Digital health services lately have seen a lot of success, and why not, because these web-based and mobile services not only allow you to compare prices at different hospitals and avoid spending exorbitant sum for a procedure, they have brought a great deal of transparency to health care. Now you no longer need to select a doctor based on a friend’s recommendation as you can easily pursue anonymous reviews and rather than calling a doctor’s office and waiting on hold, you can book a appointment online.

But how many of these web-based medical  information services are actually useful? Fret not, as I am about to share my list of top 10 online consumer health service technologies that do provide real value to consumers, collected from VentureBeat.

Doctor On Demand

As you might expect, Doctor on Demand is focused on non-emergency issues.Users enter their symptoms and any allergies and current medications, along with payment information. A video or voice chat (user’s choice) is then initiated, during which you can ask the physician just about anything, and even share photographs if you’d like an opinion on that nasty rash or insect bite. Verdict – a nifty app with a very user friendly UI.

Ask a Doctor

Another app that lets you make queries produces million results in minutes. Instant answers from Doctors, 24×7.  “Ask a Doctor” app allows you to write your health query, attach a picture or your latest lab report and post to doctors across the world in just a few taps. Your answer arrives in minutes thanks to our 15,000+ strong doctor network spread across geographies and time zones. What’s more? You can try it FREE. You also get FREE health tips from our doctors every now and then!

WebMD

WebMD is the largest source of medical information on the Web,according to ComScore.  This site provides health information about dozens of conditions and feedback from certified physicians. As it’s been around since 1996, it’s one of the most established med-tech companies.

Everyday Health

Everyday Health is a digital media company that owns and operates websites  to provide health and wellness information. The website provides advice and support, health tips, and recipes, and it attracts about 30 million unique visitors. It even has a television series that airs on ABC each weekend.
Castlight Health

Castlight Health claims to be a leader in health care transparency. Employers foot the bill so you can access information about the cost and quality of care, including physicians and hospitals.

HealthTap

HealthTap is a Silicon Valley-based Q&A site for consumers to ask  health-related questions, and receive answers from certified physicians. Answers from thousands of trusted doctors. Anytime, anywhere.For FREE! A favourite app of mine. The focus is on slick design and ease of use.The company claims that thousands of certified physicians and medical experts have already signed up, and this week, the startup heard from its 10,000th user who said the site saved her life.

iTriage

Health insurance giant Aetna recently acquired the parent company  behind iTriage, a new mobile and web application to help patients take charge of their health. iTriange is best known for its free symptom checker — it’s an easy way to find out whether a creepy-looking rash warrants a doctor’s visit. You can also use iTriage to locate the nearest hospital and book an appointment.
Microsoft HealthVault

It’s a website to store health and fitness data that caters to care providers and patients. It’s designed so that you can easily port information from devices, including smartwatches, fitness gadgets, and blood pressure monitors.Once HealthVault has compiled all this data, the next step will be to provide insights you can actually use. Microsoft isn’t the only company working on this; virtually all the household name technology and health companies are building data analysis tools.

Patient Fusion

Patient Fusion is the consumer-focused offering which books  doctor appointments and browse reviews. The site only launched in April, but it already claims to have over 2.5 million reviews of doctors from patients.

ZocDoc

The 6 year old, New York-based ZocDoc is a website for patients to book doctor’s appointments. You can search for a doctor by specialty, location, and your insurance plan. Today, 4 million patients use it each month, and it services population centers that account for 40 percent of the U.S. population.

Caring.com

Caring.com is a website for caregivers to find information about how to support aging relatives. The site provides tips and advice for managing medication and a search engine for finding nearby care providers. More than 50 million people in the U.S. care for someone over the age of 50, so it’s a huge market opportunity.

PatientsLikeMe

PatientsLikeMe is a community-focused site for people to  connect with others who share genetic conditions and diseases. For people with chronic conditions, the site also offers a tracking function so you can see how your health fares over time.

Have you used any of these sites already? I’d love to hear your feedback.