but you may encounter a wait.

MDLIVE’s pricing varies based on the type of care you need and your insurance if you have any.

• Urgent care: These visits cost up to $82 and include care for non-emergency medical concerns.
• Behavioral health: Talk therapy or psychotherapy can cost up to $108, while psychiatry visits can cost up to $284 for the first visit. There is care for depression, anxiety, and more.
• Dermatology: These visits can cost up to $95 and offer care for warts, eczema, and other skin, hair, and nail issues.

MDLIVE accepts insurance plans from Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and Independence, plus some Medicaid and Medicare plans. You also can use a flexible spending account (FSA) or a health savings account (HSA) to pay for your visit.

While MDLIVE is a great option, it does not offer a subscription plan or free consultations. However, you may be able to find a discount code online.

Best for Pregnancy : Maven

• Price: Starts at $20 per appointment
• Accepts Insurance : No
• Platform: Web browser and app

Maven is our top choice for pregnant people because of its affordable cost and comprehensive care. With medical experts from more than 30 different specialties, Maven is a great option for those who wish to become parents, as well as expectant and postpartum parents.

Focuses on family planning services and pregnancy care

Experts from 30+ different specialties

Offers care in over 35 different languages

Supports LGBTQ+ community

Flexible app platform for on-the-go appointments 

Features large resource library

Doesn't accept insurance 

No live chat customer service

No refunds for day-of cancellations

Maven is a great option for expectant parents due to its wide range of specialty care, affordable costs, and easy-to-navigate platforms. The telehealth service employs fertility specialists, certified sleep coaches, nutritionists, midwives, and more. From prenatal care to labor and delivery to postpartum support, Maven provides pregnant people and their families with the help they need.

It’s important to note that Maven is not a replacement for your in-person OB-GYN or primary care provider. Rather, it’s a great way to receive care quickly and more efficiently from home as a supplement to in-person appointments. Maven provides you with a care advocate that can help you find an in-person provider when needed.

Signing up for an account with Maven is as easy as creating a username and answering a few simple questions. You can browse the available specialists and choose which type of provider you need—or let Maven match you with the right doctor. From there, you can book an appointment at a time that works best for you.

Maven’s pricing varies depending on the type of care needed and the provider’s level of experience. Maven calls shorter visits “education-only appointments” because you can get answers to general questions but can’t receive a diagnosis, treatment, or medication. Appointments allowing treatment and medication are available with Maven providers who are licensed in your state.

• Doulas, lactation consultants, nutritionists, and physical therapists: A video appointment with any of these specialists costs around $25 for a 20-minute appointment.
• Nurse practitioners and midwives: These services cost $20 for 10-minute video appointments.
• Physicians (OB/GYNS, pediatricians, etc.): Video appointments with any of these healthcare providers cost $40 for a 10-minute session.
• Reproductive endocrinologists: A video call with a reproductive endocrinologist costs $75 for a 15-minute appointment.
• Psychiatric nurse practitioners: This type of visit costs $90 for a 30-minute video call. 
• Mental health providers: For your first week only, 10-minute video calls cost $20. Then, 40-minute appointments cost $70 with master's-level therapists and $120 with doctorate-level therapists.
• Coaches: Video calls with coaches cost $50 per 30-minute session. 

Unfortunately, insurance isn't accepted. However, some employers offer Maven as part of their benefits packages. You can also use HSA and FSA funds to pay for your visits.

Best for the LGBTQ+ Community : Folx Health

• Price: Starts at $59 per visit
• Accepts Insurance: No
• Platform: Web browser

As the first transgender-specific telehealth platform, Folx Health offers care to LGBTQ+ individuals in a compassionate and supportive manner. The service offers care for sexual well-being, family planning, and hormone replacement therapy.

Subscriptions for hormone replacement therapy

Includes a virtual library of supportive resources

Staffed by expert clinicians who specialize in LGBTQ+ care

Provides one-on-one consultations

Currently available in only 38 states and D.C.

Does not accept insurance

Can only treat people over 18

Launched in December 2020, this up-and-coming service provides a safe and supportive platform exclusively for the LGBTQ+ community. Folx Health's model focuses on giving you control of your health and wellness—and the freedom to access expert care, no matter where you are. Folx Health helps patients with fertility, gender consultation, nutrition, sex, and more, plus it supplies medication for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), erectile dysfunction (ED) meds, estrogen, and testosterone.

To get started, you can either customize a subscription plan based on your needs or schedule a one-time visit with an experienced provider. Although Folx is available in only 38 states and Washington, D.C., its services and locations continue to expand. Folx doesn’t accept insurance, as it wants the costs to be as transparent as possible; however, you can choose to pay with an FSA/HSA card.

Primary care visits cost $59, while the price of prescription plans varies depending on the type of medication.

• Clinician visit: Online doctor visits for the LGBTQ+ community cost $59 per visit.
• Estrogen subscription plans: The New Start/Restart plan for estrogen costs $119 a month and is for anyone who has been on hormone replacement therapy for less than one year. The maintenance plan costs $59 per month and is meant for those in their second year or more of HRT. Both plans include automatic refills, lab testing, free shipping, virtual visits, and expert consultation.
• Testosterone subscription plans: The New Start/Restart plan for testosterone costs $139 per month, while the maintenance plan costs $89 per month. These plans have the same perks as the estrogen plan.
• PrEP plan: This pre-exposure prophylaxis plan includes a three-month supply of daily HIV prevention pills for $90 a month.

Best for Pediatric Care : Blueberry Pediatrics

• Price: $15 to $20 per month, plus cost of medical kit
• Platform: Web browser, phone, text, and app

Blueberry Pediatrics has affordable memberships, board-certified pediatric doctors, and 24/7 availability—even on holidays. 

24/7 access to board-certified pediatricians

Visits take 15 minutes or less

Can prescribe medication and order labs

Text option for support any time of day

Memberships include at-home medical kit

Doesn't accept insurance

One-time $100 fee to purchase a medical kit

Can provide care in only 18 states

Blueberry Pediatrics is a telehealth service that provides comprehensive pediatric care to children younger than 21 years old. The company has board-certified pediatricians available 24/7 via web browser, phone, or app, plus its memberships come with at-home medical kits that include an ear infection kit, finger pulse oximeter, and digital oral thermometer for accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Memberships include all children in your family at no additional cost, and there are no limits on how many times you can message the team. With 24/7 text support, you can ask the Blueberry Pediatrics team medical questions and receive a response within minutes. The staff can prescribe medications and send them to a pharmacy of your choice, and send medical information to your primary pediatrician to keep records up to date.

The website and app are both very easy to use. After answering a few questions about your child's symptoms, you'll be connected with a pediatrician in a matter of minutes. Blueberry Pediatrics serves 18 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. 

Blueberry Pediatrics offers a monthly and an annual membership plan; you'll save money if you choose the annual plan.

• Monthly membership: This costs $20 a month for 24/7 access to board-certified pediatricians. When you sign up, you’ll also pay a one-time fee of $100 for the medical kit.
• Annual membership: At $180, the annual membership saves you $60 each year compared to the monthly plan. This membership also requires a one-time fee of $100 for the medical kit.

Because of its already low-cost membership, Blueberry Pediatrics doesn't accept insurance. You can, however, pay using an HSA or FSA card.

Best for Psychiatry : Teladoc

• Price: Therapy $0 to $99, psychiatry $0 to $299, medical care $0 to $75
• Accepts Insurance : Yes
• Platform: Web browser, phone, and app

Whether you need therapy or psychiatric services, Teladoc offers convenient access to board-certified physicians who specialize in a variety of mental health conditions. Plus, the app makes scheduling easy with click-to-talk capabilities on your phone.

Offers appointments seven days a week

All therapists and psychiatrists are licensed

Option to choose which doctor you'd like to see

Medication management provided for some conditions

Available in the US, Canada, and internationally

No subscription plans or packages available

Doesn’t offer couples, group, or family therapy

Psychiatric services can be expensive without insurance

Teladoc provides a quick and easy option for psychiatric services, whether you need therapy or medication management. Focusing on a whole-body approach to care, Teladoc offers comprehensive mental health services from board-certified doctors seven days a week. It also offers primary care, dermatology, and nutrition services.

To create your account, enter standard information, such as your name, birthdate, and ZIP code. Next, you’ll be prompted to enter any insurance information, which will help give you a general idea of the cost. Once registered, you can search for a doctor and schedule an appointment right from your phone.

Teladoc's pricing isn't as accessible as other platforms, mainly due to its customized approach. Here are the price ranges available on the site:

• Therapy session: Appointments can cost between $0 and $99, depending on what your insurance covers.
• Psychiatric visit: Your first visit can range from $0 to $299 and follow-up appointments cost up to $119.
• Medical care: General medical services cost between $0 and $75 per appointment, depending on insurance.

Teladoc accepts insurance, including some Medicare Advantage plans, but you must set up an account to view specific coverage options. It doesn't offer subscription plans or free consults.

Best for Comprehensive Care : Doctor On Demand

Doctor on Demand

• Price: Medical care $75 per visit, mental health care $129 to $299 per visit

Doctor On Demand provides care for a broad assortment of issues. Patients can use the service for mental health care, preventive care, urgent care, chronic issues, and more. As well, coverage is available for both adults and children.

24/7 access to medical and mental health care

Offers medication management

Accepts many insurance plans

Services offered to adults and children

No subscription plans or discounts

Therapy availability varies by state

Can be expensive without insurance coverage

Doctor On Demand has been providing excellent service to patients around the country since 2013. The company offers a comprehensive lineup of services including urgent care, mental health, preventive health, and chronic care. From weight management to acute illness and stress, you'll find everything you need on one platform.

Doctor On Demand makes scheduling simple through its app and web portal, and it has appointments available within minutes. In the web portal, you can schedule with a certain provider or select the next available appointment. The app is user-friendly and walks you through the entire process from initial account creation to insurance and scheduling. Plus, you're able to check your coverage before scheduling a visit.

Doctor on Demand’s pricing varies based on the type of appointment and your benefits.

• Medical care: $75 for a 15-minute appointment
• Psychology: $129 for a 25-minute therapy sessions; $179 for a 50-minute session 
• Psychiatry: $299 for initial 25-minute consultation; $129 for 15-minute follow-up sessions

One plus of going through a service like Doctor On Demand is that you can use your insurance benefits. The company accepts a long list of commercial health plans as well as some Medicare plans. If you need comprehensive treatment in a hurry, this telehealth service has you covered.

Best for Flexible Care Options : Sesame

• Price: Varies depending on location and provider
• Accepts Insurance: No for appointments; yes for medication

With thousands of doctors available, Sesame is perfect for those seeking flexible, affordable care. It offers a wide variety of services, including dental care, skin consultations, therapy, sexual health care, and more.

Easily view available physicians, wait times, and costs

Works with doctors across more than 80 specialties

Optional cost-saving monthly membership available

Affordable prices without insurance

Accepts HSA and FSA payments

In-person clinics only available in some states

Insurance coverage only for medication

Must pay for appointment at the time of booking

Sesame was founded in 2018, and it offers affordable care to those with or without insurance across the country. As a superstore for health care, the telehealth service provides flexible care both virtually and in-person with experts specializing in more than 80 conditions. You can find providers for urgent care, prescription refills, mental health support, dermatology , dental care, and more.

