Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth tools has evolved from a temporary necessity to a long term benefit for patients and providers. In fact, telehealth implementation has doubled the average monthly visits for providers, as well as decreased the average appointment length by 60% (Vogt et al., 2022).
Not only do telehealth services make workflows more efficient for providers, but they also make healthcare more accessible to patients who have barriers to transportation. Along with this, they offer a flexible element to healthcare delivery, especially for routine assessments or follow-ups from medical testing. Rather than bringing patients repeatedly into office, tools like online cognitive testing rapidly gather patient data and track trends over time.
From video conferencing technology to remote patient monitoring devices, there are many different types of telehealth tools currently on the market. In this article, we will explore the key features of the best telehealth services, software, and equipment, as well as how to integrate telehealth into your healthcare practice.
What is Telehealth?
Telehealth refers to the use of electronic communication tools in order to provide remote healthcare to patients. Also known as telemedicine, it allows providers to virtually consult with patients, remotely monitor their health, and easily schedule follow-up appointments. Currently, over 74% of physicians work in healthcare practices that use telehealth tools (American Medical Association, 2023).
Examples of Telehealth Tools & Technology
Telehealth tools encompass all of the technology that’s used to deliver remote healthcare, including:
Communication Tools
Communication tools allow healthcare providers and patients to connect outside of the office setting, which both provides a more accessible patient experience and reduces the need for unnecessary in-person visits. In Canada alone, it’s estimated that telehealth services save its citizens 8.8 million hours that would have been spent on travel and wait times (Hafner et al., 2022).
Many of these tools facilitate real-time, secure video calls between patients and healthcare providers, allowing for virtual consultations and follow-ups, and include:
- Video conferencing tools
- Phone calls and text messaging
- Mobile apps with messaging services
Along with this, asynchronous communication tools allow patients to send non-urgent updates or ask questions at their convenience. With the right telehealth platform, patients should be able to send photos or videos prior to appointments for their provider to review.
This telehealth technology often requires customers to have computers, smartphones, or tablets. Currently, 68% of adults over 65 report using the internet at least a few times a month, and in the past three years, that number has risen from 35% to 50% for adults over 75 (Ageless Agenda). When adopting telehealth communication tools into your practice, it may be helpful to have an FAQ page or contact person for patient education purposes.
Remote Patient Monitoring Devices
Remote monitoring allows continuous tracking of a patient’s health data, helping healthcare providers detect potential issues early and reduce hospital visits. These tools are valuable for patients with chronic health conditions that need ongoing monitoring.
For example, if a patient has diabetes but is also dealing with cognitive impairment, including continuous glucose monitoring in a cognitive care plan can ensure their health data makes its way to providers.
Here are examples of common remote patient monitoring devices:
- Wearable health devices (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Watch)
- Digital thermometers
- Blood pressure monitors
- Glucose meters
- ECG devices
- Digital scales
- CPAP machines
Many mobile health devices are now small and inexpensive enough for participants to bring home if they don't already have a consumer version available. More advanced remote patient monitoring devices have features that can send results directly to providers.
Patient Portals
A patient portal provides a secure online platform where patients can:
- Access their medical history and records
- Track their testing and lab results
- Request prescription refills
- Communicate with healthcare providers between appointments
- Receive automated appointment reminders
- Access educational material to improve their health literacy
Most patient portals have mobile apps as well as webpages for patients who don’t have smartphones. These portals can be helpful for patients who struggle with conditions such as ADHD, and might need week-of and day-of reminders of their appointment times.
Recent studies show that patient portals improve patient-provider relationships, increase patient awareness of their personal health, and increase patient compliance with treatment (Carini et al., 2021).
Remote Questionnaires and Screening
When it comes to tracking mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, neuropsychological testing can take months to get an appointment for, and then up to 8 hours to complete. With the dementia rates expected to reach 78 million people worldwide in the next five years, catching symptoms early is essential for positive health outcomes (Alzheimer’s Disease International).
Fortunately, there are telehealth tools available that can complete cognitive screens from home, including:
- Psychological questionnaires: Instead of the pen-and-paper route for administering standardized questionnaires, patients can answer scientifically-backed screening questions in their home. This can reduce appointment anxiety, as well as give healthcare providers a chance to review their results before appointments.
- Online cognitive tasks: Computerized cognitive assessments can also be administered between remote or in-clinic appointments, giving clinicians a snapshot of a patient’s cognitive function. With integrated reporting, providers can also track patient data over time to determine how effective treatment is.
