Healthcare is changing fast. Patient expectations are higher. Overhead costs keep climbing. And the old way of doing things? It’s getting harder to sustain.
Telehealth modalities are increasingly commonplace across specialties, with 74% of physicians’ practices offering remote care access through video conferencing, up from 14.3% in 2018. The volume of telehealth claims has now stabilized at 38 times higher than it was before the pandemic.
But here’s what hasn’t changed:
If you have the right telehealth platform, you can still deliver excellent patient care while growing your practice.
Not by chasing expensive, complex solutions, but by choosing tools that actually work for small practices and focusing on what drives real results.
The best telehealth platforms help you do exactly that:
- Connect with patients seamlessly from anywhere
- Reduce no-shows and cancellations
- Streamline administrative workflows
- Maintain HIPAA compliance without the headaches
- Generate revenue through virtual visits
These are the platforms that small medical practices use to deliver quality care while staying profitable.
The best part?
These platforms actually understand the unique challenges small practices face. No massive IT departments or unlimited budgets required.
My Top 3 Telehealth Platforms for Small Medical Practices
- Doxy.me: Simple, reliable video visits with a completely free tier
- SimplePractice: All-in-one practice management with integrated telehealth
- Mend: AI-powered patient engagement and telehealth automation
Doxy.me
Best for practices that need simple, reliable telehealth without breaking the budget
Pricing: Free plan available; Professional at $35/month; Clinic at $50/month per provider
Doxy.me is completely free for basic telehealth visits and is the world’s most loved telemedicine solution with over one million providers already using it.
I know free platforms can make you suspicious, but Doxy.me is the real deal. Doxy.me is one of the few telehealth platforms that offer a basic version that’s completely free and doesn’t require any software installation.
Start Seeing Patients in Under 60 Seconds
The beauty of Doxy.me is its simplicity. Their web service allows you to create a personalized URL (for example, www.doxy.me/DrSmith) to invite your patients into your “office.”
You don’t need downloads, complicated setups, or technical training. You literally create an account, get your personalized room link, and start seeing patients.
Users note that Doxy.me generally provides good audio and video clarity, which is essential for effective telehealth sessions. The virtual waiting room lets you see when patients arrive, and you can communicate with them via messages while they wait.
HIPAA Compliance That Actually Works
Doxy.me is completely HIPAA, GDPR, PHIPA/PIPEDA, and HITECH compliant. The free plan meets HIPAA requirements and includes a free BAA agreement.
This isn’t some watered-down compliance either. You get the same security standards on the free plan that other platforms charge hundreds for.
What You Get on Each Plan
Free Plan:
- Unlimited call minutes
- Virtual waiting room
- Basic messaging
- Meeting history
- HIPAA compliance
Professional ($35/month):
- HD video quality
- Group calling
- Screen sharing
- Room passcode protection
- Custom branding
Clinic ($50/month per provider):
- Everything in Professional
- Patient transfers between providers
- Shared rooms
- Custom branding
- Team management
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Completely free tier with full HIPAA compliance | Connection issues and video glitches can occur with poor internet |
| No software installation required | Limited integration with EHR systems |
| Highest ease of use rating (4.9) in the telemedicine category | No built-in billing or practice management |
Doxy.me Alternative: Zoom for Healthcare
Zoom for Healthcare offers enterprise-grade video conferencing but starts at $200 per month per host. While it has more advanced features, Doxy.me Professional at $35 per month per provider may be more cost-effective for telemedicine services specifically.
For small practices just getting started with telehealth, Doxy.me’s simplicity and cost-effectiveness make it the better choice.
SimplePractice
Best for practices that want telehealth plus complete practice management in one platform
Pricing: Essential at $39/month; Professional at $59/month; 30-day free trial available
225,000+ practitioners trust SimplePractice, which offers 3 different subscription plans starting at $49/month. But what makes SimplePractice special isn’t just telehealth—it’s everything else it does too.
All-in-One Practice Management
At its core, SimplePractice is a practice management system. But they’ve recently introduced telemedicine to their platform. That means it has all the features you’d expect of a practice management system like billing, scheduling, and a patient portal, while also providing video and audio appointment capabilities.
You get:
- Appointment scheduling with automated reminders
- Client management and documentation
- Insurance billing and claims processing
- Secure client messaging
- Payment processing
- Treatment planning tools
Telehealth is included on all subscription plans at no additional cost.
Integrated Telehealth That Just Works
Unlike a stand-alone provider for video appointments, SimplePractice offers a fully integrated suite of practice management tools. Having your video appointments, calendar, client details, and more all in one platform can save your practice time and make these features more accessible.
When a patient books a telehealth appointment, they automatically receive reminders with the video link. After the session, your notes go directly into their file. Insurance claims include the proper telehealth codes automatically.
Everything flows together seamlessly.
