TABLE OF CONTENTS
Heal – Best Overall
Heal offers holistic in-person visits for primary, preventative, urgent, and pediatric care needs, with practitioners that can also address nutritional, environmental, and mental health concerns.
Employ Health – Best for Employee Healthcare
Employ Health operates mobile on-site clinics that give employees access to primary care; urgent care for acute conditions, and support for on-going health and wellness initiatives like weight loss.
SOS Doctor House Call – Best for Comprehensive Care
Patients can use the SOS Doctor House Call app to facilitate on-demand doctor appointments for a variety of needs, including primary and urgent care, physical therapy, pediatrics, optometry, and more.
Urgent Med Housecalls – Best for Bay Area Residents
Urgent Med Housecalls offers full-service, on-demand house calls for various urgent care needs, including sore throats, ear infections, nausea, and minor injuries, to patients in the San Francisco area.
MedHouseCall – Best for Canadian Residents
Residents of Canada’s Ontario province can use MedHouseCall to connect with on-demand care from licensed physicians for multiple primary and urgent care needs, as well as prescriptions and pediatrics.
In choosing our top picks for the best on-demand doctor house call services, our criteria focused on the factors that are most important to patients. This included geographic availability, what medical conditions these services treat, and how quickly patients can get an appointment. We did not consider price, as there are several factors, like health insurance coverage, that can affect the cost of these services.
Because this type of service is connected to location, on-demand house calls may not be available everywhere. We focused on finding services that had as wide a geographic reach as possible, to make sure we were recommending platforms that people could actually access.
Healthcare involves many different types of services, including urgent care, preventative care, medication management, and more. We gave preference to on-demand house call services that address a variety of medical issues, for the most robust care available.
We prioritized services that had limited wait times for appointments, especially because one of the selling points of these services is that it is faster and more convenient than trying to schedule an in-office doctor’s appointment.
While there are a range of on-demand doctor house call services, few come as close to providing the “whole package” as Heal. This service offers holistic in-person visits that address nutritional, environmental, and mental health concerns, in addition to medical issues. Heal’s services include primary, preventative, and urgent care, as well as pediatrics.
Working with Heal starts with scheduling a house visit (telehealth services are also available via phone and video) with a qualified medical team, based on your specific medical needs. Once you are in their system, you can request house calls whenever necessary, or communicate via the Heal app, available for iOS and Android. Users also have the option to select a “preferred doctor,” whom they will work with on an ongoing basis.
Most major insurance plans cover Heal’s services. For those who do not have insurance, Heal charges a flat rate of $159 per visit.
Price | Accepts Insurance | Other Features |
Prices vary based on insurance.
Without insurance: $159/visit |
Yes | -Mobile app -24/7/365 access -Virtual appointments available -More features at Heal |
Pros & Cons of Heal On-Demand Doctor House Call Services
Pros:
Cons:
What Customers Are Saying
Heal’s customers praise the service for providing convenient, competent care in any circumstance. “A house call that works with your schedule is too darn efficient,” writes one user. “You’re not a number, waiting to be seen. The doctors are seasoned, experienced, and have true respect for you.”
Employ Health, formerly known as Dose Healthcare, takes a unique approach to on-demand medical services. This Nashville-based company is focused on making convenient, quality care available on-site to small and mid-sized businesses.
Through Employ Health’s mobile on-site clinics, employees can get access to primary care like diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions; urgent care for acute conditions like cold, flu, and minor injuries, and support for on-going health and wellness initiatives like weight loss and biometric screenings.
Employ Health’s model is based on evidence that worksite health clinics are an effective way for employers to lower healthcare costs, reduce absenteeism, and increase employee health and productivity. Employers whose companies contract with Employ Health get access to medical services around the clock via Employ Health’s mobile app, available for iOS and Android. It also makes it much more convenient for individuals to seek care by bringing medical attention directly to them.
Price | Accepts Insurance | Other Features |
Prices vary; quote available upon request. | Yes | -Mobile app -Appointment scheduling available -24/7/365 access -More features at Employ Health |
Pros & Cons of Employ Health On-Demand Doctor House Call Services
Pros:
Cons:
What Customers Are Saying
Employ Health users are effusive in their praise of this healthcare service. “Amazing service!” writes one customer, who used the service for an ill child. “Our provider was warm, professional, gentle, really listened and took her time, and made my daughter feel very comfortable.”
SOS Doctor House Call works differently than other on-demand doctor services, in that the app simply facilitates an appointment between patient and provider.
This means that a wider range of care is available, including primary and urgent care, physical therapy, chiropractors, pediatricians, optometrists, and more. However, it also means that insurance and pricing varies depending on the service or doctor requested. Users must contact customer service during business hours to get a quote for the care they may need. Additionally, SOS Doctor House Call is currently only available in California.
