Feedback: How to get free medical advice

Winston writes in:

I wonder whether you have come across a website called “Tabadoc”.
It was a free website that allowed anyone to write in to obtain
answers to medical problems.
And they are answered by doctors from GPs to Specialists in all
fields.
It was very popular until it suddenly disappeared!
Would your website provide this service?
It will be much appreciated by the public.

Hello again, Winston. Thanks for writing in.
We are not aware of Tabadoc or know what happened to it.
I guess like the majority of Malaysians we want everything to be free and not have to pay for it, including medical advice. In order to run a website, it will cost money and resources so eventually what is “free” will come at a price, e.g. you have to register to provide your information or be subject to advertising of some sort.

We have a suggestion if you are looking for “free” medical advice from doctor (and not from your aunty, grandmother or neighbor) and that is to explore the new world of Telemedicine. There are some providers who do provide “free” medical advice:

Firstly, check out Teleme, one of the Malaysian Telemedicine providers which has a large number of GPs and Specialists. You first have to Sign-Up with Teleme as a patient. Then Once you have described your symptoms or medical problem, you then will receive a reply from one of the doctors in Teleme. Following the reply you may continue to engage the doctor. You will be able to view the Doctor’s profile in Teleme so you know who more about the medical professional you are engaging with on that platform.

Another one is Doctor2U’s LiveChat which is a service by the BP group. You first have to download to use the Doctor2U app (links on their website for iOS and Android)). It’s not clear to us if you can identify the doctor you are chatting with but BP assures you they engage only registered medical professionals.

Lastly you can try DoctorOnCall’s AskDoctor for “free” medical advice. The answers are provided by named medical professionals. The questions and answers are publicly posted so you can search and browse for other people’s health questions before you ask.

P.S.
The Malaysian Medical Resources page is a site where you can get the latest health and medical news pertaining to Malaysia, and also links to lots of Malaysian medical websites and organisations. We do not provide medical advice to individuals. For that we suggest strongly you see your own doctor.