Best Telemedicine Software of 2025

Here's what we'll cover:

What is telemedicine software?

Telehealth vs. telemedicine

Telemedicine use cases and definition

Telemedicine software benefits

Common functionality of telemedicine software

Telemedicine EMRs vs. stand-alone platforms

Key considerations

Telemedicine software essentials

Telemedicine tools have been in use by healthcare providers for a long time, but use of these systems increased exponentially during the COVID pandemic. Remote medical care was especially valuable during that time because people were being asked to stay in their homes, and fear of infection was at an all-time high. Thanks to these factors, providers and patients both enjoyed the benefits of using software like secure video conferencing to conduct consultations, diagnose patients, and prescribe treatments—all without the fear of spreading the virus. 

Today, life has largely returned to normal, but the advantages of using remote medical tools have stuck around. Now, patients enjoy the ability to get treated for common ailments without ever having to leave the comfort of their own homes, and tools used for remote patient monitoring continue to improve patients’ quality of life. [1]

For practices that want to start offering telemedicine services, or those looking to expand their options, the market is saturated. We have profiles for over 215 individual telemedicine products on our site, and we have published more than 2,500 user reviews of these products in the past year alone. [2]

Most telemedicine products are priced on a subscription basis, with costs ranging from $14 for the most basic products all the way up to $350 or more for the most advanced systems. [3]

According to our medical software advisors, Jonathan Schultz and Bobby Waldron, buyers seek telemedicine software for any number of reasons. In the past few years, says Schultz, most of the callers he’s helped have been interested in purchasing software to set up practices that are entirely telemedicine-based: 

“The biggest thing we actually see in this space that’s been a change for the past couple of years is that it’s not buyers looking to add telemedicine functionality to existing systems, but rather they want to entirely build their business around telemedicine explicitly.”

Regardless of your specific situation, we’re here to help. In this guide, we’ll cover the basics you need to be aware of when researching and purchasing telemedicine software. And when you’re ready, you can reach out to our advisors like Jonathan and Bobby to for more personalized guidance on which systems will fit your needs.

What is telemedicine software?

Telemedicine software is any technology that enables medical providers to diagnose or treat patients remotely using secure telecommunications tools like video chats, phone, email, etc.

It’s easy to see why you should start offering telemedicine services at your practice, but it can be hard to evaluate software solutions. Do you want a system that integrates with Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)? How do you make sure it’s HIPAA-compliant? What pricing model aligns with your budget? What the heck is a virtual waiting room?

In this buyers guide, we’ll help you answer all of these questions and more so you can offer virtual consultations through a new system as soon as possible.

Telehealth vs. telemedicine

The words "telehealth" and "telemedicine" are very often used interchangeably, but there is a key difference that users should be aware of.

Telemedicine specifically covers all remote tools and processes that allow doctors to see and treat patients remotely. It only refers to clinical services.

Telehealth, on the other hand, includes all remote clinical and non-clinical services. For example, doctors can use telehealth to attend remote administrative meetings and participate in continued medical education.

To summarize, telemedicine is a type of telehealth, but not all telehealth is telemedicine.

Telemedicine use cases and definition

Before we start talking about software, we need to address our use of the term "telemedicine," since it can refer to a variety of scenarios where health care services and information are delivered through technology.

Most telemedicine software solutions focus on facilitating virtual care between patients and physicians through video conferencing and secure messaging. In order to align our Buyer’s Guide with the health IT market, we’ll also be referring to telemedicine software as technology to enable remote patient-physician interactions through online video and messages.

Telemedicine software benefits

In a Gartner report from all the way back in 2015 (which is available to Gartner clients), analysts predicted that one-quarter of all care in the U.S. would be delivered virtually by 2020. [4] Thanks to the pandemic, though, that percentage is likely much, much higher today.

In a Software Advice survey of U.S. patients 91% say they are more likely to select a medical provider who offers telemedicine services over one who doesn’t. [5]

Because industry experts and patients both see value in this tech, you have a good chance of increasing revenue after implementing it. For example, you can expand your patient panel by seeing patients who live in rural areas and extend your office hours without adding staff or overhead costs.

In addition to the financial benefits, there are clinical advantages to practicing telemedicine. Because it’s more convenient for patients to schedule a telemedicine appointment, they are more likely to seek treatment from a primary care physician or specialist. The earlier you can detect a health issue, the better chance a patient has of responding favorably to the treatment plan.

Here are some additional advantages:

Common functionality of telemedicine software

You can’t just open a Skype account and expect it to meet your needs for virtual care delivery. In addition to EMR integration (which we’ll cover in detail in the next section), a telemedicine platform should offer these core functionalities:

Other features are not considered “core” requirements of telemedicine software, but they are incredibly common among these types of products. They include:

Telemedicine EMRs vs. stand-alone platforms

You have two main choices when it comes to telemedicine software: a stand-alone platform or an EMR suite that includes telemedicine functions in addition to other applications, such as accounting or a patient portal.

The easiest way to figure out which option is best for you is to determine whether it’s the right time to invest in a new EMR.

If so, it makes sense to choose a system that already has telemedicine functions built-in. Maybe you’ve been planning on replacing your current EMR, or perhaps you’re starting a new practice. Either way, it shouldn’t be tough to build a shortlist of solutions that fit the bill.

