Well, this is a first. On a recent Sunday night, these five words went racing through my mind as I camped out on my couch with my iPhone, detailing the specifics of my post-winter pallor (ghastly) and the cause of my weekend breakout (stress) during a virtual consultation with my dermatologist. In the background, a rerun of Girls played on HBO. Halfway through our appointment, I paused to order a pair of Miu Miu sandals from Net-a-Porter before finishing up our session, flipping off the light, and getting into bed.

The fact that the entire appointment took place online and that I never actually saw my doctor did not seem nearly as strange as it did when I first heard about Spruce—the forward-thinking app that aims to take the wait time out of your dermatologist’s room by connecting you directly with a network of board-certified specialists over your smart device.

Here’s how it works: After downloading the Spruce app and setting up an account, users are guided through a series of questions about their general health and the reason for their visit. After that, they are given the option to choose their own dermatologist from Spruce’s network (bios are available for each doctor, including medical school and residency background, as well as any teaching affiliations) or request a consultation with the first available practitioner. Finally, they submit a few selfies using their iPhone camera and provide information about their current skin care regimen, before clicking submit. A response and treatment plan is guaranteed in 24 hours or less and costs $40.

If it all sounds a bit sci-fi, think again. As part of an emerging healthcare-meets-technology phenomenon known as telemedicine, Spruce is among the first of what may well be a forthcoming wave of apps designed to make your doctor’s appointments more efficient. Originally dedicated to the treatment of acne when it launched last year, the app is now broadening its horizons—aiming to treat a broader-range of basic skin conditions, from hyperpigmentation and fine lines to eczema, hair loss, and even bug bites (oh Spruce, where were you last summer when that potential tick bite caused mass hysteria in the Hamptons?).

According to app founder Ray Bradford (whose investors include Google Ventures), Spruce’s doctors are intensively vetted by their network of medical directors. And if I had any lingering hesitations about the process before trying it, I was put more or less at ease after a single session. For one, the issues Spruce treats are fairly straightforward—in my case, a cluster of hyperpigmentation around my temples and the occasional breakout that seemed decidedly low risk. As for any worries about being paired with a sub-par physician, a quick cross-check on the Internet verified that my assigned specialist was indeed a well-established doctor and clinical assistant professor of dermatology at NYU (here’s looking at you, Maria Robinson, MD).

If anything, my hesitation was soon replaced by glee—the glee of a wildly overscheduled New Yorker who has not had time to pick up her drycleaning for three weeks or sit down at an actual table to eat lunch in months, much less swing by the dermatologist’s office to whine about her sun spots. When my Spruce app pinged early the next morning, there was a message containing a detailed skin care plan from Robinson waiting for me, along with a prescription for Retin-A, and a note from Holly, my personal medical coordinator, offering to look into whether my insurance would cover my visit. The time saved trekking to and from the doctor’s office? In a word: Priceless.