Skip to main content

Can’t get out of bed? Health Tap Prime brings the doctor to your phone (or watch)

health tap prime virtual doctor 10 take action reminders tips healthtap
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Four weeks after Google announced HealthTap as the first health app for Android Wear, the medical app company is releasing a new premium service, HealthTap Prime. The Prime service lets you video chat with a doctor from your mobile device and sends reminders to your Android Wear smartwatch. However, healthcare isn’t cheap and neither is the subscription-based app. Subscriptions for HealthTap Prime start at $100 per month and increase $10/month for every additional family member on the plan.

HealthTap Prime provides access to all of the free services provided in the baseline app, including access to the expansive list of doctor’s responses to common health questions. The app, which is used mostly by pregnant women and people suffering from anxiety and stress issues, also offers general health tips based on your self-provided health interests and concerns. Now, it also lets you talk to a doctor wherever you are.

7-GET-HELP-Prescription-Referral-HealthTap
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The premium service will deliver medical consultation all via mobile and wearable devices with iOS, Android, or Android Wear onboard. The app also puts you in direct contact with doctors who can chat with you via HD video and live audio. Unlike other medical apps, HealthTap’s doctors can talk with patients and then prescribe medication all without actually seeing the patient in the real world. The prescription will be sent to your nearest pharmacy or even, in some cases, to the patient’s front door.

What’s more, the medical app can send reminders and checklists to patients. The notifications will appear on your Android device or iPhone, and as “note cards” on your wearable. The reminders come in handy, for instance, when you forget to take your medication or preform a certain rehab exercise. The reminders also allow patients to respond to doctors’ reminders with a simple “yes” or “no.”

“Imagine a world where people everywhere have instant ubiquitous access to the best doctors, who genuinely care about them and want them to feel good every day,” Ron Gutman, HealthTap’s CEO and founder, said in a release. “We can all greatly benefit from having immediate access to trusted doctors, which can have saved time, money, and potentially a life!”

The app does seem to make healthcare more convenient and could showcase Android Wear’s capabilities as a unified OS. However, it’s worth mentioning the eyebrow raising disclaimer on the bottom of every page on HealthTap’s website, “HealthTap does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.” The statement should raise eyebrows for anyone who’s looking to depend on the app for medical care. It’s, without a doubt, an alarming and contradictory statement.

Joe Donovan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Joe Donovan is an editorial assistant for Digital Trends who covers a variety of general assignments throughout the…
I can’t believe how our OnePlus 11 vs. iPhone 14 Pro camera test turned out
Someone holding the OnePlus 11 and iPhone 14 Pro side-by-side.

It's a well-known fact in 2023 that the iPhone 14 Pro has an excellent camera system. Whether you're taking carefully crafting portraits or just casually snapping photos without much thought, the iPhone 14 Pro is capable of churning out incredible results. But now that the OnePlus 11 is here, is there a new camera challenger to consider?

At first glance, you may not think that the $699 OnePlus 11 is much competition for the $999 iPhone 14 Pro. And while there are areas where the iPhone 14 Pro has a definite advantage, the OnePlus 11 holds its own a lot better than you might anticipate. For a closer look at the surprising results, here's our full OnePlus 11 versus iPhone 14 Pro camera comparison.
OnePlus 11 vs. iPhone 14 Pro: camera specs

Read more
Can’t buy a Nothing Phone? Now you can turn your phone into one
An iPhone 13 Pro Max with the transparent Dbrand Something case.

If you haven't been able to get your hands on the Nothing Phone 1 — either due to limited availability or the fact that it isn't being sold in the U.S. — Dbrand is able to help you ease the pain. Now you can turn your current phone into a Nothing Phone by using transparent-style Something skins that almost perfectly mirror Nothing's design.

Dbrand's marketing for its Something line of smartphone cases and skins isn't shying away from poking fun at the hype surrounding the Nothing Phone 1. Now that the Phone 1 is here, it's clear that its main selling point is its striking, transparent design. And that's something Dbrand knows all too well.

Read more
Galaxy S22 and Watch 4 get stunning new special editions that you can’t buy
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Diablo Edition

Samsung has announced new special-edition models of the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Galaxy Watch 4 this week. As with most of the company's more extravagant Galaxy collaborations, both are Korea-exclusive devices. That limited availability isn't surprising, but when these special editions feature such appealing designs and extras, we can't help but wish they were more widely available.

The most exclusive special edition is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Already a very handsome and well-received phone, Samsung is collaborating with Blizzard to launch a tie-in model with the Diablo Immortal game. Korean publication Yonhap reports that this Diablo Immortal package comes with the Galaxy S22 Ultra you'd expect, a leather mousepad, a map, a Blizzard-designed lenticular image, a phone case, a wireless charging pad, a Blizzard Battlecoin card, a Spigen grip case, and a wooden box that holds the whole package. It's appealing, it's fancy, and you can only get the chance to buy one of the 100 models in existence by winning a lottery in a select mall in Korea. See what we mean about being exclusive?

Read more