A growing number of EMR vendors are acquiring or partnering with companies that exclusively focus on facilitating telemedicine services. As a result, it’s much easier to use a single system for all your clinical services and documentation needs without having to do duplicate data entry.

Pricing for this kind of setup is significantly different from vendor to vendor. Cost estimates will largely depend on the size of your practice and how many applications you want to include in your software suite.

Since it’s possible to update health records seamlessly, telemedicine-enabled EMRs are best for practices that plan to offer virtual consultations to existing patients. However, even though that’s the desirable route, it doesn’t totally exclude practices hoping to attract new patients online through the telemedicine software (more details about that scenario below).

Examples of telemedicine EMRs:

• Allscripts

• Cerner

• Epic

• PrognoCIS

• iSalus

• AdvancedMD

Practitioners who are happy with their current EMR solution can always check with their vendor to see if the company now offers a telemedicine module or easily integrates with a third-party telemedicine solution. Keep in mind additional fees may apply for the added module.

The alternative is investing in a stand-alone telemedicine platform that may not interface with your EMR. That’s totally OK in many cases. Most stand-alone platforms allow you to schedule, bill and request medical histories from patients, so you don’t need an integrated EMR or practice management system for any of that.

Some stand-alone platforms even attract patients for you. Here’s how it works: Patients sign up for a virtual appointment with the first available doctor on the telemedicine platform and then they’re matched with you or another provider on the same platform. In this model, practitioners serve as independent contractors who are paid a percentage of whatever the patient pays per visit.

That service is optional for some stand-alone telemedicine systems, so the cost of ownership will again vary significantly from vendor to vendor. However, many systems charge a monthly subscription fee per physician for access to the software.

Examples of stand-alone telemedicine software:

• American Well

• Teladoc

• eVisit

• Doctor on Demand

• Doxy.Me

• WeCounsel

Key considerations

Here are some important factors to think about before you implement a telemedicine solution:

HIPAA compliance. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a series of mandates that protect patient records against unauthorized access. You’re off to a good start if you’re evaluating telemedicine solutions that have the security protocols we described in our features table above, but that’s just the first step to achieving HIPAA compliance. In order to safeguard patient privacy and security while abiding by the law, you need to conduct a risk assessment. That is an overview of your current security measures and potential vulnerabilities.

What kind of practice are you? According to advisor Jonathan Schultz, the size of your practice will have an impact on the type of telemedicine tools you need. “Larger practices are usually looking for something that's kind of independent of any EMR, whereas the smaller ones—your solo providers, one or two providers—really are looking for actually more kind of that full suite solution.”

About our contributors

Author

Lisa Morris is an associate principal analyst at Software Advice, covering the healthcare and medical industry, with a focus on technologies impacting independent practices and mental healthcare, such as electronic medical records and practice management tools.

Lisa’s research and analysis is informed by more than 15,000 authentic user reviews on Software Advice and over 20,000 interactions between Software Advice software advisors and medical software buyers. Lisa also regularly analyzes market sentiment by conducting surveys of medical practitioners and administrators so she can provide the most up-to-date and helpful information to small and midsize businesses purchasing software or services.

She presented her research on medical wearable devices at the 2022 Sensors Summit in La Jolla, California, and also appeared on the Health Innovation Matters podcast with Logan Plaster. Her work has been featured in multiple publications, including Becker’s Hospital Review, Healthcare IT News, and AP News.

Editor

Caroline Rousseau is a content editor at Software Advice. A former content analyst, Caroline has, for the past five years, built, written and edited research reports about technological trends, opportunities, and challenges with a SMB audience in mind. Her content has been featured in French Tier 1 media including Le Monde, L’Express and Le Figaro, among other publications. Her previous experience as a graphic designer, translator and LQA specialist in various industries converged into a skill set that allows her to create compelling content about today’s business matters. Caroline’s personal interests include literature and art and she has a passion for Albert Camus, graphic novels and drawing.

Advisors

Jonathan Schultz is a senior advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2014 as a software advisor, and is based in Austin, TX.

As part of the software advisor team, Jon helps medical and legal professionals who are seeking case management, document management, medical billing, and inventory software. He provides a short list of personalized technology recommendations based on budget, business goals, and other specific needs. 

Jon’s favorite part of being a software advisor is helping buyers understand and navigate the software search process—he enjoys demonstrating that a software search does not need to be complicated or intimidating.

Bobby Waldron is a senior advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2019, and he is based in Austin, TX.

Bobby works directly with small-business leaders to connect them with best fit software providers. He assesses the technology needs of small businesses seeking medical and telemedicine software through one-to-one conversations and provides a short list of potential matches. 

His favorite part of being a software advisor is helping buyers create realistic expectations of the software market.

Sources

1. Here's What We Know About Telemedicine in the Future, Software Advice

2. Software Advice reviews data: Software Advice reviews are collected from verified users for individual software products. For this report, we analyzed reviews from the past year as of the production date. Read the complete methodology.

3. Software Advice software pricing data: Only products with publicly available pricing information and qualified software products within the category, as of November 29, 2023, are included in the pricing analysis. Read the complete methodology.

4. Extending the Reach of Healthcare Delivery With Virtual Care, Gartner

5. Everything Is Remote, Even Healthcare—Why Telemedicine Is Still the First Choice for 91% of Patients, Software Advice