Telehealth Services Vendor Categories
Telehealth encompasses not only the delivery of clinical care at a distance but also a range of auxiliary services that support its implementation and success. These services fall into four key categories:
Vendors offering remote clinical care across various specialties, including primary care & urgent care, counseling & psychiatry, critical care & specialty care and subspecialty services. These services can either be directly integrated into a healthcare organization’s offerings or used as a referral resource for patients.
Firms specializing in recruiting, credentialing, and managing telemedicine clinicians and support staff to ensure organizations have the personnel needed to scale and sustain telehealth programs.
Law firms and legal experts focusing on digital health and telehealth compliance, addressing key issues such as licensure & multi-state practice, telehealth reimbursement laws, and data privacy & HIPAA compliance.
Consulting firms—both boutique and full-service—offering expertise in telehealth program design & implementation, optimization and scaling of digital health services, and regulatory navigation & strategic growth planning
Services Vendor Selection Toolkit
While Telehealth Technology Vendors are essential for delivering care at a distance, Telehealth Services Vendors are an optional but valuable resource. These vendors can augment your organization’s capabilities by providing specialized expertise and virtual care services, seamlessly integrating into your existing care model.
When to Use Telehealth Services Vendors
Services vendors can expand access to expertise and enhance patient care in key areas, such as:
- Behavioral Health Prescribers: Remote psychiatric nurse practitioners licensed in your state who document directly in your EHR and integrate into your care team.
- Inpatient & Acute Care Support: Virtual specialists who provide real-time expertise, such as:
- Neurologists for stroke evaluation in the ER
- Psychologists for crisis intervention
- Critical care specialists for triage assessments
By leveraging telehealth services vendors, hospitals and healthcare organizations can extend their clinical reach, reduce provider shortages, and improve patient outcomes without expanding physical infrastructure.
What’s in This Toolkit?
This Telehealth Services Vendor Selection Toolkit provides:
- Guidance on selecting and integrating clinical telehealth services providers
- Considerations for choosing other service vendors, including:
- Staffing solutions (e.g., telemedicine clinician recruitment)
- Legal services (e.g., compliance, licensure, regulatory support)
- Consulting services (e.g., program optimization, growth strategies)
By following this toolkit, your organization can confidently evaluate and select the right services vendors to support and enhance your telehealth initiatives.
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Overview of Telehealth Services
Telebehavioral Health (TBH) Telemental Health (TMH) / Teletherapy Telepsychiatry
SAMHSA uses TBH as an umbrella term that encompasses both TMH and Telepsychiatry. TMH refers to counseling and psychotherapy delivered via telehealth. Telepsychiatry is used when referring specifically to medical management such as psychiatric evaluations and medication management. Teletherapy is sometimes used to describe telephonic care or therapy delivered over the phone.
TeleVisit
TeleExam
Clinical specialty-agnostic types of video visits with or without the use of exam tools.
TeleStroke
TeleCrisis
Two telehealth services typically in use in the emergency room for remote stroke evaluation or a psychological assessment of a patient.
TeleSitter, Virtual Nursing TeleHospitalist/ TeleNocturnist TeleCriticalCare, TeleICU
Examples of inpatient telehealth services.
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
Clinical monitoring (typically by an RN) of patients enrolled in an RPM program.
Telehealth Technology Vendor Selection