The website is easy to navigate and up-to-date. Sesame has in-person services in some states, but its virtual appointments (usually video calls) are what the company is known for. To see available providers near you, simply select your location in the upper-righthand corner. From there, it's simple to select whether you're looking for in-person, telehealth, or prescription services. Everything from basic scheduling to prescription refills is available through its platform.

Sesame’s pricing varies depending on your needs and chosen provider. Costs are reasonable and outlined clearly on the website and app, which makes it easy to find exactly what you're looking for. To save money on the already affordable service, a Sesame Plus membership costs $11 per month and includes a free annual lab test and discounts on select medical services. However, you don’t need to be a member to use Sesame.

Sesame doesn't accept insurance, but users are able to view pricing for each board-certified physician before booking an appointment with them. If you're looking for high-quality, flexible care, Sesame is a great choice.

Best for the Uninsured : HealthTap

• Price: $99 per visit (or copay); $15 monthly memberships for $44 primary care visits and $59 urgent care visits (or copay)

Offering primary and urgent care with upfront pricing, HealthTap is a great choice for those looking for affordable telehealth appointments. It has a monthly subscription option that includes exclusive discounts and perks, making it a cost-saving option for those without insurance.

Has upfront pricing

Membership includes Talkspace discount

Can have the same primary care doctor for every visit

Features a free library with physician-answered questions

Prescription costs not included with membership

Doesn’t offer mental health care

Founded in 2010, HealthTap offers low-cost appointments for people without insurance. The telehealth service provides 24/7 urgent and primary care to children and adults via text or video. The board-certified doctors can diagnose, prescribe medication, order lab tests, and give referral recommendations.

HealthTap's app is extremely user-friendly, allowing you to easily book appointments, request refills, contact your doctor, and message other members of your care team—all through your smartphone. It even features a free library of questions from other patients and answers from its community of doctors, so you can learn more about topics outside of appointments.

HealthTap has two membership options:

• HealthTap Prime: For $15 a month, this subscription membership offers primary care appointments for $44 per visit (or your insurance copay) and urgent care appointments for $59 per visit (or your insurance copay). This plan includes 24/7 access to on-demand care, $100 off online therapy visits with Talkspace, your choice of primary care doctor, and more. 
• HealthTap Basic: This plan doesn’t have a monthly fee. Visits are $99 each (or your insurance copay). 

HealthTap accepts more than 100 insurance plans including Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and Cigna, plus HSA and FSA funds. With affordable appointments for children and adults, HealthTap is a great choice for those without insurance.

Best for Affordable Care : LiveHealth Online

• Price: Medical and allergy appointments up to $59 per visit, psychology sessions up to $95, psychiatry visits $75 to $175
• Platform: Web browser or app

LiveHealth Online offers telehealth appointments for medical, allergy, psychology, and psychiatry care, with medical visits averaging at just $59—no subscription required. Plus, it accepts several insurance plans.

Affordable appointments

No monthly fees

You choose your doctor

Provides care for children

24/7 access to medical and allergy care

No live chat support on the website

Health care doesn’t come cheap, but, luckily, LiveHealth Online offers inexpensive care for those with or without insurance. It’s free to sign up, doesn’t have any subscription fees, and you know the price of the visit before you commit to an appointment. LiveHealth Online has four types of services: medical, allergy, psychology, and psychiatry.

The website is basic and straightforward. It features an easy sign-up form that asks for only essential information like your name, email, and password. After you sign up, you can scroll through available board-certified doctors and view their ratings to help you choose one that fits your needs. Unfortunately, there isn't a live chat option on the website, so if you have any questions, you have to reach out via email or telephone.

LiveHealth Online has four different services and its pricing depends on your type of care and insurance coverage. You easily can see what your appointment will cost on the company’s website.

• Medical: Medical appointments cost $59 without insurance and might cost less if your health plan is in-network.
• Allergy: Rates are the same as for medical appointments.
• Psychology: Without insurance, therapist visits are $80 and psychologist visits are $95. They might cost less if you have insurance.
• Psychiatry: Your first appointment is $175. Follow-up sessions are $75 without insurance. They might cost less if you have insurance.

LiveHealth Online doesn't offer any free services, consultations, memberships, or subscriptions. Its upfront pricing makes it an affordable choice for those in need of quick solutions for ailments like pink eye, rashes, or tooth pain . Though somewhat basic, LiveHealth Online is extremely budget-friendly.

Best Medication Refills : PlushCare

• Price: $15 per month or $99 per year, plus $129 for the first visit and $69 for all repeat visits or insurance copay

As a PlushCare member, you can see a board-certified doctor and get medication refills sent to your pharmacy in as little as 15 minutes. The company offers a variety of services, but its quick online prescriptions are the cream of the crop.

Same-day appointments available in just 15 minutes

Hires doctors from top U.S. medical institutions

Accepts insurance and HSA/FSA payments

Offers four different types of care

Must pay a membership fee to use

Cost is higher than other telehealth options

Since 2015, PlushCare has been a leading provider of telemedicine in the United States. Its services are available 24/7 and include primary care, urgent care, mental health, and therapy. With affordable pricing and low wait times, PlushCare makes it easy to get medication refills on prescriptions—like birth control, antidepressants, and diabetes medications—sent to your local pharmacy.

Before ever creating an account, you can find available doctors and appointment times on PlushCare’s website and mobile app. You can view a physician's background, ratings, and reviews—and then make your selection. Once you become a member, getting started is easy; just enter the requested information into the form and book an appointment.

PlushCare has two membership options:

• Monthly: Monthly membership is $15 a month. The first visit costs $129 with follow-up appointments costing $69, if not insured, or your insurance copay.
• Annual: For $99 a year, this membership is the best value. Appointment fees are the same, but you save $81 in membership fees.

While the membership fee may be a drawback to some, the ease of getting medication refills sent quickly can be worth it. As a bonus, memberships include unlimited messaging with your online care team as well as same-day appointment options.

Best Nutritionist : Tepper Nutrition

• Price: $170 to $220 for the initial appointment

The registered dietitians at Tepper Nutrition use an overall lifestyle approach for each client, whether you have food allergies, sensitivities, or other chronic conditions that can be improved through nutrition, or just want to develop a more positive relationship with food and eating.

Has sliding scale rates

Consultations available Monday through Friday

Offers retreats, workshops, and nutrition courses

Weight-neutral, anti-diet values

In-person consultations only available in Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Virtual consultations only available in 13 states and D.C.

Tepper Nutrition offers one-on-one nutrition therapy and coaching to those facing a wide range of concerns, including eating disorders, Crohn’s disease, IBS, high cholesterol, allergies, celiac disease, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, PCOS, and more, plus services for pediatric, prenatal, and postpartum nutrition. The practice teaches clients to create lifestyle changes using non-diet, weight-inclusive Health At Every Size® principles.

Depending on your location and preferences, you will meet with your dietitian either in person or virtually. There are two clinics in the state of Virginia (located in Alexandria and Leesburg) and one in Washington, D.C. The practice also offers telemedicine appointments to clients who live in those two areas and in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. 

Price is per session:

• An initial 60-minute consultation costs $195 out of pocket. Your provider will ask questions about your medical history, lifestyle, sleep habits, stress level, daily schedule, what you tend to eat, and other factors that may contribute to your current concerns.
• 90-minute follow-up sessions are $160. Sliding scale payment plans are available to some clients on a case-by-case basis. The company can provide a superbill to submit to your insurer for out-of-network coverage.

Tepper Nutrition also offers a weight-inclusive, self-guided intuitive eating program, Beyond the Fork ($349–$499), as well as occasional yoga retreats and nutrition workshops at varying prices.

Overall, MDLIVE stands out thanks to its affordability and user-friendly features. Book a virtual appointment with a board-certified doctor within minutes of signing up—no matter what time it is. Plus, you can get prescriptions sent directly to your local pharmacy, use insurance, and pay with FSA/HSA funds. In addition, the customer support team is available 24/7 to handle any issues along the way.

Compare the Best Online Doctors

Guide for choosing the best online doctor, what is an online doctor.

An online doctor can be thought of as a modern take on the traditional general practitioner (GP). Online doctors aren't a replacement for your in-person primary care physician (PCP), but they are a smart solution for individuals and families to have flexible urgent, medical, and mental health care readily available via a computer, phone, or app.

Is an Online Doctor Right for You? 

Online doctors are a convenient option when you need flexible care. Since virtual appointments are conducted via the internet, you can book visits at any time of day—plus, you don't have to leave your couch for your appointment. Many online doctors can prescribe medication, order lab work, and provide referrals.

While virtual appointments may be appropriate for mild illness or injury, not every condition qualifies for online care. Seek emergency assistance at the nearest hospital if you're experiencing chest pain, seizures, difficulty breathing, or suicidal ideation.

Comparing Online Doctors

Not every online doctor offers the same services. Do your research before choosing a virtual doctor and consider your preferences carefully. Some factors to weigh include:

• Cost: Telehealth costs vary greatly, so it's important to understand the pricing structure and fees of your chosen online doctor.
• Services: Some virtual clinics offer only urgent care, while others provide ongoing primary care and mental health support.
• Insurance: Many online doctors accept some insurance plans. If you plan to use insurance, you'll want to ensure your chosen online doctor accepts your plan first.
• Availability in your state: Availability varies by provider and state. Check the website of your chosen doctor to understand which locations they serve. It's especially important to research location availability if you're seeking mental health services.
• Platforms: Web browsers and apps are the most popular ways to connect with online doctors, but some providers offer services via phone calls or texting. Know what type of device you plan to use and check that your preferred online doctor supports it.
• Discounts or cost-saving options: Discount codes, membership plans, subscriptions, and free consultations can help you save money—especially if you don't have insurance.
• Reviews from other patients: Hearing firsthand experiences from other patients provides valuable insight into whether or not your needs will be met by your chosen online doctor.
• FSA/HSA: Having the ability to pay using a flexible spending account or a health savings account could help lower costs. Check to make sure they accept these forms of payment if you plan to use them.

Scheduling an Appointment with an Online Doctor

Once you've chosen an online doctor service, you'll likely be asked to create an account before booking an appointment. This helps keep your medical information in a safe, secure, and organized location for you and your provider.

Once your account is set up, you should be able to choose an available provider and time based on your preference. If you're new to online care, it may be helpful to speak to a representative via online chat or phone. If your chosen online doctor accepts insurance, you'll input this information to give you a better idea of the cost before booking an appointment.

Some common questions you may be asked:

• Personal Medical History
• Current medications
• Family history
• Reason for visit

Most platforms are user-friendly; however, if you're not sure how to book an appointment, you can call the number provided on the contact page for assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different types of online doctors.

There are a variety of online doctors who provide a range of services. Many offer acute care for mild symptoms or illnesses, while others specialize in managing chronic diseases and promoting wellness. There also are some providers who offer only urgent care. You'll find board-certified physicians, OB-GYNs, pediatricians, and even mental health therapists and psychiatrists among online doctors.

What Are the Benefits of Using an Online Doctor?

Using online doctors ensures convenience, flexibility, and privacy. They also offer quick and easy access to care, allowing you to see a medical professional and get the help you or your family needs quicker than most in-person clinics.

When Should You Not See an Online Doctor?

