It's the mainstay of many a airline-related movie: "Ladies and gentleman, if there is a doctor on-board, can they please make themselves known to the cabin crew?"
Throw in a member or two of the clergy, a screaming child, some general mayhem, and it's a scene from Airplane.
Comedy screenplays aside, needing a doctor mid-flight is a fairly common scenario, so it's inevitable that with mobile technology and in-flight connectivity becoming commonplace on many flights that a service would arrive that tried to solve the problem.
An app called Dr Now claims to have been at the centre of an "historic" moment recently when it facilitated a consultation between passenger and land-based doctor whilst flying at 35,000 feet.
The incident took place on-board an Emirates flight from London Heathrow to Dubai when a passenger who had been suffering from a chest infection realised he had forgotten to pack his medication.
The passenger used the app to connect with a doctor back in the UK who then was able to use the service, run by the Now Heathcare Group, to prescribe the medication and have it delivered to a Dubai hotel on arrival.
The latest move by the app, which until now has been used primarily as a tool to connect employees with a healthcare plan to medical practitioners from their desks, is being positioned as a "major step forward" in the company's ambitions to make primary care available worldwide.
The company says:
"Illness amongst tourists and business flyers is common, with studies showing that a significant number of us suffer from weekend or vacation sickness. 8.4% of all flyers feel nauseous to some extent when airborne, whilst millions will feel anxious when it comes to travelling on a plane."
NB:Doctor travel image via Shutterstock.