Source: JohnnyJet.com
Link: https://www.johnnyjet.com/get-baby-doctor-nyc-247/
Natalie, Jack and I are in New York City this week for work. When baby Jack developed a fever, we didn’t know who to turn to. We emailed our doctor back home, and she was great, but we really needed someone to check on the little man in person. I called my brother who lives in Connecticut who reminded me that we were in New York City, which has the best doctors in the world. Just Google “NYC pediatrician urgent care,” he said.
I did, and one of the first results was Baby Doctor. I noticed it had five stars, and I clicked the 75+ reviews to see if the site was legit or not. To my surprise, not one of the reviews was negative. So I called the 24/7 number (I later found out there’s an app so you can order a doctor with just the tap of a button) and the doctor on the phone took some general information and said someone from their team could come to our hotel within an hour since we were in Manhattan. The service covers the greater New York City metropolitan area, including New Jersey.
I asked how much it would cost for the visit and the doctor told me $250. I gulped, but of course, no price is too high when it comes to my son’s health. I gave him my credit card and was told he would get right back to us with the name of the doctor and an ETA. When he called back, he told me that the good news was that one of their best doctors was available, but the bad news was that she was finishing up another call and wouldn’t be able to get to us for two hours. “No problem,” we said. About 45 minutes later, I received a text from the doctor informing me that she would be arriving to our hotel between 6:50pm and 6:55pm. She was right on time and super-friendly and thorough.
Dr. Aluem came in, washed her hands immediately and ended up spending 90 minutes in our room. Part of that time consisted of waiting for me to run to multiple drug stores to get what she requested: Children’s Advil (we already had Children’s Tylenol), a suppository (since he wouldn’t take the medicine orally), Vaseline, and Pedialite.
Since we spent so much time with the doctor, I learned that she’s originally from South Korea and she got her degree from Cornell University. What was even more impressive was that she texted my wife at 1am and then throughout the rest of the night and the following day, giving her instructions on what to do medicine-wise and even left her heart rate monitor with us, saying that we could leave it with the front desk in the morning for her to pick up.
We were really impressed with Baby Doctor’s service. It was so much better than going out to a doctor’s office or— worse—an emergency room. I read on the website that:
* 56% of pediatricians spend under 15 mins per patient (Source: Parents.com)
* 65% of ER visits are non-emergency visits (Source: Blue Cross Blue Shield)
* $1,572 is the average cost of an ER visit (Source: Washington Post)
* Two hours and 15 minutes is the average time spent waiting in a NYC Emergency Room (Source: American College of Emergency Physicians)
Baby Doctor launched in 2014. They offer medical house calls for kids aged 0-17. They treat all kids with pediatric urgent care, like ear infections, tummy aches, fevers, rashes, etc. They also offer lactation home visits for new moms who need breastfeeding support. They have 62 pediatric providers in the Baby Doctor network and all of their providers are 100% licensed and board-certified in pediatric medicine.