RVers who need minor medical advice on the road but don't have or can’t reach a primary care physician might want to consider an inexpensive, relatively new service called TelaDoc.
Founded three years ago, TelaDoc is a national network of doctors who provide consultation and issue prescriptions over the phone 24 hours a day for non-emergency ailments. Subscribers pay a sign-up fee of $18 and a monthly fee of $4.25 for an individual, $5.75 for a couple or $7 for a family. Each consultation costs $35. During registration, members fill out a medical-history form the consulting physician uses to help diagnose and treat such problems as allergies, respiratory infections, arthritic pain and gastroenteritis.
For RVers, the advantages are that you talk to a doctor rather than a nurse, you can get help at night or on weekends, and you avoid having to drive to an office or clinic--a nice convenience for RVing in sparsely populated areas. (Of course, you'll still have to drive somewhere to pick up a prescription.) TelaDoc claims a doctor typically returns a call within 30 to 40 minutes. If a call is not answered within three hours, the consultation is free.
The service is not a replacement for a primary care physician or Medicare because it handles only minor complaints. For more informaton, call TelaDoc at (800) 835-2362 or visit its web site: teladoc.com.
