How TelehealthIndex Scores Providers

Every provider on this site is scored on the same 100-point scale, computed from documented, checkable inputs using a fixed internal rubric, so the same facts always produce the same score. We describe below everything we evaluate and how the factors rank in importance; scores are recomputed on every data refresh, and each page shows its data date (currently July 19, 2026).

What we evaluate (in descending order of weight)

Clinical Credibility — the heaviest-weighted factor

Who actually treats you: employed, board-certified specialists (obesity medicine, psychiatry, urology, Menopause Society–certified physicians) score higher than contractor networks or questionnaire-only models, with additional credit for peer-reviewed published outcomes and third-party accreditation (NCQA, URAC, Joint Commission, CAP/CLIA for labs).

Regulatory & Safety Record — deduction-based

Every provider starts clean and loses ground for FDA warning letters (the largest single deduction anywhere in our rubric — and an unresolved letter also caps the provider’s total score well below the top tiers, with a visible Caution badge), FTC/DOJ/state enforcement, selling compounded versions of FDA-approved drugs, and material litigation. We cite the specific document for every deduction.

Transparency & Trust

Published pricing before signup, a disclosed medical group, LegitScript certification, honest disclosure of what is and is not FDA-approved, and low cancellation friction.

Access & Coverage

State coverage, insurance acceptance (including Medicare/Medicaid where relevant), and speed of access.

Customer Experience

A volume-weighted blend of Trustpilot, Better Business Bureau, and app-store ratings — blended deliberately, because telehealth Trustpilot scores are heavily shaped by whether a company solicits reviews — minus deductions for documented complaint patterns.

Value & Pricing — the lightest-weighted factor

Price against category norms, whether membership fees layer on top of visit costs, and money-back guarantees.

Tiers

90+ Editor's Choice · 80–89 Excellent · 70–79 Very Good · 60–69 Good · 50–59 Fair · below 50 Not Recommended.

Rules we bind ourselves to

1. Compensation never changes a score or a rank. Some providers pay us a commission when you sign up through our links; many of our top-ranked providers pay us nothing at all, and they are featured identically. See our Advertising Disclosure.
2. An unresolved FDA warning letter caps a provider’s score and triggers a visible Caution banner, regardless of commercial relationship. We treat a letter as resolved only when the FDA posts a formal close-out letter in its Warning Letters database, or when the cited conduct has verifiably ceased and 12 months have passed with no further FDA action — not when the company announces a partnership or says it has changed.
3. Unknown data is scored as unknown, not assumed, and flagged for verification — never guessed.
4. Every regulatory claim links to a primary source (FDA, FTC, court records).
5. Data older than 120 days must be re-verified before the next publish; every page displays its data date.
6. Providers we decline to rank, and why, are listed on our Watchlist page.

TelehealthIndex scores and rankings are editorial opinions resulting from our selection, weighting, and interpretation of the factors described in this methodology, applied to information available as of the date shown on each page. They reflect documented business practices, transparency, pricing, access, and nonclinical consumer-service factors — not clinical quality or outcomes — and they are not guarantees of provider performance or future results. TelehealthIndex provides consumer information, not medical advice. Always consult a licensed clinician about your health.