Rapid technological advancements and smartphones have changed the way people interact with healthcare services. Telehealth has already passed the initial stage of evolution and entered the active development phase. Currently, the global telehealth market is expected to grow 23.2% annually until 2028, with an estimated market value of $285.7 billion by 2028.
In 2023, over 116 million users received online doctor consultations, compared with 98 million in 2021. The uptick in virtual care adoption is driven by the necessity to expand healthcare access to underserved communities, an insufficient number of doctors, and the increasing number of chronic diseases. Technological advancements in artificial intelligence, IoT, and data analytics are also propelling telemedicine services forward, reducing the strain on healthcare professionals and increasing patient satisfaction.
Fuelled by these factors, the telemedicine landscape is witnessing a surge in mobile apps. Having extensive expertise and experience in the mobile app development field, we've analyzed the performance of the best telemedicine apps in 2024, including their distinctive features and functionalities.
Telehealth by SimplePractice
A well-known doctor-on-demand solution, Telehealth by SimplePractice, supports telehealth by offering HIPAA-compliant video appointments and allowing providers and patients to connect on the go.
Although Telehealth by SimplePractice shares a lot of common features with other telehealth applications, the app brings quite a few distinctive features to the table:
- Built-in whiteboard — The platform includes an interactive whiteboard feature that facilitates real-time collaboration during sessions, allowing therapists and patients to draw, type, and share images. Currently, the feature is only available when accessing the application from a web browser.
- Virtual waiting room — Clinicians can enable a waiting room to manage their patient flow. Only clinicians can see who is in the waiting room and can admit patients individually or all at once.
- Unlimited appointments and session length — Unlike some platforms that limit the number or duration of sessions, there’s no restriction on the number of appointments or session length when using Telehealth by SimplePractice. Patients can schedule multiple short check-ins or long, in-depth therapy sessions.
- Full integration with SimplePractice — Unlike other similar apps, SimplePractice is not a standalone provider for video appointments. The application is part of a comprehensive suite of practice management tools that eliminate the back-and-forth between platforms by offering all client information, scheduling, billing, and notes in one place.
- Custom appointment reminders — Telehealth by SimplePractice allows clinicians to schedule custom automated reminders via email, text, and voice — with settings tailored to each patient.
Initially, the platform was launched in 2018 by CEO Howard Spector, who always tried to identify and cover gaps in therapists' work. The Telehealth app prospered, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, when it saw a significant spike in new users in March 2020. Today, the platform caters to over 150,000 practitioners and generates $9.5 billion in revenue.
Healow
Launched in June 2017 by eClinicalWorks, Healow has grown into one of the leading telemedicine companies focused on primary and specialty medicine. In 2021, the platform garnered over 2.4 million virtual visits.
Distinctive features of Healow include:
- In-waiting room messaging — Clinicians can communicate with patients in the Virtual Waiting Room, giving patients a heads-up about delays.
- Proxy initiation — Staff members can start an appointment on behalf of a healthcare provider and manage the initial patient interaction while the provider is getting ready for the consultation.
- On-demand video and audio calls — Providers can reach out to consented patients without scheduling an appointment.
- Healow Meet — Healow's signature feature, Healow Meet, offers a fully integrated platform for booking and conducting audio and video group visits.
- Quick appointment scheduling — eClinicalMessenger® users can benefit from an instant appointment scheduling process by simply right-clicking on a patient’s name.
- Contact invite — Patients, staff, and providers can invite up to two new contacts — such as a translator, therapist, family member, or caregiver — to join the virtual consultation.
The platform currently caters to 67 million users and more than 56,000 providers. Healow's features and accessibility are likely the reason why the application is among the top medical apps on the current market.
Teladoc
One of the top-rated telehealth applications, Teladoc has recently rebranded into a fully integrated virtual healthcare platform, Solo™ virtual care platform, that enables personalized whole-person care to individuals. Users can access Teladoc Health's full range of services, including primary care, mental health professionals, and chronic condition management, from one interface and under a single portable account.
Teladoc has a unique set of offerings that make it a stand-out app in the market:
- Сhronic condition management — Following the acquisition of Livongo, a leading chronic condition management company, Teladoc integrated ongoing support for patients with chronic conditions into the app. Once signed up, diabetes patients get an advanced glucose meter that automatically uploads blood sugar readings to the secure Teladoc Health app account. Similarly, hypertensive patients benefit from a connected blood pressure monitor that facilitates data management within the app.
- Mental health management — Through a partnership with Brightline, a leader in virtual behavioral health solutions, Teladoc has expanded its offerings to include a digital behavioral health platform for pediatric, adolescent, and family mental healthcare management.
