Medmate Overview

Bottom Line:

Comparing award-winning industry-leader Medmate’s services, prices, customer service options and privacy measures with other sites shows a strong online telehealth provider with serious aspirations, constant industry engagement and occasional glitches. 

Pros:

1. Comprehensive service offerings, including mental health plans, express same day medication delivery and fully supported weight loss programs. 

2. Some free or Medicare covered services, most others priced moderately, placing Medmate above comparable sites on price for its comprehensive services. 

3. Convenience is Medmate’s biggest selling point. The site successfully partners with pharmacies and a mental health provider, giving access to services not offered by sites like Updoc and MyDrScripts. 

Cons: 

1. Medmate customer support sometimes takes a while to address customer concerns fully [4].  

2. The site’s pricing can be lacking in transparency  

3. Some extended services are provided by external providers, such as Jelly Health. 

4. No doctors available between 11pm and 7am. 

Comprehensive & Fast Services Through Medmate and Partners 

Medmate Australia offers more comprehensive and convenient service options that some other competitors such as Simple Online Doctor or Ready Med. The standout are the speed and convenience of having prescriptions filled and delivered, full mental health service  and weight loss service wraparounds. Some of the latter is bulk-billed or free, which is unusual in the telehealth market. 

Online Prescriptions: Online prescriptions and repeats can not only be searched by medication on the site and ordered but also afterward uploaded and filled directly on the site. Medmate scripts are sent via text message and normally arrive within 2 hours [1]. You can choose guaranteed same-day delivery or pick-up at your nearest pharmacy for your medication. This is a functionality and speed not available on most telehealth sites and even beats out established providers like Chemist Warehouse for speed and efficiency [1]. (Some users reported that some pharmacies filling scripts may add surcharges of around $10-15 for the fast delivery, while pick up is free. Other users had their medication delivered within an hour at no extra charge – check with your chosen pharmacy.) 

Blood Test Referrals: Blood tests are available via Medmate, ranging from simple to comprehensive (including gluten tolerance, thyroid, pregnancy, male hormones, healthy heart and much more) and with 2000 collection centres listed. You can choose the test you want and have it approved in a very cheap telehealth consult. This process is more comprehensive and cheaper than with the majority of other telehealth providers. 

Mental Health Plans: Mental health support on Medmate is comprehensive, including not just a consult but also access to online psychologists and bulk-billed mental health care plans. Medmate stands above most of the other providers in this category, such as Simple Online Doctor. 

Weight Loss Support: Weight loss programs on Medmate are also more comprehensive, including a free initial consultation, free MyFitnessPal Premium access, clinician led weight management, and approved weight loss treatments. 

Medical Certificate: Medical certificates for carers and individuals are delivered only by email, not phone like on Updoc, for example. Medmate certificates are available as multi-day  too. 

Telehealth Consultation: Telehealth consults with registered Australian doctors are available via phone or video, which is industry standard.

Specialist Referral: Referrals for experts and radiology require a general consult first. 

Medmate Offers Cheap Pricing for Comprehensive Services, Speed & Full Convenience 

Medmate sits in the mid-range of telehealth sites pricewise. Only basic offerings are cheaper on sites like InstantScripts. And Medmate’s comprehensive doctor’s consults are cheaper than comparable ones on DoctorsonDemand and PrimeMedic.  

• Telehealth consults cost $35 for a single complaint. 
• Online prescriptions and repeats are $22.50. 
• Medical certificates cost $19.90 for single day or $39 for multi-day use. 
• Blood tests cost $24 for the consultation. The actual test is bulk billed at pathology providers. 
• Mental health services can be bulk billed to some extent. Scripts cost $22.50 and certificates $19+. Your initial call mental health call is free. Comprehensive mental health services are provided by partnered online psychology provider Jelly Health [2].Weight loss programs have a free initial consult and free MyFitnessPal Premium Access. The full monthly program costs $349 (including treatment, home care pack, delivery and regular health practitioner support).  
• Medmate offers free express delivery on your first pharmacy delivery.  

While Medmate’s site emphasises express service, there’s no actual wait time specified for doctor consultations, like on sites including Updoc. Customer reviews are also inconsistent on wait times with some receiving prompt service, others waiting up to an hour and a few reporting waiting for hours [3]. 

Medical certificates and eScripts are sent electronically instantly after your doctor consultation. This means in about 15 minutes within Medmate, and hours if placed between 7am and 11pm AEST, 7 days a week. 

Ordering medication through Medmate’s partnered local pharmacies is done via the scripts QR code online, and offers three speeds: 60 min Express delivery (not all locations) for $15, Same Day Next Day delivery for $11.50 (same day “likely” if order placed before 1pm), and Standard 3-5 day national delivery. This places Medmate well behind the advertised delivery times on sites such as Hola Health. 

Medmate Offers Industry Standard Privacy and Data Protection Measures 

Medmate is constantly engaged with the body regulating Australian healthcare practitioners, the AHPRA, advocating for consumers and customers and compliant with Australian privacy laws (Privacy Act 1988), indicating its strong commitment to professional standards. 

The telehealth service provider encrypts consultations and stored data – as is the industry standard - and lists its data protection practices online.  

Medmate offers similarly robust privacy and encryption measures as Qoctor and other sites and sites above some less transparent sites such as Sicky. 

Plenty of Customer Support Options, Medmate Delivers for Most Users 

Customer support options are easy to access, ranging from live chat option, over web form and comprehensive online library to live phone support between 9am and 9pm every day. Medmate also does follow-up calls by nurses at no charge where they feel this may be necessary. The site further offers separate email addresses for their partnered pharmacy and psychologist programs. 

While this is a greater variety of support options and more extensive hours than most telehealth providers, response times and helpfulness can vary according to online Medmate reviews [3]. Medmate’s app scores particularly poorly on functionality and support with users [1]. 

Reading through customer reviews, the site sometimes gets it wrong but the Medmate customer support pulls out all stops to eventually get it right [4], through refunds, freebies, additional services or using express delivery, where necessary.  

Industry Leader Punching Above its Weight through Partnerships 

A Telstra business award winner and highly ranked on consumer review sites, Medmate Australia offers top notch comprehensive online doctors services, some of which are available for free or under Medicare. Most of the telehealth site’s services are available within one hour and cover under resourced services, like mental health plans and weight loss programs in remote areas. Medmate aims to be an industry leading provider, including educating consumers via broad topic library and advocating for broader telehealth access under Medicare for consumers with the governing body. Its customer service and untransparent pricing for comprehensive services are Medmate’s weakest features. 

This content is for information only. It does not represent professional medical advice. While MediCompare and the writer have taken all due care to ensure the content is accurate and current at the time of publishing, we recommend you consult your own doctor, other health care provider or the governing body for further information. 

Telehealth services mentioned above should be used in conjunction with your general practitioner or other healthcare professional. If you experience no improvement or a worsening in symptoms after consulting a telehealth practitioner, we advise you to seek urgent medical care.  

MediCompare and its writers are not liable for any medical problems arising from the use of its service or the reviewed site. 

[1] https://apps.apple.com/au/app/medmate/id1520160438?see-all=reviews 
[2] https://jellyhealth.com.au/
[3] https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/medmate
[4] https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/medmate.com.au?topics=customer_service