Best Telemedicine Companies Of 2024 (2024)

To determine the best telemedicine companies of 2024, we considered several factors including:

• Membership cost
• Cost per visit
• Variety of types of care
• Ability to select your own provider
• Availability of lab testing
• Provider availability
• Care delivery methods (text, video, phone call)

We weighed the factors differently in our scoring based on what seemed most important in selecting a telemedicine company.

Telemedicine is medical treatment that’s delivered remotely. During a telemedicine appointment, a doctor might diagnose a health problem, monitor a patient’s treatment progress or refer them to a specialist^[1]Telehealth, Telemedicine, and Telecare: What's What?. Federal Communications Commission. Accessed 3/8/23. .

How Does Telemedicine Work?

Telemedicine appointments typically allow an individual to speak with a health care provider over the phone or via video chat on a computer, tablet or smartphone. Some telemedicine platforms may allow individuals to message their health care provider on their platform or via email.

Some of the types of care available with telemedicine may include:

• Mental health care, including online therapy, counseling or psychiatry
• Prescription or medication management
• Results for lab tests or x-rays
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Management for chronic health conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure
• Urgent care
• Dermatology
• Follow-up care after surgery

Telemedicine appointments can be a great service to people living in rural areas or who need specialized care or counseling unavailable in their area, says Bethany Doran, M.D., a board-certified cardiologist and founder of Enabled Health, a hybrid in-person and virtual clinic.

Other people who might benefit from telemedicine appointments are those with mobility and transportation issues or who have chronic conditions that make traveling to appointments in person difficult. Telemedicine appointments can also be convenient for people who have trouble making appointments because of work or child care constraints.

Telemedicine can also be useful for individuals who already have seen a doctor in person and have an established relationship, says Dr. Doran. Follow-ups via telemedicine can help doctors keep tabs on a person’s health so any issues can be monitored.

When researching telemedicine companies, make sure they have the doctors or specialists you need who are licensed to practice in your area. Find out their availability and the typical length of time it takes to book appointments, as well as the average length of appointments. Companies should be transparent about the type of medicine they prescribe, whether they accept insurance and how they handle billing and payments.

Doctors practicing medical care remotely should be HIPPA compliant, says Dr. Doran. But an important thing to pay attention to when assessing telemedicine companies is whether patients are able to establish an ongoing relationship with their doctors.

“It’s important to find a provider who actually cares,” says Dr. Doran. “There might be some telemedicine companies where you won’t see the same person twice. So each time, a new provider will have to learn your whole history. And they might have a different treatment style, so your care could keep changing. That lack of continuity won’t allow patients to have advocates for their health, which is important.”

If you’re uninsured or looking to save on health care costs, consider the following resources to help you get started:

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provides health care services to high-need communities, including individuals who are geographically isolated, individuals and their families with low incomes and individuals who are medically vulnerable. HRSA’s Find a Health Center tool makes it easy to find affordable primary health care services in your area.

Planned Parenthood offers in-person and virtual visits for sexual and reproductive health care, often for free or at reduced rates.

The National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics (NAFC) is a nonprofit organization that operates more than 1,400 clinic locations throughout the U.S. that serve underinsured and medically underserved people. The organization’s Find a Clinic tool can help individuals locate free or charitable clinics or pharmacies based on city, state or zip code.

NeedyMeds offers a host of resources for finding low-cost and sliding scale health clinics and prescription medication assistance.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) operates a free national hotline for individuals experiencing mental health conditions or substance misuse disorders.

Telemedicine appointments are a convenient option for many people. The ease of remote follow-ups has the potential to improve people’s health by arming doctors with updated health information and treatment progress, as well as increase opportunities for patients to ask any questions they might have about their medical care, says Dr. Doran.

In addition, some people might feel better able to speak freely in the privacy of their homes during appointments, and telemedicine appointments help keep sick and contagious people out of doctors’ offices. Telemedicine appointments might also cost less than in-office appointments, saving people money.

In 2016, 85% of physicians said digital health tools are an advantage for patient care, with that number rising to 93% in 2022, according to the American Medical Association^[2]AMA Digital Health Care Findings 2022. American Medical Association. Accessed 3/8/23. . Studies increasingly support its effectiveness in treating a broad range of health concerns, with mental health in particular standing out as being served by online care.

Researchers in a study of individuals in rural, underserved communities saw little difference in improvements between in-person and telehealth visits for mental health^[3]McCord, Carly, et al. Comparison of in-person vs. telebehavioral outcomes from rural populations across the US. BMC Psychiatry. 2022;22(1):778. . Another 2023 study concluded telemedicine was as effective as in-person treatment for opioid use disorder^[4]Hailu, Ruth, AB. Telemedicine Use and Quality of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic. et al. JAMA Network Open. 2023;6(1):e2252381. .

Factors inhibiting effective telemedicine may include technical difficulties during remote appointments, regulatory and privacy concerns and the inability for doctors to perform thorough physical examinations. The difficulty in assessing a person’s physical function over a computer screen could lead to diagnoses and treatment recommendations based on inaccurate health information.

Cardiologists, for example, can better gauge patients’ health in person, so remote appointments should be a supplement to regular in office appointments, advises Dr. Doran. Over a computer screen, cardiologists aren’t able to hear fluid in the lungs that can be a sign of pneumonia, or feel volume in their legs if they’re in heart failure, she says.

“Cardiologists need to feel patients’ feet to understand if they’re cold, which is a sign of vascular disease,” explains Dr. Doran. “Or someone might come to an in-person appointment smelling like cigarette smoke, yet they might tell you over Zoom that they haven’t been smoking. You can get a much more accurate sense of risk person-to-person, and that can guide treatment decisions, too.”

Other circ*mstances that may benefit more from in-person appointments are pediatric and maternal care—a 2021 global survey in BMJ Global Health suggests some aspects of maternal and newborn health care were difficult to deliver via telemedicine^[5]Gajarawala, Shilpa N., Pelkowski, Jessica N. Telehealth Benefits and Barriers. Journal of Nurse Practitioners. 2021;17(2): 218–221. , and a 2023 study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research reviewing parents’ use of telehealth for kids during the pandemic suggests telehealth could be more equitable if issues of cost and access were better addressed^[6]Shah, Vivek V. Association Between In-Person vs Telehealth Follow-up and Rates of Repeated Hospital Visits Among Patients Seen in the Emergency Department. JAMA Network Open. 2022;5(10):e2237783. .

The best telemedicine company for you or your family will depend on many individual factors, such as whether you have or prefer to use insurance to help pay for visits. Check whether telehealth appointments are covered by your private insurance company, Medicaid or Medicare Advantage plan.

The best service for you will also depend on the type of doctor you’d like to see. Some telemedicine companies might only provide mental health professionals, while others might have a range of specialists and health care providers, including primary care physicians, dermatologists, therapists, internists and specialists.

In addition, if you have privacy concerns, be sure to research telemedicine companies to gauge how they secure patient data.