A few years ago, telehealth was the "nice to have" tab on a clinic's website. Today it's the front door. Patients book a video call before they book a clinic visit, and a growing number never set foot in a physical waiting room at all.

But behind the smooth patient experience, building an actual online telehealth service is messier than most "we built it in a weekend" threads make it sound. I've been deep in this space for a while now, and wanted to share what actually matters when you're building one — beyond the surface-level pitch.

What "telehealth" really covers

The word gets used loosely.…