Virtual Care Apps Climb as Patients Seek Faster Flu Relief

Cold and flu season is already on us with the dread COVID hanging around and new doubts being introduced about vaccines. Good time to check in on the PYMNTS App Provider rankings for Telehealth, and we found some brands, services and platforms that are decidedly under the radar.

The PYMNTS App Provider rankings offers a monthly ranking of apps in a specific category, assessing them based on publicly available information and exclusive app usage data, helping users identify the top performers in the market. The ranking aims to provide precise insights into app performance, aiding stakeholders in making informed decisions. For telehealth, we found big four point jumps for LiveHealth, Vsee and Teladoc.

LiveHealth still has a relatively low score of 39, but it had success in August. That success could be attributed to the power of positive reviews and the addition of mental health services to the platform. According to review site VeryWell Mind the company offers affordable rates ($80 an hour).

“I had two testers try LiveHealth’s therapy services, and one of those testers had a very good experience,” reads the review. “Signing up for and accessing her video calls was seamless and intuitive, and the video quality was flawless; plus, her therapist was easy to talk to and clearly had experience in delivering online care. But ultimately, what stands out about LiveHealth is its low out-of-pocket costs: the price of LiveHealth’s services really can’t be beat.”

VSee covers the professional side of telehealth. It’s a telehealth technology platform designed to let health systems, clinics and providers spin up virtual-care workflows rapidly via a low- or no-code architecture. It supports one-click video visits, secure chat, screen sharing with annotation, and integration with medical devices (otoscopes, ultrasounds, EKGs, etc.), all optimized to run well even on lower bandwidth networks.

Its unique value lies in its configurability — health systems can tailor scheduling logic, waiting-room workflows, and consent forms without full custom development — and in its ability to combine clinical video with medical device data streams in real time.

The jump in usage this past summer may reflect growing demand from providers seeking turnkey telehealth capacity (especially for specialties and remote monitoring), plus the appeal of a platform that performs robustly even in constrained connectivity areas and can flexibly adapt to evolving care models.

Teladoc has been the big kid on the block for telehealth and it raised its total score to 44. It operates a broad virtual-care network that lets users connect 24/7 via app, web or phone with board-certified physicians, therapists, specialists and care teams for non-emergency health needs. It offers services spanning general medicine (for colds, infections, rashes, UTIs, etc.), mental health care, primary care, chronic-condition management, dermatology, and expert medical opinions.

Teladoc’s edge lies in its scale, integration with employer and insurer health plans, and its “virtual-first, whole-person care” narrative — meaning it aims not just to triage urgent issues but to serve as a full continuum of virtual health services. A surge in usage this past summer may reflect easing of pandemic constraints combined with renewed interest in remote care for routine and chronic health needs, greater acceptance among insurers of telehealth as standard benefit, and Teladoc’s ongoing push into integrated care, mental health and chronic care offerings.