My Experience With oladoc – A Patient’s Review

A patient, Muhammad Bilal Ahsan, happened to book an appointment with oladoc. He shares the intriguing story about his experience below, giving his honest assessment of the doctor booking platform. 

Booking an appointment in Pakistan – The usual way

On my journey to find the right doctor for my ailment in Pakistan I faced considerable difficulties. It got to a point where I had lost all hope…

Looking for a doctor in Pakistan has always been a troublesome experience for me. It’s a long and arduous process of finding who to consult, whether it’s done through asking your friends or looking elsewhere. 

Then comes the prolonged and inconvenient waiting at the hospital, and you can be sure that you almost certainly never get to see the doctor at the scheduled time of your appointment. 

This dragged-out and laborious process is enough to take a toll on any patient. It was certainly the case with me anytime I felt sick and wanted to see a doctor. 

Despite residing in Model Town, a well-developed and posh area of Lahore, I had to face numerous delays and inconveniences when I went on the lookout for a doctor for my illness. 

It all started when I had an upset stomach with some episodes of heartburn that had disrupted my sleep. At first, I ignored it, but then my health started deteriorating. My symptoms quickly worsened, and now apart from the heartburn, I was experiencing mild to severe stomach ache with occasional vomiting. 

I knew I had to see a doctor as my condition was not improving on its own even though I had been careful with my diet. So I asked around in my circle of family and friends, and everyone had their own distinct opinion of which doctor I should see. 

These mixed opinions only added to my confusion, and I was even more indecisive about where to go to get myself checked. So I called up the nearest hospital from my home and booked an appointment with a gastroenterologist via phone call. 

However, upon visiting the hospital at the scheduled time of the appointment, I had to wait for a whole hour. Shortly afterwards, the doctor’s assistant gleefully informed me that the doctor could not see me today as he had to leave early due to an emergency. 

I was shocked and appalled! A whole hour of my time had been wasted, and I wasn’t feeling any better. This disappointing experience led me to indulge in self-medication. I started using Gravinate for my vomiting and ORS to keep me hydrated. 

Despite being on medications, my condition showed no signs of improvement. This was when a friend suggested that I try oladoc, an online doctor booking platform in Pakistan. 

oladoc turned out to be a life-saver!

I hadn’t heard about oladoc or any other telehealth platform in Pakistan before, so this was a completely new experience for me. To tell you the truth, I was a bit skeptical at first.

Will my appointment actually take place? Will the doctor be on time? How will I pay? And will there be any extra charges? These were just some of my many pressing questions, and they made me even more hesitant and anxious. 

Despite these concerns, I decided to try it as I was too stressed out, and it wasn’t like there were any better alternatives at my disposal. So I downloaded the oladoc app onto my phone. I found the app to be incredibly user-friendly, and I was able to sign up in no time. 

Upon signing up, I was pleased to receive Rs. 200 in my oladoc wallet as a welcome gift. The app presented several options to book doctor appointments, video consultations, or lab tests. Moreover, it automatically set the region to Lahore based on my location. 

So I went forth and tapped on the “Doctor Appointment” button. A vast list of medical specialties appeared, and I selected “Gastroenterologist” from the list. To my surprise, this intelligent app automatically gave me a list of the best gastroenterologists in Lahore. 

Furthermore, the doctor profiles neatly displayed important details like experience, ratings, satisfaction rates, and wait times. 

The list was quite long, so I used the available filters at the top to sort the doctors by “Available Today” and “Doctors Near Me.” 

This narrowed down my choices considerably. After reading up on patient reviews, I decided to book an appointment with a doctor in Hameed Latif Hospital, a few kilometers away from my home. 

It took me less than a minute to book my appointment, and I even got a confirmation message by SMS on my registered mobile number. Thirty minutes before my appointment, oladoc sent me a reminder to jog my memory in case I had forgotten about the appointment. 

I reached the hospital at the scheduled time and consulted the doctor without hassle. After the initial assessment, I was diagnosed with GERD, a common digestive disorder. 

The doctor went over my case patiently and prescribed me some medicines while also offering me his expert advice on what dietary and lifestyle changes I should make to improve my condition. 

Summing up my experience with oladoc

Overall I was incredibly satisfied with my experience with oladoc. I didn’t have to wait for lengthy periods or stand in long queues. Best of all, I didn’t even have to pay any extra charges, only the doctors’ consultation fee. 

After my appointment, I got a call from oladoc’s helpline asking how my appointment went, so I shared my feedback and thanked them. In the end, I found oladoc to be incredibly useful, and I will surely recommend it to all my friends.