Online doctors write medical articles or answer questions via email or chat, often for pay. Some websites offer free chat or email consultations, while others charge a flat fee or allow users to bid for a doctor’s response. Symptom checkers are also considered online doctors, but seeing a doctor in person is still the best way to diagnose and treat an ailment.
An online doctor is generally a health professional who writes medical articles or answers people’s questions directly via email or chat. When they’re not writing for a personal website, doctors usually get paid a good deal for every article they submit to medical websites. Answering questions directly can also be paid work, but sometimes a doctor does it for free. Sometimes, symptom checkers are also referred to as online doctors. Symptom checkers are web programs that allow a user to enter symptoms, then provide the user with a list of conditions that could be causing those symptoms.
In general, doctors who write medical articles for popular medical websites are freelance writers, in addition to being health professionals. The doctor typically chooses a topic from a list, then writes it down and submits it with their name and credentials. An online doctor is often thoroughly vetted to ensure their certifications are real and that they are qualified to write on their chosen topics. Some doctors write while still practicing medicine, while others write full-time.
Many websites now offer the ability for users to talk to real doctors via chat or email. Often, these services are completely free to you, but it may take your doctor days or even weeks to respond – this service is not meant to be used in an emergency. Many people use this service to get a second opinion on a minor ailment that has been dismissed or cannot be resolved by a previous doctor. Other people use it to get advice on sexual or mental health issues, among other issues.
While there are free services, immediate help is often available through a paid online doctor. Some websites charge a flat fee to talk to a doctor online. Other websites allow users to bid for cash, then a doctor may choose to accept the offer and start chatting with the user. Often, the offer is sent with the question, and the doctor sends an email response soon after acceptance, with the length and details of the response determined by what the user has offered. These doctors are not recommended for emergency use either.
Another type of online doctor is simply a web program that tries to diagnose a person based on their symptoms. Like a real online doctor, it is possible for these programs to misdiagnose a problem. The best method for diagnosing and treating an ailment is to see a doctor in person.
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