Creyos offers a full suite of these telehealth tools, and can catch early signs of dementia as well as common comorbid disorders. Contact us today to learn more about what we have to offer your practice.
Teletherapy Platforms
Telehealth also extends to mental health services, and can include remote counseling sessions, psychotherapy, and psychiatric consultations. Trusted teletherapy platforms connect patients with mental health professionals, providing support for issues like anxiety, depression, and stress management, all from the comfort of home. For patients who are in urgent need of help, crisis lines can offer acute support and determine if immediate intervention is required.
Research suggests that telehealth services have the same quality of health outcomes as in-person therapeutic treatment, so patients don’t have to sacrifice high quality care for convenience (Bulkes et al., 2021).
This element of telemedicine can be combined with other telehealth tools. For example, providers can administer online mental health screens such as the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), have health conversations over the phone, and provide additional resources through a patient portal.
Electronic Prescription Services
Telemedicine platforms often include features for electronic prescribing, allowing healthcare providers to send prescriptions directly to pharmacies. This streamlines the prescription process, reduces the risk of human error that comes with paper prescriptions, and improves medication management for patients.
Benefits of Implementing Telehealth Services
Studies have demonstrated that remote patient care offers numerous benefits and features that are transforming the landscape of healthcare delivery, including:
- Better patient care: Research shows that implementing telehealth decreases the presence and severity of symptoms for patients, as well as increases patient satisfaction (Vudathaneni et al., 2024). Patients are likely to spread the word about receiving high quality care, which helps with growing a medical practice.
- Serving additional patient populations: Approximately 20% of Americans live in rural remote areas, but only 9% of physicians serving these communities (News in Health, 2022). Telehealth services help eliminate travel-based barriers to accessing healthcare for rurally-based patients, as well as patients with mental and physical disabilities.
- Reduced costs: In 53% of cost-minimization studies in one scoping review, it was found that telehealth helped reduce costs compared to traditional healthcare (Snoswell et al., 2020). While implementing telehealth might come with capital costs for new technology and training, they often quickly pay for themselves in a well-managed telemedicine plan.
- Less administrative burden and easier scheduling: 60% of physicians say that administrative burden negatively impacts their mental health, which will make them 1.4 times more likely to reduce their clinical hours (Canadian Medical Association). Telehealth has the potential to reduce that workload, and give more patients access to healthcare.
- Increased revenue and additional services: Telehealth allows providers to see an increased number of patients in their working hours. Along with this, it can offer drive revenue by adding new reimbursable services, such as remote cognitive and mental health assessments.
The Best Telehealth Software and Services in 2025
Telehealth implementation has been trending upward for the past few years, and as a result, there are hundreds of different technological tools for practitioners to consider. The best telehealth tools should be secure, reliable, cost-efficient (or even revenue-generating), and easy to use for both providers and patients.
If your practice already has the necessary hardware and established workflows for telemedicine, you may just need to add some telehealth software. Fortunately, ost of this software only requires basic technology and a strong internet connection.
Depending on your practice’s specific needs, there are multiple types of tools that might be useful, including:
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is often the starting point for telehealth services, and in some practices, it is all that is necessary to reach patients. While phone appointments are helpful for some patients, videoconferencing lets healthcare providers have face-to-face consultations remotely, making it a more personal and effective way to assess and treat patients.
Here are our top suggestions for medical videoconferencing software:
- GoToHealthcare: GoToHealthcare is a secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform that provides video conferencing and cloud phone systems for healthcare providers. It includes features like GoTo Meeting for video consultations and GoTo Connect for customizable phone systems.
- Zoom for Healthcare: Zoom for Healthcare is a HIPAA-compliant video conferencing tool designed specifically for healthcare providers. It integrates with EMRs, supports collaboration between practitioners, and works with medical devices for telehealth visits.
- Doxy.me: Doxy.me is a web-based telehealth platform that includes videoconferencing, chat, a waiting room, custom branding, analytics, and other features useful for implementing telehealth in a clinic.
Remote Patient Monitoring
Remote patient monitoring devices and platforms allow for providers to monitor patient data in real-time from the comfort of their homes. These telehealth tools help promote early intervention if health issues are flagged, reducing the need for emergency care.
Our top picks for software and remote medical devices include:
- Coachcare: A virtual health and remote patient monitoring platform, Coachcare provides devices that can monitor patients at home, and is focused on increasing revenue and lowering the cost of care with features that facilitate reimbursement from insurance.