For those who use the service, it’s as simple as downloading the app, which is available for iOS and Android, and requesting an appointment as necessary. Healthcare providers use the service by creating a profile and adding their hours of availability. Once their credentials are vetted by the platform, their services will appear in the app’s database.
Price | Accepts Insurance | Other Features |
Prices vary; quote upon request. | Yes | -Mobile app -Telemedicine available -24/7/365 access -More features at SOS Doctor House Call |
Pros & Cons of SOS Doctor House Call On-Demand Doctor House Call Services
Pros:
Cons:
What Customers Are Saying
SOS Doctor House Call users call the app “a must-have” for offering reliable, on-demand care for a variety of health-related concerns. “It definitely comes to the rescue when you need it, and least expect it,” writes one user. Adds another customer, “It’s so easy to use. I love it!”
This San Francisco-based telemedicine company offers full-service, on-demand urgent care to patients at their home, office, hotel room — wherever they currently are in the Bay Area. For residents in other areas of California, Urgent Med Housecalls offers telehealth consultations.
Urgent Med House Call services are primarily geared towards acute urgent care needs, such as sore throats, ear infections, nausea and diarrhea, and minor injuries. Doctors come to your location equipped with many of the most common prescriptions for routine health issues to help clients avoid the need to head to a pharmacy. They can also conduct simple, in-home lab tests, and will complete medical clearance paperwork.
All visits start with a phone consultation. If a house call is deemed the best course of action, the doctor will give an estimated time of arrival, typically within one hour. There is no limit on appointment length with Urgent Med Housecalls.
Price | Accepts Insurance | Other Features |
Prices vary; quote upon request. | No | -Telemedicine appointments available -Medical clearances -Basic lab tests -More features at Urgent Med Housecalls |
Pros & Cons of Urgent Med Housecalls On-Demand Doctor House Call Services
Pros:
Cons:
What Customers Are Saying
Many Urgent Med Housecalls customers praise the service as an alternative to the inconvenience and stress of an ER visit. “Our doctor was so compassionate, understanding, professional, and thoughtful about his diagnosis,” writes one customer. “Save yourself a trip to the hospital, and call Urgent Med Housecalls.”
Currently, MedHouseCall only provides telemedicine and house call services to the residents of the Ontario province of Canada. However, those in their coverage area get access to a high-quality of on-demand care for urgent medical issues, as well as pediatrics and prescription services.
This unique platform works by allowing doctors to sign up and designate when they are ready to receive house calls. Therefore, when a call comes in, a doctor is ready and waiting to respond.
Patients simply download the MedHouseCall app, available for iOS and Android, input their insurance information, and schedule an appointment as necessary. House calls are primarily available during regular business hours, but can also be scheduled overnight.
All fees associated with the house call visit are covered by OHIP (Ontario-specific insurance).There is also an in-app chat feature that lets patients communicate with their doctor before or after their visit.
Price | Accepts Insurance | Other Features |
House call fee: $45.15 | Yes | -Mobile app -24/7/365 access -Sick notes -More features at MedHouseCall |
Pros & Cons of MedHouseCall On-Demand Doctor House Call Services
Pros:
Cons:
What Customers Are Saying
For patients living in MedHouseCall’s coverage area, the app is noteworthy for providing rapid on-demand, in-home care when a trip to the doctor or ER isn’t ideal. “MedHouseCall provides excellent service and excellent customer support,” writes one user.
There are many perks of utilizing an on-demand doctor house call service. It’s convenient, especially if you or a loved one is too ill to leave the house, or you don’t have the time to travel to a doctor’s office or hospital and sit in a waiting room. It also means less exposure to germs, for you and the people with whom you would come in contact. And it often means getting an appointment much faster than if you are trying to see your primary care physician.
However, at least for now, you can only accomplish so much via an at-home doctor visit. Certain procedures and examinations require special equipment, like MRI machines, that are only available at a medical facility. Additionally, some medical emergencies must be treated in hospitals under the supervision of a team of healthcare professionals.
Mitchell Fong, Director of Telehealth at Renown Health, says “Telehealth has pushed the concept of hospital at home further than it has ever been explored before. Today, the advancement of technology has opened the door for the types of services that can be delivered outside of the traditional brick-and-mortar healthcare facility. Doctors can now perform imaging, lab testing, and treat lower acuity conditions in a patient’s home that historically they would have gone to the ER for.”
Another consideration is availability. Currently, on-demand doctor house call services operate in limited geographic areas, mostly centered around metropolitan areas. Before relying on these services, it’s important to confirm that they are available in your area. If not, an alternative might be an online doctor medical service that sees patients virtually.
Much of the recent news about on-demand doctors and house call services has been related to the increasing popularity and availability of these services as institutions and individuals identify the value of on-demand health.