Top telehealth trends for 2025

• The global telehealth market is projected to grow significantly, reaching over USD 55 billion by the end of 2025
• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth technology
• Key telehealth trends in 2025 include the increased integration of artificial intelligence (AI), more flexible hybrid care models, remote monitoring advances, and improved telepsychiatry services

According to recent statistics regarding telehealth trends, the global telehealth market is forecasted to grow to over USD 175.5 billion in 2026^.1 That’s almost quadruple its value from 2019!¹ However, unless you’ve lived somewhere other than Earth recently, the reasons behind the growth of telehealth aren’t hard to understand. 

Telehealth (or telemedicine) technology has enabled healthcare players to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients virtually, allowing services and medical consultations to be delivered without access-related issues.^2,3 This has resulted in an industry that’s not only more efficient, affordable, and patient-centered than ever before but has also generated a ton of buzz and excitement.³

Telehealth is an area that’s always expanding and is now recognized as one of the most revolutionary aspects of modern medicine.³ This trend looks set to continue next year, transforming not only patient care but many other areas of healthcare as well.³

Here, we take a closer look at some of the most exciting telehealth and virtual care trends, taking a look at what’s next for virtual healthcare in 2025. 

As you likely know already, the COVID-19 pandemic helped accelerate a shift towards virtual healthcare and alter perceptions of what was possible. In this new era,  both public and private healthcare providers are leaning into telehealth services at unprecedented rates.^3–5

Following the pandemic, telehealth usage has remained high, rising from approximately 1% of all patient visits in February 2020 to 17% in 2023.⁵ 

Some of the other key reasons behind the growth of telehealth include: 

• Technological advances — recent technological advances in healthcare, including artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools, wearable devices, cybersecurity measures, and electronic health records (EHRs), have all helped to improve the efficiency of virtual care²

• Changing regulatory requirements — since the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more regulatory bodies have started to recognize the importance of telehealth and have made various changes to healthcare guidelines, providing patients with improved access opportunities²

• Healthcare access disparities — telemedicine offers remote access to medical care for underserved populations, connecting those in need with the specialist advice they require, no matter where they are in the world²

In 2019, Statista revealed that the annual number of users of online doctor consultations worldwide had skyrocketed from nearly 27 million in 2017 to almost 58 million that year.⁶ Fast forward five years and that number has now doubled, standing at well over 116 million.⁶

The increase in online consultations has also brought with it huge time savings across the globe.^7,8 In Italy, telehealth services are estimated to save patients with chronic health conditions almost 9.5 hours per year.⁷ Meanwhile, in Australia, telemedicine offers the greatest potential for time savings in healthcare, with each Australian patient saving more than six hours on average.⁸

However, Norway is the country currently leading by example.⁹ According to a study by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Norwegian Centre for E-health Research, Norway has made significant strides in telehealth, particularly in terms of reducing radiology waiting times.⁹ The study also found that countries across the European Union were increasingly using specific types of telehealth technologies, with 77% offering telemedicine services, 51% offering telepsychiatry, and 84% offering teleradiology.⁹

Looking ahead to 2025, several telehealth trends are worth keeping an eye on. 

• International collaboration potential — as networks become more robust and medical regulations adapt to telemedicine, the use of telehealth across international borders is becoming more common.¹⁰ While there may still be some important issues to overcome, the potential benefits of  long-distance medicine in terms of increasing access to healthcare are very promising¹⁰

• Increased AI integration — AI is already being used throughout telehealth, but in 2025, it’s expected to advance significantly. For example, AI-powered diagnostic tools and predictive analytics will likely become more sophisticated, allowing providers to make more informed decisions and deliver even more personalized virtual care to patients³

• More flexible hybrid care models — since telehealth can help free up the time typically used for routine follow-ups, 2025 is likely to see hybrid care models (a blend of virtual and in-person consultations) become more refined. This should then help healthcare players to deliver care more efficiently and, ultimately, improve the patient-provider dynamic²

• Remote monitoring advances — wearable health technologies, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, are already allowing patients to share important health data with their healthcare providers. This is only set to evolve moving forward, with the relationship between wearables and telemedicine platforms likely to become more integrated³

• Improved mental health services — with only 51% of countries in the European Union currently offering telepsychiatry services, this figure looks set to increase next year with wider use of virtual therapy sessions, online counseling platforms, and mental health apps.^2,9 Telepsychiatry has the potential to further reduce the stigma attached to mental health services and increase the reach of these services²

While 2024 was a huge year for telehealth, 2025 will likely overtake it in terms of growth and expansion.  

As more and more healthcare providers recognize the value of telemedicine in improving patient care, reducing healthcare costs, and enhancing operational efficiencies — and technologies like AI and automation continue to evolve — telehealth will take a more and more prominent position in the healthcare landscape.