You have decided you want an online doctor rather than waiting for an appointment with your own GP. Then you land on HealthDoc's booking page and see five different options: video, phone, order treatment, medical certificate, referral letter. They are not all the same price for the same reason, and picking the wrong one either costs you more than you needed to spend or gets you less help than you actually need.
The quick answer: if you need a doctor to actually assess something new, book a video or phone consultation. If you already know what you need, a repeat prescription or a specific certificate, the cheaper Order Treatment or Medical Certificate options skip the full consultation and go straight to a doctor's review of your request. None of HealthDoc's options are for emergencies. If you have chest pain, difficulty breathing, heavy bleeding, or any symptom that feels like it cannot wait, call 999 or 112, or go to your nearest emergency department.
The 5 booking options, in one place
HealthDoc's online doctor service has five options, and the price difference tells you something real about what each one includes:
Video consultation, €34.99 - a full appointment where the doctor can see you, useful when a visual assessment actually helps.
Phone consultation, €34.99 - the same full appointment, by voice only. Same price as video.
Order treatment, €24.99 - a repeat or new prescription request, reviewed by a doctor without a live consultation.
Medical certificate, €24.99 - a sick note or fit-to-work certificate, reviewed and issued digitally.
Referral letter, €34.99 - a letter to a specialist, based on your clinical history.
Video and phone cost the same. The lower-priced options are not a smaller version of a consultation, they are a genuinely different, narrower service: a doctor reviewing a specific request rather than assessing a new problem from scratch.
Video or phone: how to actually choose
This is the choice most people actually get stuck on, and it comes down to one honest question: would the doctor seeing you change anything?
Choose video when the issue has something to look at: a rash, a skin concern, anything where what it looks like matters to the assessment. Choose phone when you are describing symptoms, following up on something already diagnosed, or would simply rather not be on camera. Both connect you with the same IMC-registered doctors, both typically run 10 to 15 minutes, and both result in the same outcomes: a prescription, a certificate, or a referral where clinically appropriate.
There is no wrong answer here in terms of care quality. If you book phone and the doctor decides they need to see something, they can tell you that during the call, the same way an in-person GP would ask you to come back for a different appointment if needed. The choice mostly affects your own comfort and whether a visual check genuinely matters for your situation, not the standard of care you get either way.
A few concrete examples, since "visual assessment helps" is easier to picture with actual situations. A skin rash, a suspected infection with visible signs, or anything a doctor would normally want to look at in person leans toward video. A follow-up on medication that is already working, a repeat issue you have discussed before, or symptoms that are mostly about how you feel rather than what something looks like, lean toward phone. If you are genuinely unsure, video is the safer default precisely because it gives the doctor more information to work with, not because phone is somehow a lesser option.
You might not need a full consultation at all
Before booking a €34.99 consultation, it is worth checking whether you actually need one. If you already have a diagnosis and just need the same medication again, Order Treatment exists specifically so you are not paying consultation price for a doctor to review a request rather than conduct a full assessment. The same logic applies to a straightforward sick cert or fit-to-work letter: Medical Certificate is built for exactly that, without booking a slot you do not need.
This only works when there is nothing new to assess. A request for a medication you have never taken, or a certificate tied to a condition nobody has confirmed, is exactly the situation a full consultation exists for. The doctor reviewing your request decides that, not you, and they can redirect you to a consultation if your request needs more than a review.
It is worth being honest about why this distinction exists at all, rather than treating the price gap as arbitrary. A consultation pays for a doctor's time actually assessing you: asking questions, weighing your history, forming a judgement about something they have not already decided. A treatment or certificate review is narrower by design, a doctor confirming that a specific, already-understood request is appropriate to action. Neither is a shortcut version of the other. They are built for different questions, and picking the one that matches your actual situation is how you end up paying for what you need rather than defaulting to the most expensive option out of uncertainty.
What every booking option actually includes
Whichever option you pick, a few things stay the same across all five. Every request is reviewed by an IMC-registered doctor, not an algorithm or a template, and you can check any doctor's registration yourself through the Irish Medical Council's own public register rather than take our word for it. Prescriptions are sent electronically to a pharmacy of your choice, ready for collection. Certificates and referral letters are delivered digitally, usually the same day. Nothing is guaranteed in advance: booking an appointment or a request buys you a doctor's genuine review, not a particular outcome, and if something is not clinically appropriate, that is what you will be told.
What none of them are for
None of HealthDoc's options replace emergency care or a physical examination a doctor genuinely needs to do in person. Chest pain, difficulty breathing, heavy bleeding, and stroke symptoms need 999, 112, or your nearest emergency department, not an online booking. Some conditions cannot be properly assessed by video or phone at all, and some prescriptions, particularly controlled drugs, are not something an online consultation can issue. If your situation falls into either category, the honest answer is to see a doctor in person, and HealthDoc's own doctors will tell you that rather than push a booking that will not actually help.
None of this is unique to HealthDoc. Every legitimate online doctor service in Ireland runs into the same boundary, because it is a limit of the format, not of any one provider's competence. Treat a service that never says no to anything, or that offers to prescribe something an in-person GP would want to examine you for first, as a warning sign rather than a convenience.
How booking actually works
Choose your option and a time. No existing-patient status or referral needed for any of the five.
Speak to (or hear from) an Irish GP, if you booked a consultation, typically 10 to 15 minutes. For a treatment or certificate request, a doctor reviews what you submitted.
Get your outcome digitally. Prescriptions go to your chosen pharmacy, certificates and referral letters arrive in your patient portal.
Frequently asked questions
Is a phone consultation as good as a video consultation?
For most situations, yes. Both connect you with the same doctors for the same length of time and lead to the same outcomes. Video only matters when something visual would genuinely help the assessment.
Do I need a referral to book an online doctor in Ireland?
No. None of HealthDoc's five booking options require an existing referral or prior patient status.
What's the difference between a consultation and a treatment request?
A consultation is a full appointment for assessing something, new or ongoing. A treatment or certificate request is a doctor reviewing a specific, already-known need, without a live appointment, which is why it costs less.
How much does an online doctor cost in Ireland with HealthDoc?
Video and phone consultations and referral letters are €34.99. Order Treatment and Medical Certificate requests are €24.99. Check HealthDoc's live pricing page for the current figures.
Can I get a sick cert without a full consultation?
Yes, if nothing new needs assessing. Medical Certificate is built for exactly that. If your situation is more complicated, the reviewing doctor will say so.
What can't an online doctor do?
Assess anything that genuinely needs a physical exam, treat a medical emergency, or prescribe controlled drugs. HealthDoc's doctors will tell you directly if your situation needs in-person or emergency care instead.
Written by the HealthDoc team. This article is general information about HealthDoc's online doctor booking options. It is not medical advice and does not guarantee a particular outcome from any booking. Last reviewed 4 September 2026.
Ready to book? Choose the right option on HealthDoc's online doctor page, or book now if you already know which one you need.