Online doctors aren't meant for emergency visits. If you're having a medical emergency such as chest pain or difficulty breathing, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.

Can Online Doctors Prescribe Medication?

Yes. Many online doctors prescribe medications to treat mild to moderate medical conditions, but they can’t prescribe controlled substances, such as opioids (codeine, morphine, Oxycontin), sedatives (Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata), stimulants (Adderall, Concerta, Ritalin, Vyvanse), and certain anxiety medications (Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, Xanax). Depending on the provider, they may prescribe antibiotics, birth control, antidepressants, or other prescriptions.

What Do I Do If I See an Online Doctor And Need a Lab Test?

Many online providers partner with local labs that offer convenient appointment times, locations, and results. However, most lab services are an additional cost—unless otherwise noted. Still, some online doctors don't have the capability of ordering these tests.

We looked at dozens of online doctors to determine which ones offer all-encompassing features at affordable prices. Our primary focus was on cost, payment options, insurance, appointment scheduling, and convenience. We also took consumer reviews into consideration to determine how user-friendly the platform is, as well as overall satisfaction scores.

Lastly, we considered which providers offered more than the traditional online doctor services. Those with 24/7 availability, prescription drug options, and even lab tests were highly regarded. In the end, we based our rankings on the total value provided by each online doctor platform.

Maskot / Getty Images

Koma W. Medicare and telehealth: coverage and use during the COVID-19 pandemic and options for the future . Kaiser Family Foundation.

Center for Connected Health Policy. Compare state policies .

By Lindsay Modglin Lindsay is a nurse-turned professional health and wellness writer with 9+ years of clinical healthcare experience.

Online doctor chat Available 24/7

Connect with a board-certified physician anytime, anywhere using our app. With Your Doctors Online, you can get online doctor consultations with an experienced doctor within minutes from the comfort of your home.

Join our 500,000+ members, and receive virtual urgent care today.

FEATURED IN

At Your Doctors Online , we aim to provide affordable and easily accessible virtual health-care for you and your family round the clock with the help of our board-certified online doctors .

We believe that everyone in the world should have the ability to connect with an experienced virtual doctor.

Doctor chat 24/7

A holistic approach to healthcare with online doctors available round the clock at your fingertips.

Sexual health support

Feel confident with trusted advice from a board-certified OB/GYN on your sexual health issues.

Audio/video chat

Ask your medical queries from a medical expert via text, audio or video consultations.

E-prescriptions

Within minutes, get your prescriptions or refills sent to your local pharmacy.

Medical reminders

Take your daily medications on time and never miss a dose with our reminders.

Record medical history

All your consultations, prescriptions and sick notes are saved in your personal medical history record for you to review anytime.

How it works?

Consult with an urgent care provider in 3 easy steps

Describe your issue

Download our app, register and tell us about your medical issue to get started.

• Sexual Health

Chat with a doctor

Connect with a board-certified doctor. You can chat, send pictures and videos.

Hi I’m Dr. Nicole. How may I help you?

Get a prescription

Our online doctors can help you with your medical issues and give you prescriptions.

Prescription

• Azithromycin 250mg, two tablets on day 1 and then one tablet for the next 4 days.
• Benzydamine HCl Gargles 0.15% solution, thrice daily for 7 days.

Send Prescription

UTI ruined her romantic trip

Maya was visiting her boyfriend in the US, but a Urine Tract Infection ruined her romantic getaway. Your Doctors Online connected her to an online family doctor, and she was able to get a prescription sent to her local pharmacy within minutes.

Infertility caused her stress

Cara tried to conceive for more than a year but to no avail. Not knowing the cause of infertility was stressing her. Our OB-GYN diagnosed her with a uterine fibroid and started her treatment. She was able to conceive the following year.

Worried about her daughter's water allergy

Anna’s 2-year-old daughter Lizzy was allergic to water, but couldn’t understand the cause of her daughter's declining health condition. With the help of our online doctor, not only did she get the right diagnosis but also managed her daughter’s rare allergic condition- Aquagenic urticaria.

Talk to our online doctors for medical advice

“I believe in educating patients to prepare them for the right questions to ask when seeing their family practitioner or the emergency doctor. Your Doctors Online allows me to do just that.”

Dr. Kate Killoran

Dr. Mandy Liedeman

Family Medicine

Dr. Asim Cheema

Internal Medicine

Dr. Richard Honaker

How our doctors help our patients online

Accessing quality healthcare without waiting hours is easy with Your Doctors Online. Our dedicated team of professionals is committed to providing affordable, high-quality telehealth services round the clock. Skip the hassle of travel and long waits at walk-in clinics with our user-friendly application, designed to streamline your healthcare experience.

We are HIPAA-compliant and strictly maintain patient-doctor confidentiality. From common cold to infections and allergies, you can get treatment for your medical condition swiftly. 

Our doctors can treat a number of medical conditions

Get urgent care and non-emergency care without waiting time. Consult directly with professional doctors.

Skin irritants

Fertility health

Cold and flu

Stomach ache

Sore throat

Urinary tract infections

How our app has helped patients

Our 500,000+ members love our online doctors 5-star ratings and 1600+ reviews. Here is what they have to say

Get started today

Talk to online doctors now and get medical advice, online prescriptions, and referrals within minutes. On-demand healthcare services at your fingertips.

Bacterial Vaginosis

Yeast Infection

Skin Irritants  

Strep Throat

All Conditions 

Medications

Azithromycin  

Clindamycin

Amoxicillin

Doxycycline

Finasteride

All Medications

Nova Scotia  

British Columbia

All Locations

Follow us on Social Media :

1055 Canadian Place, Suite #112, Toronto, ON, L4W 0C2

[email protected]

• 833-528-7672
• Español
• Find a Doctor
• Find a Location
• Sign in to Live Well
• Virtual visits

Get virtual care for minor health concerns.

Virtual visits: your access to care anytime, anywhere

When you’re not feeling well, sometimes you might be too sick to leave the house. That’s why we offer virtual visits so you can get care without driving to your provider’s office or a clinic.

Quick Care Video Visits

• For kids 2+ and adults
• Available 24/7 – meet with the next available provider
• We’ll bill you or your insurance

Learn more about this visit

Video visits with your provider

• For kids and adults
• Often available by appointment with members of your care team
• We'll bill your insurance
• For kids 2-11 and adults
• Available 24/7 – use Symptom Checker to see if you’re eligible

Things to know about virtual visits

What are virtual visits.

Virtual visits are a convenient way to receive health care from a provider anytime, anywhere. Just like an in-person visit, you can chat with a provider about your symptoms to receive a diagnosis and treatment plan. With virtual visits, you can get access to this care on your mobile device or computer rather than driving to your provider’s office or a clinic.

What types of care can I get using virtual visits?

You can call your provider’s office to see if a video visit during office hours is appropriate for your situation. Some appointments, like wellness exams, need to be in person.

With Quick Care Video Visits, you can get care from the next available provider 24/7 for minor illnesses such as cold, sinus infection or the flu.

Not sure which virtual visit is right for you? Use Symptom Checker to help you find care based on your symptoms. Your options may include an e-visit, where you’ll fill out a questionnaire and get an email response from a provider within an hour.

What are the benefits of virtual visits?

The biggest benefit of virtual visits is there’s no need to leave the house when you’re not feeling well. You can answer a few questions about your health, then get a diagnosis and treatment plan from a provider at a time that’s convenient for you.

Who can use virtual visits?

Almost everyone in your family can use virtual visits. If you’re 18 or older and physically located in Illinois, Wisconsin or Michigan, you can request a video visit. You also can request video visits for kids ages 2-17 if you’re their legally authorized representative.

Since children younger than 2 years old need to be seen by their own provider, you can ask your child’s pediatrician about scheduling a video visit or an in-person appointment.

Are virtual visits safe?

We take measures to protect your health information whether your seek virtual or in-person care. Video visits, powered by Zoom, feature telehealth security measures such as meeting IDs and visit verifications to ensure only you and the provider have access to your visit. We also keep your personal information safe when you’re recommended an e-visit when using Symptom Checker.

Can I use video visits if I think I have COVID?

Yes, you can use virtual visits if you think you’re experiencing COVID symptoms. Just hop on a Quick Care Video Visit for 24-hour care with the next available provider to discuss your symptoms and testing options. Or contact your primary care provider to see if you can schedule a same day in person or video visit.

If you’ve tested positive for COVID, use Symptom Checker to find the right type of visit for you. You may be able to complete an e-visit questionnaire for treatment options.

How do I start a virtual visit?

Our telehealth visits start in LiveWell . Learn how to begin a video visit or find the right type of care based on your symptoms with Symptom Checker.

Don’t have an account yet? Set up a LiveWell account now.

Urgent care virtual visits when and where you need them

When you can’t pencil in an appointment

Minor health concerns are inconvenient – and when life gets busy, visiting an immediate or urgent care can be, too. With Quick Care Video Visits , you can see a provider any time and from anywhere, 24/7.

When you want comfort in a familiar face

A little reassurance from the care team you know and trust can go a long way. Video visits with your provider are just like office visits – minus the trip.

When you need the right visit, right now

Symptom Checker can help you find the right type of care based on your symptoms. From 24/7 e-visits and Quick Care Video Visits to in-person urgent care, we’ll recommend the best visit for you.

Still need a LiveWell account?

Download the LiveWell app and create an account in one easy step! You’ll find more ways to live well on the go – message your primary care provider, get test results, practice guided meditation and more.

Learn more about LiveWell and its features .

Create your LiveWell account

• Telehealth video visits
• About online doctor visits
• How do video visits work
• About Telehealth privacy & security
• When to use Telehealth

Thanks for visiting! GoodRx is not available outside of the United States. If you are trying to access this site from the United States and believe you have received this message in error, please reach out to [email protected] and let us know.

You can use My Free Doctor without signing up

However, the data you enter will be tied to this device only. In case you change devices or reinstall My Free Doctor, you may not be able to access the data you have entered. You can sign up at any time – just go to Profile, and click Sign up.

Before you join Before you proceed

We aspire to make healthcare accessible, reliable and less complicated for everyone.

Please accept our  Terms & Conditions  to continue

Use of My Free Doctor is subject to the Privacy policy

Sign in to My Free Doctor for Patients

• Continue with email

Create an account to connect with top specialists online

Verify your email.

• Enter verification code

Please check your email

Set a password.

Please choose a password for your account with email 

• Password Use at least 8-characters
• Repeat password

Sign in to your account

Please enter your password for

Forgot password?

Enter your email and we will send you a code to reset your password

Reset password

An email containing the passcode has been sent to   Send again

• New password Use at least 8-characters

Welcome back!

Change language.

My Free Doctor is also available in...

