The State of Virtual Care: A New Report on What’s Next for Telehealth

Telehealth has come a long way in just a few short years. What started as a niche service before the pandemic grew into a necessary solution during COVID, and has now become a core way people access care. Therapists, doctors, and specialists are now meeting patients in living rooms, offices, and kitchens across the globe.

But while the rise of virtual care has opened new doors, the real challenge ahead is figuring out how to make those experiences feel personal, reliable, and trustworthy.

We surveyed industry experts involved in both facilitating and delivering virtual care across a variety of video call providers. Their insights reveal the challenges of telehealth implementation and adoption, as well as the opportunities and priorities shaping the future of tech-enabled care.

Uncovering the key challenges and opportunities in telehealth

Across every role and region (with the majority being in North America and Europe), three themes kept popping up: trust, engagement, and human connection.

1. Human factors are the primary challenge

When we asked respondents about their top challenge, nearly 1 in 4 professionals shared that keeping patients engaged is the toughest part of delivering care virtually. And looking ahead, 55% said improving engagement is their number one priority for the future.

Over half of our respondents think a major barrier to adoption is because patient awareness is low. Add to that the 44% who pointed to limited access to technology and the 26% who highlighted low digital literacy, and it becomes clear that building the technology alone isn’t enough. Empathy, clarity, and human connection are just as important to virtual care.

Technology should fade into the background so clinicians and patients can connect as people. For example, choosing a video call solution that doesn’t have a complex UI or require downloading additional apps can significantly reduce the barrier to joining an appointment.

Calm interfaces, intuitive journeys, and stress-free onboarding allow practitioners to focus on care instead of troubleshooting, and help patients feel supported from the very first click.

2. Trust, security, and platform usability outweigh flashy features

There’s no shortage of innovation in the telehealth space. New features and integrations seem to come up every month, especially with the advent of AI.

But the professionals we surveyed made it clear: these innovations aren’t a top priority if the basics aren’t working. A strong foundation of reliable calls, ease of use, and secure connections matter far more than the latest features.

42% said privacy and security compliance is the single most important factor when choosing a video call provider. Right behind at 31% is how easy the platform is to use. Innovation is valuable only when it builds on a solid core experience that patients and providers can depend on.

Looking ahead, professionals are prioritizing user experience (53%) and patient engagement (55%) over rolling out new features (38%). The focus is on making virtual care easier and more effective to use, rather than chasing innovation for the sake of it.

For virtual care to succeed, platforms need to be secure, compliant, simple, reliable, and accessible. These video calls need to work seamlessly across devices, bandwidth conditions, and varying levels of digital literacy. Without that solid foundation, advanced features won’t matter.

3. Technical reliability is an everyday struggle

90% of the professionals we surveyed said they or their users experience video call issues at least occasionally.

It’s no surprise, then, that reliability and call quality are front of mind when choosing a platform. In fact, two-thirds of respondents ranked them as an important consideration, while 28% said it was the most important factor when picking a video call platform.

Reliability in this case is about performance in real-world conditions. Video call tech needs to remain stable across varying bandwidth levels, on different devices, and in environments where connectivity isn’t quite perfect.

Telehealth platforms that can deliver consistent quality in these challenging scenarios will ultimately earn the trust of both providers and patients.

Dig deeper into the full report

For telehealth leaders, the path forward is about getting the basics right and keeping people at the heart of every decision. This is because the next phase of virtual care will not be defined by how many patients log on, but by how meaningful and seamless those virtual experiences are.

It means choosing technology that prioritizes trust and ease of use over multiple trendy features. This also means investing in reliability so that care isn’t interrupted by something as mundane as a weak connection.

If you found this teaser insightful, there’s a lot more to unpack in the full report. It digs deeper into adoption trends, platform preferences, and the priorities shaping the future of virtual care. To explore the complete insights and see what comes next, download the full report here.