Telehealth's rise and the availability of doctor appointment apps have never provided patients with more efficiency or access before. And yet, some applications are more or less safe than others, and some are genuinely dangerous if certain precautions are not taken. In this blog post, yellow flags of doctor appointment apps, risks of these applications, expected concerns with using doctor apps, and how Makapt helps reduce risks associated with experiencing and accessing remote health services more safely will be addressed.
Why You Should Watch Out - The Stakes Are Real
As a precursor to discussing yellow flags, being cautious about health, as much or more so than with legal matters, can be important. Possible negative consequences vary from wrong diagnoses to unauthorized sharing of the user's medical data to the user's not recognizing the doctor as a licensed professional and/or the user believing the practitioner as a licensed professional. These consequences are real and emphasized in the very recent news stories of privacy breaches, poor app security with health apps, and concerning online access by questionable medical practitioners.
Considering that, you will notice five red flags to look for when checking out any telehealth app or online doctor.
1. No Clear Credentials or Licensing Verification
Red flag: The app doesn’t verify or show that its doctors are verified or fully licensed by a recognized medical board. Or even worse, the app allows “doctors” from unknown jurisdictions or unverified backgrounds.
Why it matters: Without credentials, you can’t guarantee that the person you are consulting is qualified. Additionally, medical licenses are state-specific - one doctor may be licensed in one state or country, but not able to see patients in another.
What to look for: Does the application include the doctor's credentials, license number, specialty? Is there credible information on how they verify the practitioners?
Makapt solution: We verify every practitioner credential and make sure they are licensed in the jurisdiction(s) that they have patients in. Our platform will not allow unverified providers to show up in the app. We believe in the importance of transparency - the user will be able to see the doctor profiles, the qualifications, and reviews before booking an appointment.
2. Overlapping or Unreasonable Schedules/Billing Patterns
Red flag: The application was able to book several appointments at the same time for one doctor, or the app is billing for visits that overlap or are minimal to no interaction (for example billing for 15 minutes when the doctor had a 2-minute phone call). We have seen some telehealth providers have been flagged for billing for phantom visits.
Why it matters: Indicates possible violations in ethics, in that the “visit” didn’t really happen or was only superficial.
Makapt’s solution: Using advanced scheduling techniques, we eliminate overlapping appointments, identify possible abusive billing practices, and record start/end times of every session. We also have audits and gather patient feedback.
3. Insufficient Data Privacy and Security
This is a concern when the app lacks end-to-end encryption, stores records unencrypted, transmits data over the internet unsecurely, or requests excessive permissions (like location, microphone, camera) without a valid reason.
Why it matters: Breached medical data can expose a patient’s medical diagnosis and prescriptions, and personal identifiable information, and poor security practices will remain a weakness just waiting to be exploited.
Makapt’s solution: We adopt and practice, "privacy by design" and “privacy by default.” We employ strong encryption (in transit and at rest), enforced multi-factor authentication, limited unnecessary data collection, and provided regular security audits. All communication between patient and doctor is encrypted. We do not expose raw medical data to third parties without consent.
4. No Accountability, No Patient Support, or No Escalation Path
Red flag: The app provides no obvious way to complain or ask for a second opinion, and no contact support or escalation for stubborn problems. There might also be no customer service, no in-app messaging, and no dispute resolution for submitted problems.
Why it matters: Patients must have recourse if something goes wrong, be it a misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment, or a billing error. Not having a way to achieve recourse or accountability with a telehealth service is dangerous.
Makapt’s solution: We provide in-app support with documented feedback and escalation, and procedural distributation for avoidance. Every consultation is tracked for accountability, and support staff can identify issues that are documented.
5. Non-Personalized Treatment, Generic Application, or Blind AI Dependence
The red flag is the app provides generic diagnoses or treatment plans without regard to your personal history, context, or relationship with the provider, or it relied solely on automated AI triage with no human oversight.
Why it matters is health care is a very personal process. Blind algorithms without context may misinterpret symptoms or disregard red flags. More importantly, care that has no personalization is quickly defeating the principle of patient centered care.
Makapt's solution is a hybrid approach leveraging both AI and human judgment to administer care. Each case is reviewed by a human, qualified clinician, who is considering context, history, or other variation in patient care. We use a hybrid approach where AI does triage and support, while human providers do the diagnosis and treatment.
Bonus Red Flag: No Transparency with Costs or Fees
While we only listed five red flags, one of the most frequent issues in apps is cost transparency. If the app does not show cost upfront or has unclear language about unexpected costs or a menu of services, that is a red flag. Make sure what the app states about a consultation visit or follow up visits, medication, or diagnostics up front.
Makapt is totally transparent with costs. Every service, consult, prescription, and diagnostic offer is disclosed in plain words before you confirm. No surprises.
How to Recognize an Unsafe Telehealth / Doctor App - A Quick Checklist
- Do they present a Doctor's credentials (education, residency or specialist training) and are they shown to be properly licensed?
- Is the scheduling system designed to minimize overlaps (time and distance) and/or in a suspicious billing format?
- Are all messages/conversations encrypted? Do they request unnecessary permissions?
- Is there a supported route if additional escalation is required (missed appointment, no response, scheduling issue, etc.)?
- Do they rely solely on AI / automation (telehealth and no-in person contact) with no human reviewer/oversight?
- Are prices up front with any extra fees disclosed beforehand?
If you responded "no" or "I don't know" to any of these questions. Then proceed with caution.
Conclusion
Online doctor booking and telehealth apps provide significant convenience and access, but significant safety and security risks will occur without responsible design principles. Your health, and your health data, can be put at risk when you do not pay attention to red flags or risks with online doctor booking apps. Recognizing issues and problems with doctor appointment and information apps to protect your health and health data is critical.
At Makapt, we have built our platform from the ground up with fundamental safety processional standards, including: credentials verified or authenticated, data secured and responsibly managed, misuse of medical appointments prohibited, accountability and oversight supported, and AI-informed care balanced with human judgment. We are dedicated to providing safe, trusted, patient-centered technology in healthcare.
Need a safer, smarter, telehealth experience? See how we are elevating trusted, high-quality online doctor access at Makapt.