A Comparison Of The Best Known Online Doctor Services
There are a number of online pharmacy firms that offer an online doctor prescription service in the UK, traditionally these have been focused on selling their own select range of medication. However, having a consultation with your GP online about any health concerns – just as you would with your traditional GP surgery, but remotely via phone or online video link, is becoming very popular.
When asked by Consultdoc to write a review of the alternative options for getting a GP doctor’s appointment online I was keen to learn how they worked. Having been unable to juggle work and timely visits to my GP on more than one occasion and experiencing the frustration of surgery appointment restrictive reception practices firsthand, I’m so glad to know you can now book an appointment with an NHS or private doctor at a practical time.
Who hasn’t been into Boots at some point in their life? This was my first choice of Consultdoc alternatives…
Boots Online Doctor Review
Boots pharmacy partner with the Livi app for their online doctor appointments, all appointments have to be made via an app booking service. The Livi app is also used by NHS patients. Boots also use Lemonaid and Doctors Lab London for the delivery of some health services.
How do you register for a Boots Online Doctor?
Boots asks for more personal information than Consultdoc does upfront; before I could create my account, it asked for my name, email, DOB, gender, password, security question, mobile number, postcode, address, and city.
Consultdoc asked for name, email, and password. It didn’t ask for a security backup question but used an email verification and password reset for security.
Booking an online doctor appointment with Boots
After registering and logging into the Boots online doctor page, I was presented with a wide range of health issues to choose from. These require a bit of self-diagnosis, but then again it was all fairly obvious with the ailments treated via this route; altitude sickness, hair-loss treatment, allergies, etc. Choosing one of these takes you off on a survey-type journey where you provide all the details that the prescribing doctor will need. After several questions and acknowledging that you understood important statements, it asked me for a photo for the ID phase. Unfortunately, it did not seem to detect my laptop camera, so I was unable to continue the session. According to the progress bar, I was 20% of the way to completing my appointment booking.
Turning to the Livi app (which I think is probably the intended route), I got reading the Livi reviews. It sounds like I’m not the only one who has gotten stuck at the identity verification; it appears that updates over the summer of 2022 have caused issues.
Those who managed to get to see a doctor by video call were extremely pleased with Livi and left reviews along the lines of “friendly and helpful doctor”, “kept updated about when to expect the doctor’s call” and “prompt service was issued a referral letter/prescription within an hour” etc. It is a shame that buggy tech is getting between patient and doctor at present, but hopefully, Livi will sort this for Boots online doctor service soon.
Next up on my list of well-known online pharmacies… Superdrug.
Booking an online appointment with Superdrug
As with Boots, online doctor Superdrug also offers the self-diagnostic/doctor-reviewed routes for those ‘rather not explain face to face’ ailments. However, this is offered on a separate website to their online GP appointment service, which is nearer to the service offered by Consultdoc.
Superdrug Online Doctor
It does appear with Superdrug’s online doctor that you can choose to have the prescribing doctor call you to answer any concerns you might have about the medication prescribed. However, this is after you have ordered the medication and the 10-minute time slots are limited to between 2 pm and 3 pm three days a week.
Anyhow, it’s the actual GP video consultation that I’m most interested in, so how easy was it to book a general health issue appointment?
Superdrug Online Video Appointment
I found making the online video appointment with a Superdrug doctor was much easier than Boots/Livi, with the first slot available being only 30 minutes away and plenty of days and other times available. There is a good balance of pre-appointment information and speed to book. The option to Upload Pictures/PDFs wasn’t working for me, but to be honest I’d rather show the doctor what they need to see on the video call than uploading such photos to the world wide web.
Oh, and Superdrug does have an app available, but judging by the low number of installs and only one review (which is 5 stars), the logical conclusion is why use an app when their website works so well?
How easy is booking a doctor Online with Lloyds?
With Lloyds online doctor (termed “VideoGP from Lloyds Pharmacy”) being the highest ticket price of all the online GP appointment options I’ve compared, let’s look at what you get for your money. Lloyds Pharmacy launched their video GP service in August 2021, making it one year old as I write this.
Lloyds Online Doctor Cost
Before discounting Lloyds GP on the higher price tag, bear in mind that the cost of medication is included in this appointment fee. This all-inclusive and upfront fee model is unique to Lloyds, as far as my review of the alternatives has found.
Again, Lloyds online doctors are booked via a mobile app and there’s no option to book simply via a website. The app works well and is generally trouble-free, with the only issue being reported a number of times being that canceling a subscription is not easy. Whilst you can subscribe to Lloyds doctor service (£24.99 a month) easily, unsubscribing should you wish to, takes a phone call with, reportedly, long waiting times to get through.
Lloyds Online Doctor Reviews
Alternatives to Lloyds VideoGP, Superdrug, and Boots Online Doctors
Alternatives to these large-scale online doctor services are smaller GP surgeries like Consultdoc. Consultdoc is a General Practitioner surgery who specialise in video and phone doctor consultations, making their services available to anyone living in the UK. Whether it’s family health, women’s health, men’s health, or any general health issue that your local NHS GP would attend to, you can get an appointment to suit your lifestyle and time. Consultdoc is unique in its choice of phone or video consultation and quick online appointment booking. Be aware that due to patient safety, prescriptions are only available via the video consultation as personal ID needs to be seen.
Consultdoc Online Doctor Reviews
Online GP Services – Comparison Table*
| Service Offered | Boots | Consultdoc | Lloyds | Superdrug |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP Telephone Consultation | Not Advertised | £30.00 | Not Advertised | £35.00 |
| Phone Appointment Duration | – | 20 Mins | Not Advertised | 15 Mins |
| GP Video Consultation One-Off | £39.00 | £48.00 | £49.99 | £35.00 |
| Video Appointment Duration | 10 Mins | 30 Mins | 10 Mins | 10 Mins |
| Monthly Payment Option | Not Advertised | Not Advertised | £24.99 | Not Advertised |
| Annual Cost (Monthly Payments) | Not Advertised | £156.00 (£13.00/m) | £179.88 (£14.99/m) | Not Advertised |
| Prescription Admin Fee | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £7.49 |
| Fit Notes | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Weekday Availability | 8am – 10pm | 8am – 8pm | 8am – 8pm | Not Advertised |
| Weekend Availability | 8am – 4pm | 8am – 8pm | 8am – 8pm | Not Advertised |
| Waiting Time (as trialled) | Same Day | 15 Mins | 30 Mins | 30 Mins |
| Reception Phone Number | Not Advertised | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Laptop/Desktop Friendly | – | Yes | – | Yes |
| App Available | Yes | Not Advertised | Yes | Yes |
| Free NHS for Eligible Patients | Yes | Not Advertised | Not Advertised | Not Advertised |
| Children’s Health | Not Advertised | Yes | Not Advertised | Not Currently |
* All pricing correct at time of publication.
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Following your consultation with us, the doctor will be able to offer you treatment options such as a prescription, advice on self help measures, follow up appointments or simply refer you to a hospital specialist.