{"head":{"title":"How Much Does a Telehealth App Cost? What to Budget For","description":"Telehealth app cost depends on video, scheduling, records, payments and HIPAA. The cost drivers, the running fees and how OceanLab prices a build.","canonical":"https://oceanlab.in/questions/how-much-does-a-telehealth-app-cost"},"crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"Questions","path":"/questions"},{"name":"How much does a telehealth app cost?","path":"/questions/how-much-does-a-telehealth-app-cost"}],"question":"How much does a telehealth app cost?","answer":["A telehealth app's cost depends on how much of the care workflow it covers: video visits, scheduling, intake forms, notes, prescriptions, payments and links to health records. Because it handles ",{"href":"/glossary/phi","text":"PHI"},", HIPAA safeguards and a ",{"href":"/glossary/baa","text":"BAA"}," with every vendor in the data path add to both the build and the running costs."],"sections":[{"heading":"What drives the build cost","body":[],"bullets":[["Video visits: a video API with a BAA, waiting rooms, and handling poor connections."],["Scheduling across providers, time zones and visit types."],["Intake forms, consent and clinical notes."],["Integration with an EHR, labs or e-prescribing, which is often the biggest single item."],["Payments, insurance details or both."],["HIPAA work: access control, audit logs, encryption, backups and a risk analysis."]]},{"heading":"Costs that keep running","body":[["Video minutes, SMS and email reminders, hosting and the higher-priced plans some vendors require before they sign a BAA. Add security testing and maintenance. Price them per visit so you know your margin."]],"bullets":[]},{"heading":"How OceanLab prices it","body":[["OceanLab prices product builds and embedded engineers either outcome-based, paid per milestone, or hourly at $30-50/hr depending on role and seniority, whichever suits the client."],["The first step is a clickable prototype of the patient and clinician journeys, so the scope is clear before the production build is priced."]],"bullets":[]}],"faqs":[{"question":"Can I use a regular video API?","answer":"Only one whose provider will sign a BAA for the service you use. Check the plan and features it covers."},{"question":"Should I build or buy a telehealth platform?","answer":"Buy if a platform fits your workflow and pricing. Build when the care model, integrations or patient experience are what make you different."},{"question":"Do I need FDA approval?","answer":"Most scheduling and video tools do not. Software that diagnoses or treats can be a medical device. Check with a regulatory adviser if your app makes clinical decisions."}],"terms":[{"href":"/glossary/phi","label":"PHI"},{"href":"/glossary/baa","label":"BAA"},{"href":"/glossary/total-cost-of-ownership","label":"total cost of ownership"},{"href":"/glossary/clickable-prototype","label":"clickable prototype"}],"tools":[{"href":"/tools/telehealth-app-cost","label":"Telehealth app cost","detail":"Free tool"},{"href":"/tools/ehr-integration-cost","label":"EHR integration cost","detail":"Free tool"},{"href":"/tools/hipaa-checklist","label":"HIPAA checklist","detail":"Free tool"},{"href":"/tools/patient-portal-cost","label":"Patient portal cost","detail":"Free tool"}],"links":[{"href":"/build/telehealth-platform","label":"Building a telehealth platform","detail":"Video visits, scheduling, records and HIPAA."},{"href":"/software/clinics","label":"Software for clinics","detail":"Clinic systems, the rules that apply and how they are built."},{"href":"/compliance/hipaa","label":"HIPAA guide","detail":"Who HIPAA applies to and what it asks of software."}],"related":[{"href":"/questions/does-my-app-need-hipaa","label":"Does my app need to be HIPAA compliant?","detail":"Question"},{"href":"/questions/can-i-send-phi-to-an-llm","label":"Can I send PHI to an LLM?","detail":"Question"},{"href":"/questions/what-is-a-baa","label":"What is a BAA?","detail":"Question"},{"href":"/compare/ai-agent-vs-workflow-automation","label":"AI agent vs workflow automation","detail":"Comparison"},{"href":"/compare/rag-vs-fine-tuning","label":"RAG vs fine-tuning","detail":"Comparison"},{"href":"/glossary","label":"Glossary","detail":"Every term, in plain words."}],"sources":[],"legal":false,"updatedAt":"2026-10-25"}