An online doctor in Malta, today.

It is a live video call with one named doctor. He is registered with the Malta Medical Council and also sees patients in person at the clinic in Paceville.

There is no questionnaire to fill in and no waiting for an answer by email. Where video is not possible the call carries on in voice alone, and there is a chat for written and voice messages if the line fails altogether.

Anything that needs hands, a stethoscope or a dressing is better seen in person. The doctor tells you during the call if that is the case, and an appointment at the clinic inside Potter's Pharmacy can be booked from the same app.

1. Open the app or the website and give your name and email once. There is no password to remember.
2. Say in a line or two what is wrong. A photo often helps — a rash, a swelling, a test result.
3. Call. Dr Kevin Navarro Gera answers within minutes when he is free; otherwise you wait in line and your phone rings at your turn.
4. Anything he writes up afterwards reaches you in the app and by email, usually within minutes.
5. The €25 is settled at Potter's Pharmacy when you collect. Nothing is taken from a card during the call.

The same things a GP sees in a morning: a chest or urine infection, a rash, a migraine, food poisoning, an ear that will not clear, a repeat of something you already take.

Where the assessment supports it, the doctor writes a prescription, and any licensed Maltese pharmacy dispenses it. Where a consultation shows that someone is unfit for work or for an activity, he puts that in writing too. Both are clinical judgements reached during the consultation.

A screen is not enough for everything. A wound that needs stitching, a suspected fracture, chest pain, anything needing hands or equipment — the doctor says so during the call and sends you where you need to go.

Video consultations

8am to midnight, every day, all year.

The pharmacy and clinic door

June to 31 October: 8am to midnight.
November to May: 8am to 8pm.

Sundays and public holidays follow the national pharmacy roster.

Paceville Doctor, inside Potter's Pharmacy
39 Triq il-Wilga, St Julian's STJ 3112, Malta
+356 2136 3244

A few minutes from the Paceville square, and a short drive from Sliema, Swieqi and Gzira.

Open in Google Maps

Is an online consultation a real consultation?

Yes. It is with a registered doctor, and what he prescribes is dispensed by any licensed Maltese pharmacy. Where he needs to examine you, he says so and you are seen in person instead.

Do I have to be in Malta?

Yes. The service is for people who are in Malta or Gozo at the time of the call, whether they live here or are visiting.

Which devices does it work on?

Any phone, tablet or computer with a camera and a current browser. There is an Android app as well, which rings you when it is your turn.