The Top 10 Health Diagnostics Modern Telehealth Platforms Need
Discover the diagnostic categories driving clinical and competitive value
Telehealth gives patients easy access to providers, but reach alone isn’t enough. Patients also require accurate, timely diagnostic information to get the depth of care that drives high-quality outcomes.
For telehealth platforms looking to grow sustainably, diagnostic tools are non-negotiable. However, it’s also crucial to select the right ones, as some create more clinical and competitive value than others. So, if you’ve ever wondered, “What health diagnostics should I offer?” you’re at the right place.
This countdown will cover the top health diagnostics for telehealth businesses that every modern platform should have available.
10. Urinalysis
Easily one of the most underrated screening tools in primary care, urinalysis can detect early signs of kidney disease, urinary tract infections, diabetes, and liver problems, often before patients even report symptoms. For telehealth platforms managing chronic disease populations or offering complete diagnostic panels, remote urinalysis through at-home dipstick kits with digital result capture is a low-barrier entry point.
Why it matters: High volume, low cost, and catches a wide range of conditions early.
9. Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Panels
STI testing is one of the clearest examples of where telehealth removes a real barrier to care. Many patients avoid in-person testing due to stigma, but an at-home sample collection kit, covering chlamydia, syphilis, HIV, and more, can make screening accessible and private.
Why it matters: Addresses a documented gap in preventive care and builds patient trust.
8. Thyroid Function Testing
Thyroid disorders are more common than most people realize. According to the American Thyroid Association, an estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease, and up to 60% of them are unaware of their condition.
TSH, free T3, and free T4 blood tests are all standard first-line workups for fatigue, weight changes, mood disruption, and cardiovascular irregularities. Telehealth platforms serving primary care, women’s health, or mental health populations are likely to encounter thyroid issues frequently, so it’s helpful to have diagnostic tools as an option.
Why it matters: Thyroid dysfunction is common, treatable, and often caught late without routine screening.
7. Respiratory Diagnostics
Respiratory conditions are a major driver of healthcare utilization nationwide. In the U.S., 19.2 million adults have been diagnosed with asthma, and 12.8 million adults with COPD. Combined, these chronic lower respiratory diseases cause more than a million hospitalizations annually.
Telehealth platforms could integrate remote spirometry devices, allowing providers to assess lung function without a routine in-person referral to pulmonology. They could also include digital peak flow monitoring and patient-reported symptom data during synchronous visits, enabling providers to obtain sufficient clinical data to manage and adjust treatment plans remotely.
Why it matters: Reduces unnecessary specialist referrals and improves management of chronic respiratory disease.
6. Cardiac Diagnostics
Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1921, and even though there’s been an overall decline in cardiovascular disease rates, more recent trends are rising. Worsening risk factors, such as population aging and health inequities, make diagnostic tools complementary to telehealth.
Historically, cardiac monitoring required in-person visits or supervised clinical settings, creating gaps in care for patients who can’t easily get there. Wearable ECG devices, blood pressure cuffs with digital data transmission, and remote cardiac event monitors now make it possible to capture the same data outside clinical settings. Insights can feed directly into telehealth visits without requiring the patient to come in.
Why it matters: Real-time cardiac data can inform urgent interventions and potentially reduce emergency department utilization.
5. Hormone Panels
Many of today’s healthcare consumers are interested in how their hormones affect their overall health and wellness, and telehealth businesses and brands are uniquely positioned to capture this demand. Panels for cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA are relevant across a wide range of clinical scenarios, from menopause management and fertility support to fatigue workups and men’s health.
At-home testing through saliva or dried blood spot collection removes the lab visit entirely, making hormone panels a natural extension of what a telehealth visit already offers.
Why it matters: Hormone health intersects nearly every chronic condition category, and patients are actively seeking it.
4. Sleep Diagnostics
Sleep disorders affect between 50 and 70 million Americans, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, yet many go undiagnosed. The traditional path to diagnosis involves staying in a supervised, in-facility sleep study, which is cumbersome for many patients. Barriers like cost, scheduling, and access can cause people to fall through the cracks.
Home sleep apnea testing devices, like FDA-cleared home sleep apnea testing devices, remove many of those barriers, and when paired with a telehealth follow-up visit, they create a fully remote diagnostic and treatment pathway.
Why it matters: Undiagnosed sleep apnea drives cardiovascular, metabolic, and mental health complications.
3. Metabolic Panels
Metabolic health underlies almost every chronic or preventative condition virtual care platforms are built to manage, making comprehensive metabolic panels (CMPs) one of the top diagnostic tests for telehealth businesses. A standard CMP covers glucose, electrolytes, kidney function, and liver enzymes, giving providers a comprehensive clinical baseline for most adult patients.
If your telehealth platform manages diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular risk, for example, integrating a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can be a meaningful differentiator.
Why it matters: Metabolic dysfunction is widespread, undetected, and responsive to early intervention.
2. Mental Health Diagnostics
Mental health is already one of the most-used telehealth service lines, so there’s plenty of opportunity to incorporate validated diagnostic tools as well. The evidence also supports investing in tools such as the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety, and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) for PTSD.
A study published in JMIR Formative Research found that patients receiving measurement-based care (MBC) via telehealth showed statistically significant improvements in PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores compared to those receiving treatment as usual.
Why it matters: Measurement-based care improves outcomes and builds clinical documentation that supports appropriate billing.
1. Comprehensive Lab Panels
For telehealth business leaders still wondering “how to add diagnostics to my telehealth business,” comprehensive laboratory diagnostics are the most straightforward place to start. CBC, CMP, thyroid, lipids, vitamin D, iron studies, and inflammatory markers are all accessible through at-home blood draws or lab-partnership networks.
Telehealth platforms offering this service don’t have to stop at just ordering labs. They can build an entire diagnostic workflow that involves:
Intake-triggered panel recommendations
Provider reviewed protocols
Automated result routing
Patient-facing explanations
Why it matters: Comprehensive lab access elevates a telehealth platform from being viewed as just a symptom management tool into a longitudinal care partner.
Add Complete Health Diagnostics with OpenLoop Health
Adding diagnostics to a telehealth platform requires the right clinical infrastructure, and that’s where OpenLoop comes in. We provide the end-to-end support needed to integrate diagnostic capabilities into your existing workflows without adding operational burden.
With OpenLoop, you get access to:
Nationwide pharmacy & labs networks
50-state licensed clinician network
Medically reviewed, repeatable protocols built for scalability
Compliance-aligned infrastructure designed to adapt as regulations evolve
Patient support services available 24/7
Stay focused on your brand while OpenLoop handles the rest. Contact our team to get started.
*This content is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, please consult a licensed attorney.