The words you will hear when launching a telehealth brand in the United States, and what they mean in practice.
Asynchronous care
The patient answers a questionnaire and the clinician reviews it later, without a live call. Also called store-and-forward.
Synchronous care
A live consultation, usually by video, between the patient and the clinician.
White-label telehealth
A brand offers online care under its own name while a platform provides the clinicians, pharmacy, technology and operations behind it.
Intake questionnaire
The clinical questions a patient answers before a clinician reviews their request. Good questionnaires adapt to each answer and stop unsuitable requests early.
Red flag
An answer that means a patient should not be treated online, or needs a clinician's attention first.
E-prescribing
Sending a prescription electronically from the clinician to the pharmacy.
Partner pharmacy
A licensed pharmacy that dispenses and ships approved prescriptions for a telehealth service.
Refill on approval
A repeat supply that only ships once the clinician has approved it, rather than renewing automatically.
Controlled substance
A medicine regulated more strictly by federal and state law, such as testosterone (Schedule III). Telehealth prescribing rules for these differ by state.
Licensure
US clinicians are licensed by state, and generally must be licensed where the patient is located at the time of care.
Chargeback
A card payment reversed by the patient's bank. Clear prices and good records reduce them.
Subscription
A recurring plan for ongoing treatment, billed on a schedule, with each supply released after clinician approval.