Built for Health and Wellness Professionals
SimplePractice serves health and wellness practitioners in private practice including therapists, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, dietitians, massage therapists and many more.
The platform includes thousands of ICD-10 codes with treatment plans and progress notes. SimplePractice has a library of diagnosis and treatment plans. It’s a searchable database with thousands of ICD-10 codes with treatment plans and progress notes to help ease administrative burden.
Current Pricing Breakdown
Based on recent pricing updates:
Essential ($39/month):
- Basic scheduling and client management
- Telehealth included
- Limited appointment reminders
Professional ($59/month):
- Everything in Essential
- Full appointment reminders
- Insurance billing
- Advanced reporting
Professional for Groups ($59/month + $29/month per additional clinician):
- Multi-provider support
- Group telehealth sessions
- Team management tools
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Complete practice management solution with integrated telehealth | Users report that pricing is too high and learning curve for beginners can be challenging |
| Insurance billing with automated ERA recording included on all plans | May be overkill for practices that only need basic telehealth |
| 30-day free trial with no credit card required | Some users feel forced into features they don’t plan to use |
SimplePractice Alternative: TherapyNotes
TherapyNotes offers similar practice management features with telehealth integration. However, SimplePractice’s broader appeal beyond mental health and more comprehensive feature set make it the better choice for most small medical practices.
Mend
Best for practices ready to leverage AI and automation for patient engagement
Pricing: Free version available; custom pricing for paid plans
Mend is a healthcare communications platform that can connect to patients anytime, anywhere, and with any device through messaging, video, or forms. The company was founded in 2014 to revolutionize telemedicine services, boost revenues, and provide superior and seamless patient communication.
AI-Powered Patient Engagement
What sets Mend apart is its artificial intelligence capabilities. Mend’s artificial intelligence (AI) feature predicts no-shows to help improve your bottom line. Mend promises that their telehealth platform has a 98.3% engagement rate and single digit no-show rates.
The platform automatically:
- Predicts which patients are likely to no-show
- Sends personalized appointment reminders
- Reschedules appointments based on patient preferences
- Follows up after visits to improve outcomes
Comprehensive Patient Communication
Mend can connect to patients anytime, anywhere, and with any device through messaging, video, or forms. Mend is the absolute easiest, fully integrated technology to engage your patients.
You get a complete patient engagement suite:
- Video consultations
- Secure messaging
- Digital intake forms
- Appointment scheduling
- Payment processing
- Patient self-scheduling
Mend also aims to solve problems like cancellations and missed appointments by integrating with EHR platforms and allowing patients to book, modify, and reschedule independently at any time of the day.
Enterprise-Level Integration
Mend’s cutting-edge integration technology can be applied to just about any EHRs or practice management system for telehealth, patient scheduling, appointment reminders, or paperwork. Options include PDF, fax, HL7, SFTP, API, and even AI integration capabilities.
This means Mend can connect to virtually any system you’re already using, making the transition seamless.
Outstanding Support Experience
Mend is #1 customer rated for ease-of-use and customer service. With an average response time of 23 seconds, you, staff, or patients can get instant support early in the morning or late at night.
That kind of support is rare in healthcare technology, but it makes a huge difference when you’re trying to serve patients.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 98.3% engagement rate and single digit no-show rates | Custom pricing isn’t transparent upfront |
| AI-predicted no-shows and automated patient payments | Occasional video connection issues with freezing and poor audio quality |
| 23-second average support response time | May be complex for very small practices |
Mend Alternative: Amwell
Amwell offers a hybrid care platform but focuses more on large health systems. Amwell offers a HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform tailored to healthcare providers operating in a hybrid care model. For small practices wanting AI-powered patient engagement, Mend’s specialized focus and proven results make it the better choice.
Other Tools That Complete Your Telehealth Setup
Running effective telehealth requires more than just video software. Here are the additional tools that make the biggest difference:
- Google Workspace for secure email and document sharing with patients
- Calendly or Acuity Scheduling for automated appointment booking (if not using SimplePractice)
- Stripe or Square for payment processing
- DocuSign for electronic consent forms and agreements
- LastPass or 1Password for secure password management across platforms
The telehealth platforms above represent the best options for small medical practices in 2025. Each solves different challenges:
Choose Doxy.me if you want to start with telehealth immediately at zero cost, with the option to upgrade as you grow.
Choose SimplePractice if you need complete practice management with telehealth included, especially for health and wellness practices.
Choose Mend if you’re ready to leverage AI and automation to dramatically reduce no-shows and improve patient engagement.
The key is starting. The telemedicine technologies industry has grown 16.5% CAGR and is expected to generate $82 billion by 2028. Practices that embrace telehealth now will have a significant advantage over those that wait.
Pick the platform that matches your current needs and budget, then build from there. Your patients are ready for telehealth, the question is whether you’re ready to serve them.
