Telehealth vs In-Person Margin Calculator — Rex's Toolbox

Rex says

Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.

Try a scenario

Click to load — tweak from there.

Inputs

In-person reimbursement($)

Telehealth reimbursement($)

In-person overhead allocation per visit($)

Telehealth overhead allocation per visit($)

In-person no-show rate(%)

Telehealth no-show rate(%)

Telehealth platform fee per visit($)

Result

Telehealth margin advantage per visit

$1.45

In-person margin per visit

$73.80

Telehealth margin per visit

$75.25

Est. daily margin, 16 in-person visits

$1,181

Est. daily margin, 20 telehealth visits

$1,505

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How to use this

1Enter in-person reimbursement ($).
2Enter telehealth reimbursement ($).
3Enter in-person overhead allocation per visit ($).
4Enter telehealth overhead allocation per visit ($).
5Enter in-person no-show rate (%).
6Enter telehealth no-show rate (%).
7Enter telehealth platform fee per visit ($).
8Read your telehealth margin advantage per visit on the right — it updates as you type.
9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.

About this calculator

Telehealth reimbursement often runs at or near parity with in-person visits now in many states and payers, but the cost structure underneath is very different — no exam room turnover, less front-desk time, but also more no-shows in some populations and platform fees that in-person visits don't carry. This calculator compares fully-loaded margin per visit for both modalities, accounting for reduced overhead allocation on telehealth visits (no room cost, less MA time) against its own no-show rate and per-visit platform cost, so you can see which modality actually nets more per slot and whether shifting a portion of your schedule to telehealth helps or hurts overall practice margin.

FormulaMargin = reimbursement × (1 − no-show rate) − variable cost − overhead allocation − platform fee (telehealth only).

Worked example

Using the values the calculator loads with:

Inputs

In-person reimbursement: 140 $
Telehealth reimbursement: 125 $
In-person overhead allocation per visit: 55 $
Telehealth overhead allocation per visit: 25 $
In-person no-show rate: 8 %
Telehealth no-show rate: 15 %
Telehealth platform fee per visit: 6 $

Results

Telehealth margin advantage per visit: $1.45
In-person margin per visit: $73.80
Telehealth margin per visit: $75.25
Est. daily margin, 16 in-person visits: $1,181
Est. daily margin, 20 telehealth visits: $1,505

What each field means

Inputs

In-person reimbursement ($): The in-person reimbursement used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 140 $ so you have a working example on load.
Telehealth reimbursement ($): The telehealth reimbursement used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 125 $ so you have a working example on load.
In-person overhead allocation per visit ($): The in-person overhead allocation per visit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 55 $ so you have a working example on load.
Telehealth overhead allocation per visit ($): The telehealth overhead allocation per visit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 25 $ so you have a working example on load.
In-person no-show rate (%): The in-person no-show rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 8 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100 %.
Telehealth no-show rate (%): The telehealth no-show rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 15 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100 %.
Telehealth platform fee per visit ($): The telehealth platform fee per visit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 6 $ so you have a working example on load.

Results

Telehealth margin advantage per visit: Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
In-person margin per visit: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Telehealth margin per visit: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Est. daily margin, 16 in-person visits: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Est. daily margin, 20 telehealth visits: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.

FAQ

Does telehealth reimburse the same as in-person now?

It depends on payer and state. Many commercial payers and Medicare extended near-parity reimbursement rules established during the pandemic, but some have since scaled back for certain visit types. Always check current payer-specific telehealth policy before assuming parity, since it directly drives this comparison.

Why is the telehealth no-show rate usually higher?

Video visits have a lower commitment barrier to cancel or simply not log in compared to driving to an office, especially for populations with less reliable internet or tech comfort. Practices that send a link 15 minutes before the visit and call if the patient hasn't joined can meaningfully reduce this gap.

Can telehealth increase daily visit capacity enough to offset lower reimbursement?

Often yes — no room turnover time and less MA involvement per visit lets many providers see 20-25% more patients per day via telehealth, which is why the daily margin comparison (not just per-visit) is the more useful number for scheduling decisions.

What visit types don't work well for telehealth?

Anything requiring a physical exam finding, vitals beyond what a patient can self-report, or a procedure obviously needs an in-person visit. Behavioral health, medication management follow-ups, and stable chronic disease check-ins are the best-fit telehealth candidates.

Accuracy and limitations

Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.

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Cite this calculator

Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.

APA

RevenueLab. (2026). Telehealth vs In-Person Visit Margin Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/telehealth-vs-in-person-margin

HTML

<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/telehealth-vs-in-person-margin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Telehealth vs In-Person Visit Margin Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>

Markdown

Source: [Telehealth vs In-Person Visit Margin Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/telehealth-vs-in-person-margin) (2026).