You have already created an account using password

You have already created an account using Google

You have already created an account using Facebook

You have already created an account using Apple

Profile info

Please, enter details to set up your account

Update your My Free Doctor account

Please update your contact information. We will send you an SMS or email when an appointment is changed

• Phone number Afghanistan +93 Albania +355 Algeria +213 Andorra +376 Angola +244 Argentina +54 Armenia +374 Aruba +297 Ascension Island +247 Australia +61 Austria +43 Azerbaijan +994 Bahrain +973 Bangladesh +880 Belarus +375 Belgium +32 Belize +501 Benin +229 Bhutan +975 Bolivia +591 Bosnia & Herzegovina +387 Botswana +267 Brazil +55 British Indian Ocean Territory +246 Brunei +673 Bulgaria +359 Burkina Faso +226 Burundi +257 Cambodia +855 Cameroon +237 Cape Verde +238 Caribbean Netherlands +599 Central African Republic +236 Chad +235 Chile +56 China +86 Colombia +57 Comoros +269 Congo - Brazzaville +242 Congo - Kinshasa +243 Cook Islands +682 Costa Rica +506 Côte d’Ivoire +225 Croatia +385 Cuba +53 Cyprus +357 Czechia +420 Denmark +45 Djibouti +253 Ecuador +593 Egypt +20 El Salvador +503 Equatorial Guinea +240 Eritrea +291 Estonia +372 Eswatini +268 Ethiopia +251 Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) +500 Faroe Islands +298 Fiji +679 Finland +358 France +33 French Guiana +594 French Polynesia +689 Gabon +241 Gambia +220 Georgia +995 Germany +49 Ghana +233 Gibraltar +350 Greece +30 Greenland +299 Guadeloupe +590 Guatemala +502 Guinea +224 Guinea-Bissau +245 Guyana +592 Haiti +509 Honduras +504 Hong Kong +852 Hungary +36 Iceland +354 India +91 Indonesia +62 Iran +98 Iraq +964 Ireland +353 Israel +972 Italy +39 Japan +81 Jordan +962 Kenya +254 Kiribati +686 Kosovo +383 Kuwait +965 Kyrgyzstan +996 Laos +856 Latvia +371 Lebanon +961 Lesotho +266 Liberia +231 Libya +218 Liechtenstein +423 Lithuania +370 Luxembourg +352 Macao +853 Madagascar +261 Malawi +265 Malaysia +60 Maldives +960 Mali +223 Malta +356 Marshall Islands +692 Martinique +596 Mauritania +222 Mauritius +230 Mexico +52 Micronesia +691 Moldova +373 Monaco +377 Mongolia +976 Montenegro +382 Morocco +212 Mozambique +258 Myanmar (Burma) +95 Namibia +264 Nauru +674 Nepal +977 Netherlands +31 New Caledonia +687 New Zealand +64 Nicaragua +505 Niger +227 Nigeria +234 Niue +683 Norfolk Island +672 North Korea +850 North Macedonia +389 Norway +47 Oman +968 Pakistan +92 Palau +680 Palestine +970 Panama +507 Papua New Guinea +675 Paraguay +595 Peru +51 Philippines +63 Poland +48 Portugal +351 Qatar +974 Réunion +262 Romania +40 Russia +7 Rwanda +250 Samoa +685 San Marino +378 São Tomé & Príncipe +239 Saudi Arabia +966 Senegal +221 Serbia +381 Seychelles +248 Sierra Leone +232 Singapore +65 Slovakia +421 Slovenia +386 Solomon Islands +677 Somalia +252 South Africa +27 South Korea +82 South Sudan +211 Spain +34 Sri Lanka +94 St. Helena +290 St. Pierre & Miquelon +508 Sudan +249 Suriname +597 Sweden +46 Switzerland +41 Syria +963 Taiwan +886 Tajikistan +992 Tanzania +255 Thailand +66 Timor-Leste +670 Togo +228 Tokelau +690 Tonga +676 Tunisia +216 Turkey +90 Turkmenistan +993 Tuvalu +688 Uganda +256 Ukraine +380 United Arab Emirates +971 United Kingdom +44 United States +1 Uruguay +598 Uzbekistan +998 Vanuatu +678 Venezuela +58 Vietnam +84 Wallis & Futuna +681 Yemen +967 Zambia +260 Zimbabwe +263
• Date of birth
• I am sick I have symptoms of illness
• I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
• Send me updates and the MyFreeDoctor Newsletter

Sign in to setup two-factor authentication

Sign in to turn-off two-factor authentication, sign in to revoke all your devices, set up two-factor authentication.

with an Authentication app

• Download an authentication app like Google Authenticator
• Scan the QR code or Enter the key above in the authentication app. If the app asks for account name you can use "My Free Doctor"
• Once the authentication app will generate its own 6-digit code, come back to My Free Doctor and enter it

Enter login code

Enter the 6-digit login code generated by your authentication app

• Don't ask again on this device

Two-factor authentication is on

Enter your phone number.

Every time when you log in to My Free Doctor we will send a login code to your phone number

• Afghanistan +93 Albania +355 Algeria +213 Andorra +376 Angola +244 Argentina +54 Armenia +374 Aruba +297 Ascension Island +247 Australia +61 Austria +43 Azerbaijan +994 Bahrain +973 Bangladesh +880 Belarus +375 Belgium +32 Belize +501 Benin +229 Bhutan +975 Bolivia +591 Bosnia & Herzegovina +387 Botswana +267 Brazil +55 British Indian Ocean Territory +246 Brunei +673 Bulgaria +359 Burkina Faso +226 Burundi +257 Cambodia +855 Cameroon +237 Cape Verde +238 Caribbean Netherlands +599 Central African Republic +236 Chad +235 Chile +56 China +86 Colombia +57 Comoros +269 Congo - Brazzaville +242 Congo - Kinshasa +243 Cook Islands +682 Costa Rica +506 Côte d’Ivoire +225 Croatia +385 Cuba +53 Cyprus +357 Czechia +420 Denmark +45 Djibouti +253 Ecuador +593 Egypt +20 El Salvador +503 Equatorial Guinea +240 Eritrea +291 Estonia +372 Eswatini +268 Ethiopia +251 Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) +500 Faroe Islands +298 Fiji +679 Finland +358 France +33 French Guiana +594 French Polynesia +689 Gabon +241 Gambia +220 Georgia +995 Germany +49 Ghana +233 Gibraltar +350 Greece +30 Greenland +299 Guadeloupe +590 Guatemala +502 Guinea +224 Guinea-Bissau +245 Guyana +592 Haiti +509 Honduras +504 Hong Kong +852 Hungary +36 Iceland +354 India +91 Indonesia +62 Iran +98 Iraq +964 Ireland +353 Israel +972 Italy +39 Japan +81 Jordan +962 Kenya +254 Kiribati +686 Kosovo +383 Kuwait +965 Kyrgyzstan +996 Laos +856 Latvia +371 Lebanon +961 Lesotho +266 Liberia +231 Libya +218 Liechtenstein +423 Lithuania +370 Luxembourg +352 Macao +853 Madagascar +261 Malawi +265 Malaysia +60 Maldives +960 Mali +223 Malta +356 Marshall Islands +692 Martinique +596 Mauritania +222 Mauritius +230 Mexico +52 Micronesia +691 Moldova +373 Monaco +377 Mongolia +976 Montenegro +382 Morocco +212 Mozambique +258 Myanmar (Burma) +95 Namibia +264 Nauru +674 Nepal +977 Netherlands +31 New Caledonia +687 New Zealand +64 Nicaragua +505 Niger +227 Nigeria +234 Niue +683 Norfolk Island +672 North Korea +850 North Macedonia +389 Norway +47 Oman +968 Pakistan +92 Palau +680 Palestine +970 Panama +507 Papua New Guinea +675 Paraguay +595 Peru +51 Philippines +63 Poland +48 Portugal +351 Qatar +974 Réunion +262 Romania +40 Russia +7 Rwanda +250 Samoa +685 San Marino +378 São Tomé & Príncipe +239 Saudi Arabia +966 Senegal +221 Serbia +381 Seychelles +248 Sierra Leone +232 Singapore +65 Slovakia +421 Slovenia +386 Solomon Islands +677 Somalia +252 South Africa +27 South Korea +82 South Sudan +211 Spain +34 Sri Lanka +94 St. Helena +290 St. Pierre & Miquelon +508 Sudan +249 Suriname +597 Sweden +46 Switzerland +41 Syria +963 Taiwan +886 Tajikistan +992 Tanzania +255 Thailand +66 Timor-Leste +670 Togo +228 Tokelau +690 Tonga +676 Tunisia +216 Turkey +90 Turkmenistan +993 Tuvalu +688 Uganda +256 Ukraine +380 United Arab Emirates +971 United Kingdom +44 United States +1 Uruguay +598 Uzbekistan +998 Vanuatu +678 Venezuela +58 Vietnam +84 Wallis & Futuna +681 Yemen +967 Zambia +260 Zimbabwe +263

A text message containing the 6-digit login code has been sent to   Send again

• Skip to main content
• Virtual visits for members with plans through work
• Virtual visit checklist

Virtual visits

Talk to a health care provider from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

What is a virtual visit? It may be a term you’re hearing more often. That’s because the use of virtual visits, also known as telehealth, has expanded recently, offering people more ways to connect with a health care provider from home or work. During a virtual visit, you use digital technologies, like your smartphone, tablet or computer, to talk with a provider. You can get treatment options and even prescriptions for medications, if needed.

UnitedHealthcare offers members options for virtual visits with local providers or by using UnitedHealthcare’s preferred national providers. For benefits coverage information, please  sign in to your account . Let’s go over some of the basics about virtual visits and how they work.

Are virtual visits covered?

Virtual visits may be covered by your health insurance in a similar way to an office visit with your doctor. Depending on your benefit coverage, you may be able schedule a virtual visit with a local provider or have a virtual visit for primary care, therapy, specialty care or 24/7 with a national provider for urgent care or when your provider is not available. Sign in to your account  or call the number on your member ID card to check your benefits for virtual visit coverage. Below are some options that may be available, based on your health plan.

Virtual care may include in-network virtual visits for medical, mental health, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, chiropractic, home health, vision, hearing and dental services.

Virtual visits for mental health

If you need care for mental health issues, local health care providers may be able to provide virtual visits. Coverage may depend on your health plan benefits, so  sign in to your account  or call the number on your member ID card first to learn what benefits may be available to you.

Emotional support by phone or mobile app

Some emotional support programs may be included with certain health plans. Sign in to your account to learn if the following benefits may be available with your health plan.

• With Self Care by AbleTo , get personalized content that’s designed to help you boost your mood and shift your perspectives.
• With Talkspace online therapy, you can regularly communicate with a therapist, safely and securely from your phone or desktop. No office visit required. Talkspace is convenient, safe and secure. Simply register (first visit only) and choose a provider and message anywhere, anytime. Eligible members can visit talkspace.com/connect to get started.

Online prescriptions and refills in Canada

How to Get an Online Doctor’s Prescription

Step 1 - send a request.

Simply fill out a short form online with your symptoms or refill details for the online doctor’s prescription you need — you can then either see a doctor in minutes or schedule an appointment with a specialist.

If you don’t have employer or insurer coverage, fees may apply since many virtual services aren’t covered by provincial health plans.

You’ll also need to provide a copy of your government ID to obtain a prescription.

Form submitted

Thanks for submitting form

You’re connected

You're connected with a doctor

Step 2 - Next, you'll hear from the doctor

Our doctors can provide a prescription online in Canada for most medications at their discretion. If the doctor can help, your consultation will start right away and you’ll begin speaking over text. They may also request an audio or video chat if it’ll help with your diagnosis.

If the doctor can’t help, your consultation won’t start and you won’t be charged. For example, doctors can’t provide prescriptions for narcotics or opiates on Maple. Instead, they’ll let you know if you need to visit a family practice or walk-in clinic.