- Specialty and wellness management — The platform offers a suite of tools for wellness care, including personalized programs with exercise videos based on virtual visits, lab order management, and more.
The application caters to over 600 US hospitals, transforming care delivery and extending traditional care beyond hospital walls. Teladoc reported a 3% increase in revenue to $646 million in the first quarter of 2024. According to the company, in 2023, the application delivered much-needed care to 1 million patients who otherwise wouldn’t have sought treatment.
Doximity
Doximity is a virtual care app that has been in the market since 2011, establishing a vast community of professionals. Over 80% of doctors and 50% of nurse practitioners and physician assistants have been verified by the platform.
Doximity’s key differentiators include quite a lineup of features:
- Caller ID masking — Doximity allows physicians to call or text patients from a no-reply number or display their office or hospital number as the caller ID.
- HIPAA-compliant faxing — The platform offers a HIPAA-compliant faxing feature that allows physicians to send, receive, and sign faxes on the go.
- Integration with Epic Haiku — Doximity Dialer Video connects with Epic Haiku, an app for authorized clinical users of Epic's Electronic Health Record, providing physicians with secure and immediate access to patient data during telehealth visits.
- Networking features — Doximity allows physicians to connect with colleagues and share professional knowledge via a universal clinician directory.
- Dialing extension — Doximity Dialer Video supports group calling and patient hand-offs, allowing family members, interpreters, and caregivers to participate in the visit or to transfer calls to a different colleague.
In 2023, the company clocked annual revenue of $475.4 million versus $419.1 million in 2022, an increase of 13% year-over-year. The app's subscription revenue reached $450.1 million, an increase of 15% year-over-year.
Talkspace
Initially, Talkspace stepped on the scene as a telehealth service with a large nationwide pool of licensed professionals who specialize in mental health care services. In the last few years, Talkspace has teamed up with many health tech companies to expand its health offerings to women’s health, migraine treatment, couples therapy services, and other specialized care.
Talkspace shines bright in the telehealth market, offering the following unique capabilities:
- Talkspace Go — Talkspace Go is a unique feature that offers self-directed therapy sessions, classes, therapist-led live workshops, and daily prompts that help users build healthy habits.
- Clinical progress tracking — Talkspace offers in-app assessments and clinical progress tracking, allowing users to visualize their progress in therapy.
- Happify integration — Talkspace integrates with Happify, a science-based app that promotes happiness and well-being, offering users additional resources and tools for dynamic screening and referrals across mental needs and care modalities.
- Oura ring integration — Users of Oura's ring can share their personalized sleep and daily movement data with Talkspace therapists.
- AI-enabled diagnosis and treatment — By integrating smart algorithms, the Talkspace app provides natural language processing capabilities and empowers providers with granular insights into patient needs and behavior.
Talkspace covers approximately 113 million lives through partnerships with employers, health plans, and paid benefits programs. The platform's revenue grew to $150 million in 2023, up 25% from 2022.
Amwell: Doctor Visits 24/7
Amwell is the first telehealth service to receive accreditation from the American Telemedicine Association. Along with prescriptions and medical guidance, this app offers doctor consultations across many care modalities, including urgent care, primary care, mental health care, behavioral health, and more.
In 2023, the company began migrating its existing user base to its new hybrid care platform, Amwell Converge. Unlike pure-play telehealth offerings, the platform brings forth a connected digital care ecosystem that combines in-person, automated, and virtual care.
Amwell holds a unique place in the telemedicine landscape thanks to its distinctive set of features:
- Automated care programs — The platform offers a collection of smart automations, including virtual assistants, automated reminders, integrations, and more, helping care teams ensure care plan adherence and facilitating medication management.
- Digital behavioral health programs — The platform has a specialized extension for digital mental health services called SilverCloud by Amwell.
- Comprehensive collaborative care — Amwell Convergence combines a virtual psychiatric provider network, analytics dashboard registry, and evidence-based digital well-being programs to address the growing mental health needs within primary care.
- Virtual second opinion — Powered by Cleveland Clinic, this program offers members remote access to Cleveland Clinic Physician experts.
- Remote monitoring — The Converge platform incorporates Biobeat's tool for remote monitoring of 15 vital signs with an automated real-time early warning score system.
Today, Amwell serves 115+ health systems in the US, with 100+ million members having Amwell as a covered benefit. In 2023, the company recorded a revenue of $259 million, including its subscription revenue of $112.4 million.
HealthTap
Tapping into the brainpower of 90,000 licensed physicians, HealthTap provides access to a wide range of virtual healthcare services, including chronic care, senior health, mental & behavioral health, sexual health, and others.
HealthTap provides a comprehensive platform with distinctive features for various care needs:
- Educational resources — HealthTap provides a vast repository of free health information directly from its network of over 90,000 U.S. doctors across various specialties.