- Vivify Pathways: Built to make disease management and post-acute care programs more effective, Pathways pulls data from patients wherever they are through mobile devices or remote monitoring kits.
- Consumer health technologies: Many patients now use wearable devices like Apple Watch and Fitbit to monitor their health. These devices connect to their own health platforms and can export data on activity, heart health, menstrual cycles, mindfulness, and more, which can be shared with healthcare providers. This is a good option if purchasing telemedicine equipment doesn’t feel right for your practice.
Patient Portals
Patient portals enhance the patient experience by providing easy access to health information, promoting better management of care, and improving communication between patients and their healthcare team. 90% of healthcare systems now offer patient portals that allow access to patients’ electronic health records (Lyles et al., 2021).
Here are our top three choices for HIPAA-compliant patient portals:
- MyChart by Epic: MyChart is a patient portal that allows patients to access medical records, schedule appointments, review billing information, view lab results, request refills, and message providers. It offers real-time updates on hospital admissions and specialist referrals, making it ideal for those within those systems.
- MDLive: Experienced board-certified clinicians can connect with patients using MDLive, which covers a variety of specialties but is especially known for mental healthcare. Healthcare providers can set their own hours, and are offered competitive compensation.
- FollowMyHealth: FollowMyHealth is a versatile patient portal compatible with a variety of healthcare providers. It allows patients to access records, schedule and fill out forms before appointments, refill prescriptions, and message doctors. Its main strength is supporting multiple providers in one platform, and it also offers family access for caregivers.
Electronic Health Record (EHR) Integration
EHR integrations enable seamless communication between healthcare providers and patient data by connecting various telehealth platforms with existing EHR systems. This integration makes it easier to manage and update patients’ medical history and improve care coordination.
Here are our top suggestions for healthcare platforms that offer telehealth-friendly EHR integrations or add-ons:
- Athenahealth: Athenahealth is a cloud-based EHR system that integrates telehealth features that help providers conduct video consultations, schedule virtual visits, and manage patient records. It combines telehealth with patient scheduling, clinical documentation, and billing, making it ideal for small to medium-sized practices.
- Tebra: Previously Kareo, Tebra is an EHR and practice management platform tailored for small practices that offers telehealth video consultations, secure messaging, and appointment scheduling. Known for its ease of use and affordability, this platform provides a straightforward solution for telehealth and billing.
- Veradigm: Previously Allscripts, Veradigm provides a comprehensive EHR with integrated telehealth services, including video visits and remote patient monitoring. It excels in interoperability, integrating with a variety of third-party telehealth platforms and healthcare systems to meet diverse practice needs.
Delivering Remote Cognitive Healthcare With Creyos
Looking for a way to deliver cognitive and mental healthcare without the constraints of in-person appointments? Creyos offers secure, HIPAA-compliant cognitive assessment tools that integrate seamlessly with telehealth services. These screens can be conducted through telehealth or during in person visits, depending on the patient’s preference.
Our scientifically-baked online cognitive tasks:
- Measure patients’ short-term memory, reasoning, attention, and verbal ability in under 15 minutes
- Are sensitive enough to catch early stages of cognitive decline
- Can be accessed on mobile, desktop, and tablet device
- Use gamification tools to encourage patient engagement
- Instantly generate data-driven reports that integrate into patients’ EHRs
- Include analytics tools to track patients’ brain health over time
- Can be reimbursed as a part of Medicaid services
Along with these tasks, Creyos also offer behavioral health assessments for conditions including ADHD, depression, substance misuse, and more. Together, these features catch comorbidities, and enable providers to conduct efficient, patient-friendly assessments without the burden of travel.
Connect with us today to learn about how Creyos can improve telehealth in your practice!
Using Telehealth Tools to Grow Your Practice
In 2021, approximately 22% of American adult patients used telemedicine, and current trends show that it isn’t going away (Hung et al., 2023). From virtual consultations to remote monitoring, these tools are valuable resources for creating a more connected, efficient, and patient-centric healthcare ecosystem.
As you explore the different telehealth tools on the market, consider what best suits your clinic’s unique needs and patient populations. By including telehealth services in your practice, you can increase your patients’ quality of care, as well as attract new patients to your clinic.
Written By Avi Meehan
Avi Meehan is an author, editor, and SEO copywriter based in Ontario, Canada. They write about a wide range of topics including nonprofit and events management, cognition and mental health, and more. Through their legacy memoir writing service, Recollections, they help aging individuals explore and document their life stories.