Step 3 - Get your prescriptions and refills

You’ll see the details of the online doctor’s prescription, including the drug name, dosage, and frequency. The doctor’s signature, license number, and direct contact information are on the prescription if your pharmacist has any questions.

Prescriptions are sent directly to the pharmacy of your choice or you can choose free delivery to your home.

Please note: Lyte Medical is not a pharmaceutical manufacturer, nor are we an online pharmacy. This means you’ll need to buy your medication from the pharmacy once you have your prescription.

Here's the treatment

Here is a treatment for you

Frequently Asked Questions

A Division of Move Health & Wellness

We help you create a healthier future

• +1 888-413-5983

Patient Care

Medical Advice Referrals Prescriptions Injuries Request an Appointment Partners

Our Practice

About Careers Blog

1-888-413-5983

[email protected]

© 1998-2024 Lyte Medical. All rights reserved | Move Health and Wellness

Doctor Visits

Find and Access Preventive Services

Take Action

Preventive services include health care like screening tests, checkups, and vaccines. Unlike the care you get when you’re sick or managing a long-term condition, preventive care can help stop you from getting sick in the first place — or it can find health problems before they get worse, even before you have symptoms. 

Why do I need preventive care?

There are lots of great reasons to get preventive care. It can:

• Save your life. Screening tests and checkups can find health problems early, when they may be easier to treat. This includes serious diseases like cancer.
• Prevent disease . Some preventive services can keep health problems from developing. This includes vaccines and screenings for certain cancers, like cervical cancer.
• Help you save money . Finding and treating health problems early can help you avoid costly medical bills down the road. Plus, most insurance plans cover preventive services, and there are free or low-cost options if you don’t have insurance. 
• Offer peace of mind. Regular checkups are a chance for you to share concerns and ask questions about your health — and to get support from a doctor or other health care professional.

How to Get Preventive Care

Make an appointment with your doctor..

Talking with your doctor or nurse is a great first step to getting preventive care. They can tell you which screenings, vaccines, or other services you need — and answer any questions you may have. Together, you can make a plan to protect your health.

Looking for a new doctor or nurse? Use these tips to find the right fit .

Find free or low-cost preventive care.

Most health insurance plans cover preventive services at no cost to you — usually without a copay or deductible. 

But even if you don’t have health insurance, you can still get free or low-cost preventive care. Try these tips:

• Visit a community health center or clinic. Community health centers and clinics can offer affordable — or even free — preventive care. Find a health center near you . 
• Contact your local health department. Many health departments offer free health services, like flu vaccines, to people in the community. Your health department can also give advice on where to find additional free or low-cost health care services in your area. Use this interactive map to find your local health department.
• Look for volunteer clinics. Some communities offer free clinics run by volunteers for people who don’t have health insurance. Find a volunteer clinic near you.  
• Ask your local hospital about free screenings. Many hospitals offer free screening events. Contact your hospital’s customer service or community outreach department to learn what options are available.

If you’re getting health care through the Indian Health Service (IHS), use this tool to find preventive care near you. And if you’re a Veteran, you can get care at a VA location in your area. 

Look for free screening and testing programs for specific diseases.

There are also some free or low-cost programs to help you get screened or tested for specific diseases. For example:

• Screening for breast and cervical cancer: National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP)
• Testing for HIV, STIs (sexually transmitted infections), and hepatitis: Get Tested search tool

Learn about insurance coverage for preventive services.

If you have private health insurance:.

Private health insurance means you’re getting your insurance through an employer or the Health Insurance Marketplace. Under the Affordable Care Act, private health insurance plans must cover many preventive services. Depending on your insurance plan and other factors like your age, you may be able to get these and other preventive services at no cost to you:

• Blood pressure , diabetes , and cholesterol tests
• Many cancer screenings, including mammograms and colonoscopies
• Counseling on topics like quitting smoking , losing weight , eating healthy , treating depression , and drinking less alcohol
• Vaccines to protect against diseases like the flu, whooping cough, measles, and meningitis
• Counseling, screening, and vaccines to help you have a healthy pregnancy
• Regular well-baby and well-child visits

Keep in mind that you may be charged a portion of the cost if a preventive service isn’t the main reason for your doctor’s visit or if you’re seeing an out-of-network provider. To avoid unexpected medical bills, ask your doctor before your appointment what services will be covered — or check with your insurance company.

To learn more, check out these resources about: 

• Free preventive care covered by the Affordable Care Act
• How the Affordable Care Act protects you  
• Understanding your health insurance and how to use it [PDF - 698 KB]  

If you have Medicaid:

Medicaid covers certain preventive services at no cost, like vaccines and recommended screenings and tests. It also covers counseling to help you manage long-term health conditions and support healthy changes, like quitting smoking. You can:

• Find out more about getting preventive care through Medicaid
• Contact your state’s Medicaid agency for detailed information

If you have Medicare:

Medicare also covers certain preventive services at no cost. To learn about Medicare and preventive care:

• Browse this list of covered services
• Use this tool to see what Medicare covers

If you’re uninsured, explore options for getting health insurance.

There are different options for getting health insurance coverage — and it may be more affordable than you think. To get started, you can:

• Check to see if you’re eligible for Medicaid. The Medicaid program provides health insurance for families with low incomes, pregnant people, people with disabilities, and people in certain other groups. Find Medicaid coverage in your state.   
• Enroll your children in CHIP. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) covers children in families that earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private health insurance. Learn more about CHIP.
• Explore the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Marketplace offers health insurance plans for anyone who needs it. How much you’ll pay for coverage depends on how much money your family earns. Read this quick guide to Marketplace coverage or find local help.

Content last updated June 7, 2024

Reviewer Information

This information on preventive services was adapted from materials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Reviewed by: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Review Team.

You may also be interested in:

Get Screened

Take Charge of Your Health Care

Get Your Medicare Wellness Visit Every Year

The office of disease prevention and health promotion (odphp) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website..

Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by ODPHP or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.

You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.

8 Best Online Psychiatrist Platforms Reviewed by Mental Health Experts

Our experts reviewed  the best online psychiatrist services available, with Brightside topping the list for its affordability and versatility. Online psychiatrists can prescribe medication for mental health conditions, often offering faster treatment than in-person care.

Online psychiatrist platforms offer a convenient way to find board-certified psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners (NPs) who can evaluate and treat your mental illnesses from the comfort of your home, office, or other private space. We’ve researched the most popular online psychiatrist platforms, compared features, looked at pricing and session types, and listed the pros and cons so you can decide which one is right for you.

Before we dive into our picks for the best online psychiatrists of 2024, it’s important to note that psychiatrists are sometimes mistaken for online therapists and psychologists, and vice versa. Although all three can treat mental health conditions, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines a psychiatrist as someone who earns a medical degree followed by a postgraduate residency with a focus on the biological aspects of mental illness. This means that psychiatrists can prescribe medication, while psychologists and therapists generally can’t (although there are a few states that allow psychologists to prescribe medication if they receive additional training, according to the APA ).

Read on to see our picks for the best online psychiatry services, including the pros and cons of each selection and some more in-depth information on how to choose the best service to fit your needs.

Our Picks for Best Online Psychiatry Services

• Best for No Insurance:  Sesame
• Best Budget-Friendly:  LiveHealth Online
• Easiest Onboarding:  Talkspace
• Best for Choosing Your Provider:  Zocdoc
• Best for Specialized Care: Talkiatry
• Best App:  Doctor on Demand
• Best for Kids 10 and Up:  MDLive

Best Overall

Use Brightside promo code “EDH60” for $60 off your first month of cash plans.

• Optional psychiatry plus therapy plan for comprehensive treatment
• Proprietary technology helps providers personalize prescriptions
• Offers an app for iOS devices
• Has 45-minute online therapy sessions and 30-minute virtual psychiatry sessions
• Can be costly if you want psychiatry plus therapy
• Doesn’t offer an app for Android devices

Accepts insurance Yes

Session types Live video; unlimited messaging for psychiatry plus therapy plan

Qualifications Board-certified psychiatrists and psychiatric NPs

Why we chose it

Brightside offers personalized treatment for anxiety and depression with psychotherapy and medication . Evidence suggests that combining psychotherapy and medication for depression may be more effective than either treatment alone, according to the APA . Brightside’s exclusive technology, PrecisionRx , analyzes a patient’s medical history and symptoms to help providers recommend a medication.

Brightside’s providers treat a range of conditions related to anxiety and depression, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, postpartum depression, and seasonal affective disorder. They can also treat phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), premenstrual dysphoric disorder, insomnia, and bipolar disorder.

How it works

Brightside offers three treatment plans: therapy, psychiatry, or psychiatry plus therapy. If you want to work with a psychiatrist, you’ll need to sign up for the psychiatry-only plan or psychiatry plus therapy plan.

Brightside accepts insurance, including Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and Cigna. You can verify coverage on its insurance checker webpage . Without insurance, plan costs are broken down as follows:

• Psychiatry Plan $95 per month ($45 for the initial month)
• Therapy Plan $299 per month ($249 for the first month); includes unlimited messaging and four monthly video sessions with a licensed therapist
• Psychiatry Plus Therapy $349 per month, which is $45 less than purchasing each plan alone ($249 for the initial month)

You can access the platform by using a browser on your mobile device or by using the Brightside iOS app . Virtual psychiatry video calls take place via Zoom. There’s also a tool to help you track symptoms of anxiety and depression, which could be a helpful way to determine whether your medication is working.

What users say

According to our January 2023 survey of 200 Brightside users, 68 percent of respondents said they chose therapy plus medication rather than therapy alone. Of the Brightside users we surveyed, 75 percent said they liked the anxiety and depression tracker and found it useful.

Brightside’s providers cannot prescribe medications that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies as controlled substances . You can see a full list of medications Brightside psychiatrists will prescribe online here .

What our testers think

When our reviews team tested Brightside virtual psychiatry, our tester found it easy to switch providers to find the right fit. They didn’t report any issues with the platform and liked the self-guided lessons for skill-building and reflection.

Read more in our detailed Brightside review .

Best for No Insurance

Sesame care.

• Mental health consultations available starting at $42
• Prescription refill appointments available starting at $39
• Same-day appointments (depending on provider availability)
• Appointment prices vary by location and provider
• Not available in all states

Accepts insurance No

Session types Live video

Qualifications Board-certified psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants

Sesame offers online psychiatry services for those without insurance, including mental health consultations, telehealth psychiatry appointments, and prescription refills. Our reviews team was able to find a virtual prescription refill or telefill appointment with a popular and highly rated family nurse practitioner for $39.

Sesame also enables you to search by the symptoms you’re experiencing or the service you’re looking for. Once you start your search, Sesame will display the top online psychiatrist options in your area, prioritized by same-day appointments and popular providers with positive reviews. If you’re looking for a psychiatrist to treat a specific condition or issue, such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder, you can learn more about the provider’s experience in that area by reviewing their bio.

At the time this article was written, Sesame Care had an A- rating from  BBB  and 3.6 out of 5 stars from an average of 69 customer reviews.  Trustpilot  gave the platform 4.3 out of 5 stars with more than 1,100 reviews. Like Zocdoc, Sesame Care provides a platform for many different healthcare providers, and  very few reviews  mention experiences with psychiatry services specifically. Of those, positive reviews highlight good-quality and expedient care, while one negative review mentions a dispute over medication management.