- Community of physicians — HealthTap fosters a community of physicians who can interact, share knowledge, and collaborate on complex cases, potentially leading to better patient care.
- AI-powered patient interviews — HealthTap leverages GPT-4 capabilities to power its smart, automated pre-appointment patient interview experience. The Dr.A.I.™ feature gathers patient data in a human-like conversational experience, analyzes it, and presents it to the telehealth specialist.
- Integration with Facebook Messenger — HealthTap became the first healthcare company to join the business-oriented Facebook platform. Any Messenger user can ask health questions to HealthTap’s 100,000 U.S. physicians in 141 specialties and get quick support from available professionals.
- Electronic test orders — The platform integrates with Quest Diagnostics, a national lab business, allowing doctors to remotely order common lab tests such as diabetes screening, cardiovascular risk assessment, and hepatitis C screening. Doctors and patients can then access the results directly via HealthTap’s secure platform.
In 2022, the company has also partnered with Samsung to bring virtual healthcare to Samsung smart TVs. Today, the app caters to over 2 million members monthly, with or without health insurance coverage, connecting users with a long-term primary care doctor for continuous health management.
One Medical
Another specimen among the best telehealth apps, Amazon's One Medical is a virtual care solution targeted at primary care, clinical services, and senior care. The application is a part of Amazon’s wider ecosystem that includes Amazon Clinic and Amazon Pharmacy. One Medical is an employee benefit at 8,000+ companies, including Google, Nasdaq, and more.
Distinctive features of One Medical include:
- Virtual assessments — the app offers a ‘Treat Me Now’ digital triage system for common health concerns. Based on the assessments, One Medical care teams provide a diagnosis and a treatment plan or refer the patient to a provider.
- Seamless integration with in-person care — One Medical integrates with physical locations, offering clients the flexibility to schedule in-person appointments or access lab results from in-office visits.
- Personalized care teams — adult program members are assigned a dedicated care team, including a primary care physician, nurse, and health coach.
In 2022, One Medical's net revenue amounted to over $1 billion, a 68% year-over-year increase. The platform now caters to 796,000 members, including both consumers and enterprises.
Maven Clinic
Maven's virtual care model revolves around women and families, specifically targeting fertility, pregnancy, postpartum care, parenting, and pediatrics. The application offers 24/7 virtual care with access to 1,700+ doctors and medical providers with 20+ health and wellness specialties.
As Maven’s signature feature set focuses on women’s and family health, the app provides specialized expertise and resources not found in general telehealth platforms:
- Enhanced support for high-risk members — Dedicated support, including a high-risk care team and case management, is available to high-risk members.
- Trying-To-Conceive health coaching program — The platform offers 1:1 personalized guidance, including strategic goal-setting, ovulation-tracking kits, and access to mental health and nutrition resources for individuals navigating the challenges of conception.
- Community support — The Maven Clinic app fosters a supportive community through a library of vetted in-app educational content, virtual classes, and forums.
In 2024, the platform launched a new provider portal that allows patients to track their in-person clinical results and invoices. According to executives, the platform supports more than 15 million women and families to date.
98point6
Founded in 2015, 98point6 is a provider of simple, on-demand text-based care for behavioral health and primary medical services.
The app differentiates itself with the following features:
- Primarily text-based — While most telehealth platforms rely on video and audio consultation, 98point6 uses secure in-app messaging for virtual visits, making primary care accessible to more people.
- AI-enhanced patient entry point —The app taps into AI algorithms to collect information about the patient and build a profile before matching them with a practitioner.
- Asynchronous care module — The app combines live and asynchronous care management while also comprising an intelligent engine that equips providers with intake, diagnosis, and care documentation.
- Clinical support — An in-app Clinician Console kits out providers with configurable workflows, automated clinical decision support tools, support for multi-patient chat, and care follow-up and documentation tools.
In 2024, the app was acquired by Transcarent, a growing healthcare startup. 98point6 now has more than 240 commercial partnerships, accounting for three million members.
Related: How to develop a telemedicine app: Trends, features and costs
Wrapping up
Over the last few years, telemedicine applications have emerged as a powerful tool in transforming care delivery. From easier access to care to erstwhile impossible remote diagnosis, telemedicine applications are changing the face of traditional care, becoming an essential component in the industry.
The success of platforms like Teladoc, Healow, Talkspace, and other apps mentioned in the list underscores the profitable potential of this market. However, to thrive, a telehealth services app must offer unique features. Orangesoft’s team helps innovative health tech startups develop unique telemedicine solutions — those supplemented with the latest technologies and industry-best capabilities — to the market. Contact us and bring your unique vision to life.
