It was 8 o'clock on a weeknight and Brooklyn resident Sarah Sheehan was reeling from a painful earache.
She wouldn't be able to see her doctor until the next morning, and that would require a 45-minute subway ride uptown.
That's when Sheehan, co-founder of an education technology business, remembered receiving a promotional code for a new company called Pager, an Uber-like service that sends doctors to patients' homes.
Pager and similar companies like Heal and Medicast aim to streamline medical care - cutting out waiting rooms, receptionists and trips to the doctor's office.
"It's a completely different experience when you're sick and able to stay in your pyjamas," says Sheehan.
"Someone comes to your home, they're kind to you, they answer all your questions and give you all the time you need."
But some doctors warn there could be drawbacks to convenience-driven medical care, especially if it disrupts an already complex, fragmented healthcare system.
As the app makers search for a sustainable business model, however, it appears they are more likely to end up working with traditional medical providers, than against them.
House calls were once commonplace in the US. Today, nine out of 10 general practitioners say they do not typically make house calls, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
But new phone apps may signal a comeback for house calls.
Pager is currently only available in New York City but it will expand to San Francisco in coming weeks. A rival company on the West Coast, Heal, already operates in San Francisco, Orange County and LA.
Gaspard de Dreuzy, one of Pager's three co-founders, says the services' typical customers are working mothers ages 30 to 45.
"It's really an urban population that is busy and values its time," he adds.
So much so that they are willing to pay a premium. Like other services, Pager is not currently covered by insurance. Customers pay a $US50 fee for their first visit and $US200 for subsequent visits from one of the company's 40 health practitioners, including doctors, nurses and physician assistants.
That fee is about 10 times more than the typical $US15 to $US25 doctor co-pay for patients with insurance.
"We're trying to move forward to a model where the Pager service will be as affordable as any other care option for people who are insured or not," de Dreuzy says.
But Some doctors are sceptical.
Dr Robert Wergin of Milford, Nebraska, says on-call services could be useful for one-time medical needs. But treating chronic conditions like diabetes, arthritis or Alzheimer's requires careful, consistent attention over many years.
Other experts worry about doctors making appropriate prescribing decisions when patients are paying $US100 or more for their services.
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