Our reviews team tester found many providers offering convenient virtual psychiatry appointments on weekends and after business hours. You can also cancel up to three hours before your appointment.They also found it simple to book an appointment on Sesame with a few clicks. When they tried to reach customer service, however, they could do so only by submitting a contact form, as there were no agents available through the live chat.

Learn more in our  Sesame Care review .

Best Budget-Friendly

Livehealth online.

• Lower fees than other online psychiatrists
• Ability to search for psychiatrists who are available nights and weekends
• No home delivery for prescriptions
• No subscription plans

Accepts insurance  Yes

Session types  Live video

Qualifications  Board-certified psychiatrist

LiveHealth Online’s psychiatry services are one of the most budget-friendly of the platforms we considered for best online psychiatrist. The cost of an initial evaluation is $175 and follow up visits are $75 each. If you have insurance, these rates can be even lower.

LiveHealth Online accepts most Blue Cross Blue Shield health plans. The cost for prescriptions depends on how much your pharmacy charges and whether you have an insurance copay. Some of the most common conditions and issues LiveHealth psychiatrists address are stress, depression, OCD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, concerns about medication, panic attacks, and PTSD.

With LiveHealth Online, you can  sign up  in minutes, browse the directory of profiles and qualifications, and select the provider who specializes in a clinical interest that meets your needs. When you’re ready to move forward, you can schedule an appointment from a computer or mobile device, or by calling a toll-free number.

If you need more in-depth talk therapy than an online psychiatrist can provide, LiveHealth also offers a pay-per-visit  online psychology  platform for seeing a therapist or psychologist. These sessions cost $80 to $95, depending on the provider.

Psychiatrists on LiveHealth Online can recommend you take controlled substances as part of your treatment plan, but they cannot prescribe them. Medications they  can prescribe  include many antidepressants like fluoxetine (Prozac) and bupropion (Wellbutrin), as well as medications for bipolar disorder, like lithium (Lithobid) and lamotrigine (Lamictal).

At the time this article was written, LiveHealth Online was not listed on BBB and had 1.2 out of 5 stars based on 366 reviews on  Trustpilot .  Very few reviews  mention experiences with a psychiatrist. Of those that do, complaints involved issues with customer service, billing, and unprofessional providers.

Our review tester registered for an account in just a few minutes on a Friday, indicating that they were looking for telehealth psychiatry services. They were presented with a psychiatrist who was available on Sunday, with a choice of three time slots.

Read more about the  most affordable online therapy  options, including some that offer medication management.

Easiest Onboarding

• Easy and quick onboarding process
• Licensed psychiatrists and nurse practitioners nationwide
• Straightforward pricing and plans
• More expensive than some other platforms

Cost $299 for an initial consultation, $175 per follow-up session; $435 for an initial consultation with one follow-up; or $725 for an initial session and three follow-ups

Qualifications  Licensed psychiatrists and nurse practitioners

With licensed psychiatrists and nurse practitioners in all 50 states, and a mobile app, Talkspace tops our list for the most accessible online psychiatry platform. While it is more expensive than some other platforms, our tester was able to connect with a mental health care provider and book a virtual psychiatry appointment within an hour.

Talkspace psychiatry sessions can be helpful for individuals aged 18 and older looking for medication management. According to the platform, you can seek support for stress, anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar disorder, PTSD, ADHD, insomnia, or panic disorder. The Talkspace FAQ page states that its providers don’t prescribe controlled medications such as stimulants.

Talkspace offers monthly subscription plans for its online therapy service, but psychiatry sessions are not subscription-based. You can purchase virtual psychiatry sessions à la carte or in a bundle. Talkspace psychiatry sessions cost:

• $299 for an initial psychiatry session
• $175 per follow-up session
• $435 if you bundle an initial psychiatry session with one follow-up session
• $725 if you bundle an initial psychiatry session with three follow-up sessions

On the platform, you’re matched with a provider after filling out a brief questionnaire. From there, you can schedule your live video session and follow-up appointments. If you find the person you’re matched with is not a good fit, you can easily request to change providers and choose from a new pool of potential matches.

Talkspace accepts some insurance plans , such as Aetna, Cigna, Optum, Carelon Behavioral Health, and Regence as well as HSA and FSA dollars.

At the time this article was written, Talkspace had a B rating from BBB and 1.06 out of 5 stars from an average of 100 customer reviews. On Trustpilot , it had 1.3 out of 5 stars with more than 240 reviews. Many complaints mention issues with customer service, billing, and frequent cancellations.

Our in-house tester found that with promo codes, Talkspace was cheaper to use without insurance than with insurance, so be sure to compare prices. They were matched with a mental health care provider in about 30 minutes and received an appointment booking confirmation within an hour. Overall, they reported that the scheduling process was easy and convenient, as was changing providers.

We reviewed the platform and its plans in detail in our Talkspace review .

Best for Choosing Your Provider

• Supports more than 700 individual insurance plans
• Can scan your insurance card to find your exact insurance plan
• Can help find in-network providers with your insurance to save you the most money
• Can find next-day appointments
• No guarantee of an in-network provider match
• Some reviews mention double-booked appointment times or later appointment times than offered on the website

Qualifications  Board-certified psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants

If finding an online psychiatrist that takes insurance is your priority, Zocdoc may be a good option. You can narrow your search by more than 700 individual insurance plans , including popular providers like Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare. This can make it easier to find the best psychiatrist for your budget.

Zocdoc will show you the top-rated psychiatrist options available near you, prioritizing in-network providers with early availability that accept your insurance. According to the Maryland Insurance Network , in-network providers have agreements with your insurance company to provide care at a certain rate, which saves you the most money.

Zocdoc searches include providers for a variety of mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, OCD, and PTSD. Each provider has a bio, where you can read more about their experience and specializations.

At the time this article was written, Zocdoc had an A+ rating from the  BBB and 4.7 out of 5 stars based on an average of 1,400 customer reviews. On Trustpilot , Zocdoc had 4.5 out of 5 stars with more than 8,700 reviews. Positive reviews highlight ease of use and high-quality psychiatrists, while negative reviews mention issues with customer service and billing.

Our review tester found the platform easy to navigate and use, however, the booking system had its issues. For example, the provider would often have to reschedule appointments as the booked slots were not actually available. This led to some confusion.

Find more online therapy services that take insurance to expand your options.

Best for Specialized Care

• Specialists available for adults and children
• In-depth initial consultation
• Works with many major insurance providers
• Does not treat some mental health conditions or substance use disorder
• Does not accept patients on Medicaid or without health insurance
• Not available in all 50 states

Cost $30 average copay, varies depending on insurance

Session types Live video with unlimited messaging

Qualifications Licensed psychiatrists and nurse practitioners

Talkiatry provides talk therapy and psychiatry with an emphasis on personalized psychiatric care. Talkiatry psychiatrists are available to treat adults and children aged 5 and older. While other platforms offer brief appointments of about 30 minutes for medication management, Talkiatry starts with a one-hour initial consultation, to better understand your needs. After that, you can send messages to them anytime through the Healow app connected to the platform and schedule 30-minute follow-up sessions. Your psychiatrist can also refer you to an in-house therapist if you’re seeking therapy along with medication management.

Talkiatry offers online psychiatry and therapy for children and adults with unlimited messaging in between sessions. Talkiatry psychiatrists only work with patients who have insurance, and the platform is in-network with many major insurance providers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Medicare, and United Healthcare. Unlike many other online psychiatry platforms, Talkiatry does prescribe some controlled substances such as medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) .

Talkiatry is available in most states, excluding Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Talkiatry psychiatrists can treat anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and ADHD. They cannot provide talk therapy without medication or psychiatric treatment for patients on Medicaid or without insurance.

Talkiatry is rated F from the BBB because of failure to respond to 25 complaints as well other issues. Talkiatry’s Trustpilot rating is 1.3 out of 5 stars based on 105 customer reviews. Negative reviews highlight scheduling, customer service, and billing disputes. Positive reviews highlight the app’s ease of use and the high quality of psychiatrists.

The sign up was easy to use. However, both of the psychiatrists our tester matched with were unavailable for almost two weeks. According to the company’s website, the average wait time between your initial assessment and first appointment should be five days.

Learn more in our detailed Talkiatry review .

Doctor on Demand

• Highly rated by Apple and Google app store reviewers
• May be able to see a psychiatrist on nights and weekends
• One of the more costly online psychiatrist providers

Accepts insurance  Yes

Doctor on Demand has the best app when it comes to online psychiatry. After downloading it, you only need to enter your name, phone number, gender, and date of birth before you are ready to go. The app then uses your location to find board-certified psychiatrists licensed in your state. You can filter results based on factors like appointment availability, language spoken, and focus area. Online psychiatrists with Doctor on Demand can provide treatment for anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, postpartum mental health conditions, and PTSD, as well as screenings for substance use disorders, among other issues. The app also makes it easy to verify insurance benefits and manage your prescription.

Once you have a profile, log in by entering your member ID and group ID. Doctor on Demand will verify your coverage and confirm how much your virtual psychiatry session will cost. If your employer covers this service, you can input that information too. Without insurance, the platform charges $299 for the initial visit, which averages 45 minutes, and $129 for 15-minute follow-up visits.

Doctor on Demand has a user-friendly app that received the highest App Store and Google Play reviews among the best online psychiatrist platforms we picked, with 4.9 out of 5 stars from the App Store after nearly 107,500 reviews, and 4.8 out of 5 stars from Google Play with more than 67,000 reviews. You can also use a browser on your laptop or tablet to access its services. On the  BBB and Trustpilot , reviews of the platform weren’t as favorable, with ratings of 1.1 and 1.3, respectively.

Best for Kids 10 and Up

• Available for ages 10 and up
• Pay-as-you-go plan — no contract or monthly plan required
• No on-demand appointments available

Session types  Live video; telephone

Qualifications  Board-certified psychiatrists

MDLive is a comprehensive telehealth platform that provides services for both medical and mental health care, including therapy and psychiatry online. MDLive psychiatrists can treat kids ages 10 and over , with parental consent.

With MDLive, parents can provide their children with the help they need. This is really important, considering that more than half of U.S. children with a treatable mental health disorder don’t receive treatment from a mental health professional, according to a study published in Pediatrics . A shortage in child psychiatrists was cited as a driving factor, with 70 percent of U.S. counties lacking one.

With MDLive, parents can schedule an online psychiatrist appointment for their child. MDLive psychiatrists can offer treatment for anxiety, depression, panic disorders, trauma, and PTSD, among other mental health conditions. But they do not provide online care in certain circumstances, such as for conditions that require intensive management or ongoing lab work, like ADHD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

To see an MDLive psychiatrist, create an account and answer a few questions about where you live and any health concerns your child is experiencing. You can then browse the directory of psychiatrists and request a virtual psychiatry appointment that works with your schedule. Many MDLive psychiatrists offer evening and weekend appointments, which may be convenient for parents trying to schedule appointments for kids outside of school hours.

Members talk directly with a psychiatrist via live video or phone. Parents of kids under age 18 must be present at the start of each session to consent to the visit, but the provider will then determine whether the parent should stay for the rest of the session. If a psychiatrist believes that medications are warranted, they will write a prescription and send it to your chosen pharmacy for you to pick up. MDLive psychiatrists cannot prescribe DEA-controlled substances and other medications , including those that have a potential for abuse.

