Burst Health Review

Bottom Line:

Discreet full-cost medication delivery, medical certificates, and sexual health tests for patients wanting minimal doctor supervision or interaction. No telehealth consultations available. 

Former telehealth site Burst Health now has a focus on questionnaire-based ordering and delivery of tests, medication, and medical certificates, as well as keto shakes. Prices are not always available on site, but those that are are higher than on most other telehealth sites. Still, the site offers privacy and discretion, and a money-back guarantee not available on telehealth sites.  

Pros:

1. Minimal patient effort and engagement required.  

2. Fast customer service response, similar to premium sites such as Prime Medic.  

3. Discreet medication packaging and no signing required on delivery, unlike any other telehealth service I checked. 

Cons: 

1. Potentially long wait times to hear from doctors and no scheduling option, similar to the free after-hours service 13SICK. 

2. Prices shown are much higher than even premium sites such as Prime Medic. 

3. No telehealth consultation option unlike all other current telehealth sites I checked. 

Burst Health Offers Prescription Solutions and Questionnaire-based Medical Certificates 

Burst Health offers prescriptions for a range of conditions, supplementary shakes, and medical certificates. It no longer provides telehealth consultations. Unlike most competitors, such as ReadyMed, it does not clearly state that all doctors are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. 

All services are delivered via an online questionnaire followed by a medical team review and a call if you require one. Based on the Australian Digital Health Agency’s recommendations [1], obtaining a prescription or medical certificate should involve a consultation with the doctor wherever possible.  

Medication Delivery: Free and discreet delivery Australia-wide is one of Burst Health’s main services. This normally takes 2 – 3 business days. Unusually, their deliveries do not need to be signed for, unlike other medication deliveries. This means you cannot investigate any missing medication.

Weight Loss Support:  Keto shakes can also be ordered. 

Online Prescriptions: Medication can be provided for weight loss, hair loss, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, insomnia, acne, cold sores, genital herpes, dark spots, melasma, and contraception. All medication requires you to pay the full price, with no access to rebates.

Medical Certificate: Medical certificates for single and multiple days can be issued based on your request dated from the same day or the next day. 

STD Tests: Testosterone tests and STD tests are available privately on the website. 

Some Pricing Unavailable and Several Days Wait 

Process and Wait Times 

• Burst Health’s services are instant and questionnaire-based.  
• After you’ve filled in a questionnaire online, a doctor may contact you to follow up within 24hours. 
• Medication delivery takes 1-2 business days Australia-wide. Its wait times are very long for a medication-delivery-based service compared to other telehealth competitors. 

Important note: 

During the sign-up process, you are asked whether you’d like a doctor to contact you before prescribing. Best practice as per the Australian Digital Health Agency is a video consultation or phone call before prescribing medication [1]. Medical certificates issued without this can be rejected by your employer according to the Medical Board of Australia [2]. 

Pricing On Site 

• Medical certificates are available for $29.95 and can take several days to be issued, making it more expensive and slower than other providers, such as Sicky. 
• Testosterone tests cost $199, and STD tests cost $89.00. These would be free by using an after-hours bulk-billing service such as 13SICK. 
• Weight loss medication starts from $4.39 a day, roughly in line with the private cost of this type of medication in Australia. 
• Keto shakes are available for $50. They are not available on any other telehealth sites I visited. 

The following services do not have pricing information available:  

• Hair loss 
  
• Erectile dysfunction 
  
• Premature ejaculation 
  
• Insomnia 
  
• Acne 
  
• Cold sores 
  
• Genital herpes 
  
• Dark spots 
  
• Melasma 
  
• Contraception

Burst Health also offers a limited 100% money-back guarantee on some services. 

Burst Health has an unusual range of products compared to sites such as UrgentScripts.

Hard-to-Find Information, Changing Services 

• Burst Health’s site is hard to navigate. Even the top menu lists services in a way that is neither intuitive nor descriptive enough. For example, two of the most prominent options are Shakes and Certificates, which made me think I had landed on a supplement site. Under the Treatments tab, erectile dysfunction, genital herpes, and similar conditions are listed, making it look like a site focused on sexual health or male health.  
• There is no clear information available on pricing or wait times, not even under FAQs. Only a few services have a shopping cart-like option with prices. Only some other sites, such as InstantScripts, offer some of the same services. 
• The site is questionnaire-based, but this process has a very basic design and functionality. There are no indications on pricing or options early on in the booking process.  
• The language on the site varies between suggesting it is a full telehealth site and offering “the finest patient care” in big headers to describing the process as a review by doctors or nurses, without stating their qualifications.  Importantly, the listed process omits a patient video or phone call in their descriptions, although you can request one during the booking process. 

The site looks and feels much more basic than even those of competitors with very limited services, such as Sicky. It also does not clearly represent the business’s shift away from doctors’ consultations. (Which a live chat representative told me about.) 

Data Sharing Optional, Advertising Inbuilt 

Burst Health shares your data with a range of partners for performance and marketing purposes, including Facebook and Twitter (sic). While the site states that you can opt out during the sign-up process, it is not clear whether that prevents the site from using targeting and advertising cookies it stores on your computer.  

As Burst Health has recently pivoted from being a telehealth provider in both Australia and New Zealand to a private medication delivery service after being investigated by New Zealand’s Medsafe over advertising prescription and controlled drugs on social media sites [5]. It is no longer subject to the same high regulatory standards as telehealth providers.

Fast but Unhelpful Customer Service 

Burst Health’s customer service team will generally answer your questions quickly, Monday to Friday - 9 am to 9 pm (AEST). While they have high ratings of 4.7/ 5 stars on customer review websites such as Trustpilot [3] and Product Review [4], most of these are centred around the delivery of medication, including weight loss products. The more critical reviews state problems with unhelpful customer service in addressing slow medication or certificate delivery. Customers also state they do not assist in tracking deliveries, but Burst Health does not require a signature upon medication delivery. 

Customer service made contradictory statements when contacted. I was told doctors were no longer available for calls, but then (contrary to what the website describes), a doctor would contact me to check on my questionnaire responses.  

Pivot to Product Delivery Site 

Burst Health offers discreet service for prescriptions, tests, and medical certificates with minimal doctors’ consultations and oversight. As it recently changed from a more comprehensive telehealth site to a questionnaire-heavy provider, positive customer reviews may not fully reflect the current service offering. The site provides minimal information on pricing and doctors’ qualifications. Available pricing is much higher than on most telehealth sites, such as Qoctor, and reflects the focus of Burst Health as a private-ordering product-heavy site. 

While this content represents the most accurate and current information available at the time of writing, please conduct your own research into any service you sign up for. 

Telehealth is a complementary service to the care of your primary physician, and you should not start any prescription medication without a doctor’s consultation. If in doubt about any medical advice you receive from a telehealth service or if your symptoms worsen, contact your GP.

[1] https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/electronic-prescriptions
[2] https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Newsletters/July-2024.aspx
[3] https://www.trustpilot.com/review/bursthealth.com.au
[4] https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/burst-health
[5] https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/news/summer-hiatus/telehealth-provider-burst-health-exits-nz-after-medsafe-warning