5 Questions to ask before choosing a virtual care partner for your practice

You’ve decided to add virtual care to your practice to expand your service offerings and give your clients more convenience. However, now you're trying to select a virtual care partner that makes sense for your specific practice, patient population, and day-to-day workflow. 

When vetting a white-label virtual care partner, these are five questions you should ask each one to find your best fit and value. 

1. How fast can we launch (and what’s it cost)?

Getting clear on the expected implementation timeline is one of the most important questions, it tells you how fast you are able to start seeing patients. 

But it’s important to remember, fast, may not always mean built well. Understand what’s included in that timeline. Are they taking proper steps, ensuring platforms and APIs are secure. 

Some questions to ask regarding the implementation include: 

• When can we start seeing patients after we sign? 

• Does that estimate include credentialing and licensing setup, or just technical build? 

• What does onboarding look like and what’s the timeline?? 

• Who’s your point of contact during implementation, and how available are they? 

The cost of launching

Cost matters just as much as speed. Beyond headline per-visit prices, you need to understand how the vendor’s fee structure scales as your patient volume grows, and where operational fees sit. 

Consider asking: 

• Is pricing structured per visit, per active patient, as a flat monthly subscription, or as a hybrid? 

• Are there monthly minimum volume commitments or baseline platform access fees, regardless of how many patients we see? 

• Are there separate setup, EHR integration, credentialing, or custom branding fees required before we go live? 

• Does our practice process the patient payments directly, or does the vendor collect patient funds and remit a split back to us? 

2. How are licensing and regulatory requirements handled?

This is an important area to get right because mishaps can have serious repercussions, including state licensing, controlled substance, and HIPAA violations that could result in fines, license sanctions, and, in serious cases, criminal liability. 

Telehealth licensing rules vary by state, and requirements can shift depending on what’s being prescribed, the patient’s location, and whether minors are involved. 

Consider asking: 

• Are your clinicians licensed to practice in every state we see patients in? And do you leverage interstate licensing compacts? 

• Does the platform automatically capture, timestamp, and store state-mandated telehealth informed consent prior to the encounter? 

• How do you manage DEA registration and controlled substance prescribing for telehealth visits? 

• Are your platforms, systems, and workflows meet HIPAA requirements?an

• What happens if a regulation changes mid-contract? Who’s responsible for adjusting workflows? 

So, if you’re wondering how to choose a virtual care partner, pick one that's familiar and stays on top of changing telehealth legislation, policies, and more. 

3. What level of staff involvement is required for your practice? 

Whether you own a chiropractic, primary care, or another type of clinic, you need to plan ahead for the role your staff will play when incorporating virtual care delivery. Partnerships can range from fully managed (the partner handles all clinical operations) to lightly supported (you provide most of the operational backbone). 

Consider asking: 

• Who handles the clinical operations; scheduling, visits, prescribing, labs, communications, billing, etc.?? 

• What EHR API integration capabilities do you have?? 

• What ongoing tasks fall to your team versus the partner's team? 

• How much training time should you budget for front-desk staff? 

If you’re already lean, a white-label infrastructure partner that handles most or all of the clinical operations may be the best choice.. 

4. Will patients still see my brand? 

You’ll discover that some virtual care partners operate under their own brand, meaning patients will see a third-party name instead of your practice’s name throughout the visit. Others operate fully white-labeled, so the experience feels like a seamless extension of your practice. 

You’ve worked hard to build your brand, so naturally you want any virtual care experience to feel like an extension of your practice, not a hand-off to a third party they don’t recognize. After all, you don’t want patients to assume they’ve gone to the wrong website and avoid getting care altogether.

So, it’s worth clarifying: 

• Does the patient-facing portal carry our practice’s branding, or yours? 

• Can we customize intake forms, follow-up messaging, and after-visit summaries? 

• If we terminate the partnership, do we retain our patient data and relationships? 

For concierge and direct-to-consumer (DTC) practices where patient relationships drive the core business model, brand control is often non-negotiable. 

5. Can this partner scale with you?

It’s easy to focus on what you need right now when looking for a partner, but it’s also crucial to consider whether the vendor you select can grow with your company. Consider how a vendor might work well for a 200-patient practice but might not have the infrastructure or licensing coverage to support you at 2000+ patients. In such a situation, you’d have to change partners, which means starting the vetting process all over again. 

Consider asking: 

• Can you support us if we expand into new states or add new service lines? 

• What happens to our pricing and support level as our patient volume grows? 

• Have you supported other practices through similar growth, and what did that look like? 

• Is your infrastructure built to handle increased patient volume without service delays? 

Launch a virtual care program in just days with OpenLoop’s Launchpad platform

Adding virtual care should elevate your clinical practice, not complicate it with exposure issues, hidden overhead, or diluted branding. Knowing the right questions to ask a telehealth partner is a great way to vet and ensure your virtual care operations remain seamless, scalable, and secure. 

OpenLoop gives practices the complete, flexible white-label structure they need to deliver exceptional care under their own brand, fully aligned with state and federal regulations.

Plus, you get access to: 

• 50-state clinical coverage

• Turn-key administrative support

• Nationwide payer and diagnostic networks

• And more

Want to learn more? Contact us today.