MDLive is in-network for multiple health insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana, and others.

At the time this article was written, MDLive had an A+ rating on the  BBB and 1.1 out of 5 stars based on an average of 47 customer reviews. On Trustpilot , the platform had 3.7 out of 5 stars with more than 11,800 reviews. Of those reviews that mention a psychiatrist, positive reviews highlight convenience, affordability, and high-quality care. Negative reviews report issues with customer service and disagreements with providers over medication management.

When our reviews team tried the platform, the first available appointment was seven days out. Your wait time will vary depending on your chosen provider’s schedule and the number of providers licensed in your state.

Read our review of the best online therapy for teens to find more options for teenagers and parents.

Compare the Best Online Psychiatry Platforms in 2024

Brightside’s exclusive technology, PrecisionRx , analyzes a patient’s medical history and symptoms to help providers recommend a medication.

How to Choose an Online Psychiatrist

If you’ve decided to move forward with seeing an online psychiatrist, there are some important factors to consider when choosing the right platform and provider. For example, you’ll want to consider:

• Cost of sessions and how it fits your budget
• Whether you have a private area for sessions
• Ability to change psychiatrists
• Flexibility and accessibility for session times and days
• Insurance benefits, if you’re using them
• Online reviews, both positive and negative

Read our full guide to choosing an online therapy platform .

What to Expect at Your First Online Psychiatrist Consultation

If you’re new to online psychiatry, you may have questions about what to expect at your first appointment. The good news is that most virtual platforms do a nice job of explaining the process and what to expect. The main focus during the first online psychiatric appointment among all platforms on our list is to cover health history and determine a plan for treatment.

According to University Hospitals , the psychiatrist may ask you about the following during your initial evaluation:

• Any behaviors that are bothering you, when they occur, how long they last, and what triggers them
• How these behaviors affect work, school, and relationships
• Any physical and mental health symptoms you’re experiencing
• Personal and family health history, including mental health

Once the health history and mental health evaluation are complete, the psychiatrist or psychiatric NP will discuss a treatment plan with you that may include medication, therapy, and a follow-up plan. As in an in-person visit, if you make a mutual decision with the psychiatrist about medications, they can send a prescription electronically to the pharmacy of your choice or directly to your home, depending on the platform.

How We Chose Our Best Online Psychiatrist Platforms

Our reviews team determined our top picks for the best online psychiatrist platform options based on the following criteria:

• Cost We chose companies that provide a range of costs, with a preference for companies that offer at least one budget-friendly plan.
• Customer Service Exemplary customer service is crucial with a virtual service like online psychiatry. We contacted each company on this list via phone or email to verify their responsiveness and helpfulness. We paid close attention to whether customer service teams answered promptly, shared their name, and worked to resolve our issue.
• Customer Satisfaction We recorded each company’s score on the BBB and Trustpilot and read countless reviews to get a sense of overall customer satisfaction. We paid close attention to whether companies responded to complaints and negative reviews, how long it took them to respond, and whether customers found the resolution satisfactory.
• Types of Therapy We researched the types of therapy offered and favored companies with multiple types of therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychoanalysis, for the user to choose from.
• Therapist Credentials We verified the credentials of each company’s mental health professionals. We prioritized companies with diverse therapy teams (such as psychologists, psychiatrists, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed professional therapists, and licensed mental health counselors) and with therapists who have particular expertise in their field (such as couples counselors or counselors trained in CBT).
• Years in Operation We examined companies that have been in operation for a long period of time as well as newer companies.
• System Usability and Access Online psychiatry websites should be accessible and intuitive. We examined each telepsychiatry site for accessibility accommodations and ease of use.
• Ease of Registration Companies should have an easy registration process that puts as much control into the user’s hands as possible. That includes a streamlined registration process with, ideally, control over who your psychiatrist is and when you can meet with them.
• Insurance We verified psychiatry telehealth companies’ insurance benefits and shared which plans they accept at the time of writing this article. We also researched which services are cost-effective without insurance.

Why You Can Trust Our Best Online Psychiatrist Platforms Review

Our reviews team extensively scrutinizes online psychiatrist platforms to make sure we only recommend those we believe will make a difference to our readers. Together, we’ve researched prominent brands by mystery shopping the platforms, understanding the experiences of real customers, and consulting with independent mental health professionals to better understand why people seek out online therapy. Our method includes going past the paywall to test online psychiatrist platforms for ourselves, conducting in-depth interviews with focus groups, and deploying surveys to gain real customer insights.

We used our collected data to develop a scorecard to evaluate the platforms we tested ourselves. Read more about how we researched and  tested online therapy and psychiatry platforms  in our  online therapy review methodology .

• We independently investigate and recommend products and services we believe will enrich the lives of our readers and meet their specific needs. We’ve spent hundreds of hours carrying out in-depth research on the  online therapy  market. You can trust our review because we did the legwork for you in these specific ways:
• Engaged in ongoing independent research
• Spent over 250 hours testing eight brands, deployed surveys that included more than 200 participants each, and interviewed focus groups
• Went behind the paywall for two months with eight brands to mystery shop our best online therapy choices
• Contacted the brands’ customer service teams to ask questions and gauge responsiveness
• Consulted six leading psychologists and psychiatrists
• Became customers of online therapy providers ourselves
• Reviewed academic research about the efficacy of online therapy versus in-person therapy
• Read hundreds of verified customer reviews from trusted third parties, such as the  Better Business Bureau (BBB)  and  Trustpilot

Final Thoughts

An online psychiatrist can be a convenient and effective way to access mental health treatment and medication management. There are several telehealth and online mental health platforms, but not all of them have psychiatrists. So check the fine print before signing up if you need medication management.

When comparing providers, Brightside can be helpful for people new to therapy and psychiatry. For booking psychiatry telehealth appointments with insurance, consider an option like Zocdoc , while those without insurance should consider Sesame . Talkspace is our pick for accessible online psychiatry, thanks to the platform’s simple onboarding process and quick matching process with a network of providers in all 50 states. If you are seeking psychiatric care for a minor, MDLive is our top pick for adolescents, since the platform’s board-certified psychiatrists treat individuals ages 10 and up, with parental permission.

In Emergency Situations

If you are in crisis, waiting for an online therapy appointment may not be safe. In case of an emergency, call 911. That includes plans to harm yourself or others. If you’re having suicidal thoughts, you can call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. Help is available 24/7. You can also send a text message to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. A crisis counselor will respond via text to help you stay calm and make sure you’re safe.

You can also reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357). The SAMHSA helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-days-a-year treatment referral and information service for individuals facing mental or substance abuse disorders.

What if I’m Having Thoughts of Harming Myself?

Frequently asked questions.

Psychiatrists have a medical degree followed by a postgraduate residency with a focus on the biological aspects of mental illness. Since they have a medical degree, they can prescribe medication. In contrast, psychologists have a graduate degree in psychology with a focus on human behavior, according to the American Psychiatric Association ( APA ). Social workers attend graduate school in social work and must have either a master’s in social work or a licensed clinical social worker degree to provide therapy. All these professionals must have a license granted by their profession in each state they practice in.

Whether online psychiatry is as effective as in-person psychiatry depends on several variables, such as the mental health condition being treated, the psychiatrist and client relationship, and the number of sessions and treatment frequency. There are limited studies comparing telepsychiatry to in-person treatment, making it difficult to determine whether the two methods are equally successful in treating mental health conditions, according to a review published in The American Journal of Psychiatry . That said, the APA points to research showing that telepsychiatry and online therapy can be effective and increase access to care. Another review found that telepsychiatry is effective across multiple age groups and clinical settings.

Online psychiatrists are as legitimate and effective as in-person psychiatrists. Online psychiatrists are licensed by a state medical board, can diagnose a wide range of mental health conditions, and prescribe medication accordingly.

Yes, psychiatrists can provide therapy as well as medication management, per the APA. Depending on the individual psychiatrist and platform you use, your provider may offer both therapy and medication management or only an initial consultation and follow-up appointments for medication management. If you want to work with a therapist and a psychiatrist, some online psychiatry platforms make this easier than others. For example, Brightside offers a medication plus therapy plan which connects you with a psychiatrist and therapist.

Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy . We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

• What Is the Difference Between Psychologists, Psychiatrists, and Social Workers? American Psychological Association . 2017.
• About Prescribing Psychologists. American Psychological Association . January 2022.
• How Well Is Telepsychology Working? American Psychological Association . July 1, 2020.
• What Is a Psychiatric Mental-Health Nurse Practitioner? Nurse.org . January 25, 2024.
• What to Avoid With Psychiatric Medications. National Alliance on Mental Illness . January 2023.
• Markowitz J, Milrod B, Heckman T, et. al. Psychotherapy at a Distance. The American Journal of Psychiatry . March 1, 2021.
• Gajaria A et al. Telepsychiatry: Effectiveness and Feasibility. Smart Homecare Technology and TeleHealth . April 1, 2015.
• What Is Psychiatry? American Psychiatric Association .
• How to Prescribe Controlled Substances to Patients During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration .
• Controlled Substance Schedules. U.S Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Control Division .
• Volkmann C et al. Lithium Treatment Over the Lifespan in Bipolar Disorders. Frontiers in Psychiatry . May 6, 2020.
• The Right Medication Can Make All the Difference. Brightside Health .
• Brightside Survey. 200 respondents. Conducted using Pollfish. Launched January 17, 2023.
• Online Therapy Survey. 1,000 respondents. Conducted using Pollfish. Launched April 11, 2022.
• How Do I Choose Between Medication and Therapy? American Psychological Association . 2017.
• Interview With Michael J. McGrath, MD. Ohana Retreat. May 2022.
• Prescribing Controlled Substances via Telehealth. Health Resources & Services Administration . October 16, 2023.
• Interview with Joshua Flatow, MD. Pacific Mind Health. May 2022.
• Psychiatric Evaluation. University Hospitals .
• McBain R et al. Growth and Distribution of Child Psychiatrists in the United States: 2007–2016. Pediatrics . December 2019.
• Chokshi S et al. A Comparative Evaluation of Measurement-Based Psychiatric Care Delivered via Specialized Telemental Health Platform Versus Treatment as Usual: A Retrospective Analysis. Cureus . January 13, 2022.
• Mania. Cleveland Clinic . September 14, 2021.
• Prescribing Controlled Substances via Telehealth. Telehealth.HHS.gov . October 16, 2023.
• APA Dictionary of Psychology: Therapist. American Psychological Association .
• Chakrabarti S. Usefulness of Telepsychiatry: A Critical Evaluation of Videoconferencing-Based Approaches. World Journal of Psychiatry . September 22, 2015.
• Frequently Asked Questions: In-Network vs. Out-of-Network Providers. Maryland Insurance Administration . November 1, 2022.
• Escitalopram (Oral Route). Mayo Clinic . May 1, 2024.
• Talkspace Survey. 200 respondents. Conducted using Pollfish. Launched January 17, 2023.
• Talkspace. Mozilla Foundation . April 25, 2023.
• DEA Announces Proposed Rules for Permanent Telemedicine Flexibilities. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration . February 24, 2023.
• Statement From the DEA Administrator Anne Milgram on COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration . May 3, 2023.
• Guaiana G et al. A Systematic Review of the Use of Telepsychiatry in Depression. Community Mental Health Journal . January 2021.
• Understanding Health Care Bills: What Is Medical Necessity?  National Association of Insurance Commissioners .

