How to Consult a Doctor Online in Nigeria: A Simple Step-By-Step Guide

Have you ever felt feverish and dreaded the thought of navigating traffic to spend hours in a hospital waiting room? You are not alone. Thanks to telemedicine, you can now access medical assistance more smartly and quickly, right from your phone, in the comfort of your home. 

Healthcare access in Nigeria is often challenging due to high out-of-pocket costs, inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, and difficulty in reaching facilities, especially in rural areas. As of recent estimates, only about 5% of Nigerians have health insurance, and 70% still finance their healthcare through out-of-pocket expenditure. 

These challenges have led many Nigerians to rely on unqualified alternatives when seeking medical aid. However, the telemedicine industry is growing rapidly, as it provides modern, convenient, and practical solutions that put healthcare in the palm of your hand. You can easily access services from your phone without needing to attend multiple physical consultations. 

In this guide, we explore everything you need to know about consulting a doctor online in Nigeria. From choosing the right service to getting your prescription, you will find steps that make your first online consultation stress-free and straightforward.

Step 1: Choose a Telemedicine Platform

The first step to choosing a reliable online medical service is to choose a reputable platform. This first step ensures you receive the best care from a provider who protects your personal health information. To select a reliable service, consider these criteria in your search.

• MDCN-Licensed Doctors: Ensure the service explicitly states that they use doctors licensed to practice in Nigeria by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). These professionals are authorised to provide medical, dental, and alternative medicine services after meeting the council’s training standards.

• Transparency: Check the cost of the platform to ensure your choice aligns with your budget. Is it a one-time fee per consultation or a monthly subscription? Thoroughly reviewing the associated expenses enables you to understand what you’re paying for and why, reducing the chance of unexpected charges. 

• Services Offered: This is important to ensure that the telemedicine platform meets your specific health needs. The services healthcare providers offer vary across consultations, prescriptions, lab tests, and home care. Do you need a General Practitioner, Therapist, Physician or Pediatrician? Matching the services offered to your condition ensures you get effective treatment and confirms that the platform can meet your needs. 

• Positive User Reviews: Online reviews are proof of the quality of a platform’s service. They showcase a platform’s credibility, how others have interacted with their services, and what they have to say about it. Check for reviews on Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. 

• Security and Privacy: Online healthcare services handle extremely sensitive information, so you need to be sure your information is in safe hands. Data privacy ensures sensitive data is only accessed by approved parties. Read through the privacy policies carefully to ensure your data is handled responsibly and ethically. 

You need to be meticulous about your selection process because the quality of care you receive is critical to your health and well-being. In Nigeria, MyCyberClinics is one of the leading telemedicine platforms that ticks all these boxes. 

Step 2: Preparing for Your Online Consultation

Now that you have selected a platform, the next thing to do is prepare for a virtual meeting with the doctor. Preparation is key to a successful virtual appointment, as you want the call to be smooth and effective. Additionally, time with the healthcare provider might be limited, so you want to communicate your symptoms clearly and ask all the essential questions. Here are some actionable tips to help you prepare better.

• Find a quiet, private space: You need this for your appointment to maintain the confidentiality of your personal health information. When it comes to serious discussions or special consultations, private spaces ensure your comfort and prevent interruptions. 

• Check your devices: Log in minutes before the scheduled time to test your internet connection, camera and microphone before your meeting. Ensure all devices are adequately powered as well. Also, make allowance for backups in case your video connection fails due to internet fluctuations.

• Write down your symptoms: Have a detailed list of your symptoms, when you started feeling them, medications you’ve taken, what has improved and not, and any questions you might have for your doctor. 

• Take photos (if applicable): If your symptoms include visible reactions like a skin rash or swollen eye, take clear, well-lit photos to share with the doctor. Some diagnoses require visual assessment, so be ready to provide pictures if necessary. 
• Take note of your medical history: Be ready to provide recent test results, allergies, medical history and the current medications you’re on to ensure that prescriptions are as close to the mark as possible. 

• Prepare Your Questions: If you made any observations or have any questions, list them out to ensure you don’t forget or skip any.

Step 3: Book the Appointment & Start the Call

You’ve selected the platform, and you have prepared all the necessary information for the consultation. How then do you book an appointment? Using MyCyberClinics as an example, here is the typical user journey on a telemedicine app.

• Download the app and register: Fill in the necessary fields requesting your name, email and phone number.

• Select a doctor/service: Choose the type of consultation you need. For instance, do you want to speak to a General Practitioner or a Pediatrician?

• Describe your symptoms: Fill out the pre-consultation form with the information you gathered in step two above. 

• Make payment: Complete the payment securely through the app using a card or bank transfer.

• Join the Consultation: Depending on the platform’s options, you’ll be connected to the doctor via a video call, audio call, or chat.

Step 4: During the Consultation

For effective communication with your doctor, be transparent and honest. Describe your symptoms in detail and leave nothing out to make sure they provide help suited to your needs. Also, ask questions using the list you prepared earlier to make sure all your concerns are covered.

Listen and take notes of advice, diagnosis, and any instructions for medications you can use and follow-up information. With all necessary information provided, the doctor can give a diagnosis, recommend treatment, issue a prescription or refer you for in-person tests if needed.

Step 5: After the Consultation

The consultation is over, so what’s next? The process is not over when the call ends. Just as with a physical consultation, the doctor will discuss the next steps with you. The following instructions will guide you on what to do after the call.

• Receive your doctor’s notes: Most platforms provide you with a summary of the consultation call in the app. You could go over it.

• Get your e-prescription: If medication has been prescribed to you, a digital copy will be sent to your phone or email, and you can go with this to your local pharmacy. 

• Lab test referrals: If lab tests are required. The doctor will send a referral form that you can take to a partner diagnostic center. For follow-ups, you can book an appointment again through the app.

Conclusion

Telemedicine gives you control of your health and saves you time and stress. To consult a doctor online, you need to choose your telemedicine platform, prepare for your online consultation, book the appointment and start the call, effectively communicate during the consultation, and record all you were told to do after the call ends. 

Ready to skip the waiting room? Experience the convenience of modern healthcare. Download the MyCyber Clinics App Today to book your first online doctor consultation in minutes.