Frequently Asked Questions

We are a team of Emergency Department (ED) clinicians. We formed Emergency Consult because we wanted to bring our expertise out of the bricks and mortar hospital to you - when and where you need it. Please see Our Story, Mission and Values, and Meet The Team for more.

You can be assured you will receive sound and expert medical advice and treatment options through Emergency Consult. Our Emergency Medicine Doctors and Registered Nurses (RNs) are the same skilled professionals you would have previously encountered only after a lengthy wait and escalation through the hospital system. We’ve all worked extensively in hospital emergency departments (EDs) and are veterans of our healthcare system.

Emergency Consult provides rapid access to emergency doctors in the form of a video consultation. This is sometimes referred to as a tele-medicine or tele-health service. It allows you to access care on-demand from your camera-enabled phone or device without having to travel to a hospital or clinic. Think of it as almost like an old fashion house call except it utilises commonplace modern technology.

You're welcome to get in touch with us directly by emailing [email protected] or phoning 0800 300 108.

Our clinicians could be answering your call from anywhere in Aotearoa; we have staff located throughout the country. We are supported by an operations team in Kirikiriroa Hamilton.

No! We have made it as simple as possible for you to access Emergency Consult when you need us. There are no apps or software downloads. As long as your phone or device has a camera and web browser you're good to go.

Absolutely. Medical data is stored in compliance with Ministry of Health guidelines. We use a New Zealand-based secure data exchange called Healthlink and a proven New Zealand electronic medical record service called Indici.

For optimal performance we recommend using Google Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge.

A doctor consult costs $89 for adults and $49 for children 14 and under. You can top up your account in advance.

Yes! You can use Emergency Consult at any time, as often as you need, without it impacting upon your registration with your primary health organisation (PHO) or general practitioner (GP). Think of Emergency Consult as an online urgent-care clinic - it’s best used for unscheduled and unexpected accidents, illnesses and emergencies.

Yes! Emergency Consult is ACC registered.

You will be required to pay in advance of consultation. If your health insurance covers accident and emergency care then you should claim the cost of your consultation back from them. We are not a Southern Cross affiliated provider at this time.

We take your concerns seriously and we have a process for managing complaints. Please submit your complaint to [email protected] in the first instance and our staff will get back to you within 24 hours.

When using any health or disability service in New Zealand you have the following rights:

The right to be treated with respect.
The right to freedom from discrimination, coercion, harassment, and exploitation.
The right to dignity and independence.
The right to services of an appropriate standard.
The right to effective communication.
The right to be fully informed.
The right to make an informed choice and give informed consent.
The right to support.
Rights in respect of teaching or research.
The right to complain.

You have the right to have someone with you during your consultation. You can also contact an advocate through the Nationwide Health & Disability Advocacy Service: https://advocacy.org.nz/contact-an-advocate-now/

Emergency Medicine is a medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate attention. Emergency Medicine Specialists are doctors who are highly trained in early diagnosis, treatment and stabilisation of acute medical illness and life or limb threatening injury. Emergency doctors care for a full spectrum of patients undifferentiated by age or any other characteristic. Senior doctors of this speciality belong to the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM).

After gaining their basic 6 year medical degree, Emergency Medicine Specialists are required to go through a minimum of seven more years of post-graduate training during which time they’ll deal with all types of emergencies. They sit a tough entry exam and an exit specialist exam. Once qualified with their exit exam, Emergency Medicine Specialists belong to the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM).

You may begin your consultation with a brief triage with an Emergency Triage Registered Nurse before you are connected to a doctor. You will not have to wait or queue for long; your video consult will be answered within minutes and the doctor you'll video chat with is an experienced Emergency Medicine Specialist.

Yes, you get rapid access to some of the best emergency doctors in Aotearoa! Our doctors are highly regarded Fellows of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (FACEMs) and are veterans of the New Zealand healthcare system.

Emergency Medicine covers the breadth of healthcare but please be aware that should you present with a mental health concern you will be referred to the relevant service provider. We are unable to provide narcotic scripts, repeat GP scripts, and mental health consultations at this time.

Our highly experienced emergency doctors will provide diagnosis, medical recommendations, and treatment options as you would expect. Furthermore, they can provide scripts, medical certificates, investigations (labs and x-rays) and referrals.

If, for example, you are traveling and you've forgotten your medication, then yes our doctors can provide a short term prescription to you. However, we may require you to see your General Practitioner (GP) for any medications that require special authority and/or are known as a ‘controlled drug’ under the NZ Medicine Act 1981.

No, we are not a GP service and we are not a primary care provider. General Practitioners (GP) are a medical specialty in itself and, although there are overlap in some skills, emergency medicine specialists are your first port of call for unscheduled accident and illness often occurring afterhours, weekends, nights or when you cannot get in to see your GP urgently.

No! If you think you have a life or limb-threatening illness or injury, then call 111.