Den of Geek

Doctor Who Series 14 Episode 8 Review: Empire of Death

With big emotions, an iconic villain and great performances, the Doctor Who finale leaves the show on a solid footing. SPOILERS

• Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
• Share on email (opens in a new tab)

Warning: This Doctor Who review contains spoilers.

As “ The Legend of Ruby Sunday ” reached its cliffhanger ending, we witnessed the ancient alien Sutekh return to full power. A formidable foe even in a weakened state, the prospect of seeing the self-styled God of Death unleashed was certainly tantalising. What would he do? The answer, it turns out, is the obvious one – kill everything in the universe.

“Empire of Death” is a solidly entertaining episode. It pays off most of the major mysteries set up since last year’s specials, it gives the Doctor and Ruby a massive challenge to solve, an iconic villain to beat, and lots of big emotions. There are plenty of good scenes and one really great one. Everyone gives it their all, especially the two leads.

That said, there’s something about the episode that feels a little perfunctory, as if it’s ticking off the various boxes that a series finale demands. There’s nothing particularly egregious (the explanation of Ruby’s mother’s ominous pointing is the only thing that disappoints), but it also rarely feels elevated.

Ad – content continues below

This might partly be down to that aforementioned iconic villain. A revisionist spin on Sutekh would arguably be very difficult to pull off, because the character is effectively death incarnate so there’s not much room for ambiguity or subversion there. And “Empire of Death” gives us exactly what we might expect from an unleashed Sutekh – less than ten minutes into the episode, he’s already murdered everybody on Earth.

That’s audacious (though as one of the biggest movies of the last few years also had a villain turn vast swathes of the universe to dust, “Empire of Death” might feel visually familiar to Marvel fans – a comparison director Jamie Donoghue might well welcome). But once it’s done, and the death wave continues to spread implacably across the cosmos, we hit the limits of the concept. Death is about as final as it gets. This isn’t like a hostile takeover by an alien species, where we can see the rise and eventual triumph of a resistance. Everyone dies. It’s weirdly anti-climactic, in a way, though that in itself is interesting. All that’s really left is for the Doctor to find a time-wimey way of reversing it, because we know from the get-go that it has to be reversed.

That’s not a bad thing. Of course it has to be reversed. It would be rubbish if it wasn’t. But it does contribute to the finale’s sense of going through the motions. There’s no deep conversation to build up to between the Doctor and Sutekh, no meaty ethical equivalence or contrast to explore, no matter how hard the writing (and Ncuti Gatwa ’s acting – once again a priceless special effect) tries to sell the moral ambiguity of the Doctor killing him. Sorry, but no matter how highly the Doctor values life, there is no ambiguity there. Sutekh deliberately, gleefully slaughtered nearly everybody in the universe. He has to go!

The best scene in the episode is the conversation between the Doctor and the unnamed “Kind Woman” played by Sian Clifford . It’s a welcome change of pace after the episode’s frantic opening, melancholy and quietly unsettling – the concept of memory itself dying, and the perversity of the death wave travelling backwards from child to parent, are both absolutely horrifying in the best way. The effectiveness of the scene hinges on the strength of its guest performance, and Clifford makes the absolute most of her few minutes, showing us with no histrionics the intimate human toll of Sutekh’s “gift”. The moment where she remembers her child is dead is particularly wrenching, mostly because of how underplayed it is.

This is arguably the scene that really elevates the episode, and it shows Russell T Davies at his best. He understands that universal genocide is hard, if not impossible, for us to comprehend, so we need a scene where we see the impact on an ordinary person. It brings it home in a way that not even the Doctor’s screams of agony – and that wonderful zoom out from the TARDIS hanging in space against a backdrop of dying planets – quite manage.

It also ties into the big thesis of the episode, which thankfully isn’t just “life is better than death” (because, duh), but is more about the importance of ordinary people. Ruby’s mother isn’t some eldritch cosmic force, a mysterious being more powerful than Sutekh. She was just a scared teenager who wanted a better life for her daughter, someone “completely ordinary”, who only became important because she was considered to be so.

That’s a nice idea, and it’s fun to see Sutekh become obsessed with discovering her identity, the one mystery left in the universe after he’s destroyed it. There’s something poetic in the concept of an alien god being flummoxed by what turns out to be a normal human woman (though you almost start to feel sorry for poor Louise, with everyone constantly harping on about how “ordinary” she is). The episode ultimately becomes more about Ruby’s reunion with her mother, with the defeat of Sutekh and restoring life to the universe handwaved away with some intelligent rope, a whistle, and a trip through the vortex. And while it’s a shame that there’s no real payoff to this season’s engagement with superstition and folklore, beyond the concept of Louise becoming impossible because Ruby believes she is, their reunion is pleasantly low key, and both Millie Gibson and Faye McKeever fully sell the complicated emotions at play.

Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

It all hangs together, though whether you find the various resolutions satisfying is another matter. It’s still not entirely clear why basing Susan Triad on the Doctor’s granddaughter made her “the perfect trap”, when the Doctor himself didn’t even clock the possible connection until the last minute. And while the explanation for Louise’s pointing makes emotional sense for Ruby, it makes absolutely bugger-all sense as something a scared 15-year-old would actually do in that situation, with nobody around to see it. Ditto her choice of outfit. We do get a bit of welcome closure for some leftover threads from “ 73 Yards ” (which turns out to be the exact range of the TARDIS’ perception field), though more questions are raised in the process. Roger Ap Gwilliam, it seems, is still destined to rise, and the Doctor will have some involvement in his downfall.

At the end of the episode, the Doctor basically tells Ruby that her character arc is complete, and that she can’t travel with him anymore because her “adventure is just beginning.”

Does this work? Yes and no.

To look at Series 14 as a whole, it’s been a pretty damn good series of Doctor Who . High energy, confident, mostly stellar production values, a charming Doctor-companion pairing with real emotional range, lots of fun and interesting ideas. Even with the episodes that haven’t quite come together, there has been plenty to talk about. Overall, the show is in a good place, and the foundations for the era to come are more-than solid.

Looking back, though, the standalone stories are what have really resonated, and the arc plot elements feel like more of an afterthought. Unfortunately, this blunts the impact of the finale. The Susan Triad stuff is basically fine, it’s a sci-fi mystery with a sci-fi explanation that makes sense in terms of the villain and his machinations. But with Ruby’s arc, the breadcrumb approach is less successful. After the Christmas special and “ Space Babies ”, there just hasn’t been enough focus on her mysterious parentage as an animating force. The mysterious snow is a great recurring visual, and there have been effective individual moments like her desperate appeal to the ambulance in “ Boom ”. But Ruby has generally seemed happy, her relationship with the Doctor has been solid, and they’ve been having fun together.

Which is great! That’s what we’re here for, after all, even if a smidgeon of conflict might have spiced things up a bit. But it means that the resolution of “Empire of Death”, with Ruby’s adventures in the TARDIS seemingly over (even though we know Millie Gibson will be back), feel a tad arbitrary. Is the implication meant to be that Ruby has embraced travelling in the TARDIS because she’s missing something? If so, that hasn’t really shown in her behaviour.

Of course, everybody does the work in “Empire of Death” to sell the emotions. One silent, tearful close-up on Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson’s faces can fill in a lot of blanks. But those blanks are still there, and it means that the season as a whole doesn’t feel entirely rock solid in terms of its emotional progression. As with “ The Legend of Ruby Sunday ”, it feels more like we’ve reached the end, so now this stuff has become important. There has been much discussion among fans about the ordering of this season’s episodes, and whether a slightly different order would have helped with that sense of progression – I’m inclined to think that it might have.

Regardless, there are delights to be found here. Everything involving Mel is great, and Bonnie Langford gets the opportunity to play lots of different subtle emotional shades. Importing the memory TARDIS from Tales of the TARDIS is lovely and makes perfect sense, and Ncuti gets to show us some very Doctor-ish glee in the face of doom, grinning “No idea” when Ruby asks him if it can fly. Saving the universe with a spoon is the kind of thing you can only get away with in Doctor Who , which is surely why we love it. The visual of big gangly CGI cat-dog-horse-thing Sutekh being dragged through the vortex is ludicrous, but again, the sort of ludicrous that’s baked into the DNA of the show. Anita Dobson gets some creepy beats to play as Mrs Flood, which are generally much more interesting than when she’s in kooky look-to-camera mode.

She also calls the Doctor “that clever boy”. Mrs Flood = Clara confirmed?

So, there we are. Doctor Who is back. Doctor Who never went away. The future is uncertain. The future is bright.

See you at Christmas.

Doctor Who series 14 is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and Disney+. Learn more about Den of Geek’s review process and why you can trust our recommendations  here .

Stefan Mohamed

Stefan Mohamed is an award-winning author and performing poet based in Bristol. He is the author of four novels and three books of poetry. You can…

• Share full article

For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio , a new iOS app available for news subscribers.

• June 21, 2024   •   33:22 America’s Top Doctor on Why He Wants Warning Labels on Social Media
• June 20, 2024   •   30:15 The Mysterious Gun Study That’s Advancing Gun Rights
• June 18, 2024   •   32:00 A Novel Legal Strategy for Mass Shooting Victims’ Families
• June 17, 2024   •   25:41 Abortion United Evangelicals and Republicans. Now That Alliance Is Fraying.
• June 14, 2024   •   34:50 How to Retire as Early as Humanly Possible
• June 13, 2024   •   31:20 Inside Trump’s Search for a Vice President
• June 12, 2024   •   27:55 The Criminal Conviction of Hunter Biden
• June 11, 2024   •   24:11 Biden’s Hard-Line Effort to Close the Border
• June 10, 2024   •   33:44 The Rise and Fall of Congestion Pricing in New York
• June 7, 2024   •   30:00 Real Teenagers, Fake Nudes: The Rise of Deepfakes in American Schools
• June 6, 2024   •   23:38 The Fight Over the Next Pandemic
• June 5, 2024   •   30:42 Biden’s Push to End the War in Gaza

America’s Top Doctor on Why He Wants Warning Labels on Social Media

The surgeon general says parents should be aware that using the platforms might harm adolescents’ mental health..

Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Produced by Lynsea Garrison ,  Rob Szypko ,  Alex Stern and Rikki Novetsky

Edited by Lexie Diao and Michael Benoist

Original music by Dan Powell and Chelsea Daniel

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

Warning: This episode contains mentions of bullying and suicide.

A rising tide of mental health problems among teenagers has sent parents, teachers and doctors searching for answers. This week, the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, offered one: social media.

Today, Dr. Murthy discusses his proposal to require platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram to include warning labels, like those that appear on tobacco and alcohol products.

On today’s episode

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy , the U.S. surgeon general.

Background reading

Dr. Murthy cannot unilaterally impose warnings on social media; the action requires approval by Congress .

Read a guest essay by Dr. Murthy: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam and Nick Pitman.

An earlier version of this episode misstated one of Donald Sutherland’s most notable roles. He starred in the film M*A*S*H, not the television series that followed.

How we handle corrections

Advertisement