Journal

Build vs Buy

What to build, what to buy, and what each choice costs you later.

55 guides3 seriesUpdated weekly

What clinical infrastructure costs from pre-launch to 1,000 patients: a runway model

A ten-month worked model of what the clinical layer costs a seed-stage company under three approaches, and how each choice moves months of runway.

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How large companies launch telehealth without building a medical practice

What building a medical practice actually takes, what a storefront partner keeps, and how licensed infrastructure lets an enterprise own the brand, the customer and the data.

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How to build a telehealth platform, Part 3: e-prescribing and pharmacy routing

What happens after the clinician signs — the SCRIPT transaction, EPCS, choosing 503A vs 503B, state licensure routing, cold chain, and the status events your product needs.

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How to build a telehealth platform, Part 2: designing intake

Intake is the product surface that decides how fast a clinician can decide. How to structure it, when to branch, what to validate at the API boundary, and what to leave to the visit.

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How to build a telehealth platform, Part 1: the complete architecture

The seven layers every telehealth platform has — from storefront to pharmacy — what each one does, what it costs to build, and where the compliance actually lives.

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Do DTC telehealth brands need an EHR? EHR vs. clinical infrastructure

What an EHR is actually for, what a DTC program actually runs, and the four questions that decide which system of record you need.

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The telehealth tech stack in 2026: what you build vs. what you rent

Eight layers, a build/rent verdict for each, and where the engineering time actually goes.

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The best white-label telehealth platforms in 2026: an honest comparison

Nine vendors sorted by model and fit — done-for-you operators, enterprise networks, developer platforms, and API infrastructure — with our bias disclosed.

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Telehealth platform pricing in 2026: the four models and what they hide

Per-visit, platform-plus-usage, revenue share, and PMPM — how vendors charge, what the headline excludes, and how to model true cost at three volumes.

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White-label telehealth, explained

Portals, marketplaces, and API infrastructure — the three models behind "your brand, our clinicians," and how to choose between them.

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What it really costs to launch a telehealth product

The build-vs-buy math: every cost center between you and your first patient, and where the budget actually goes.

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11 posts in Build vs Buy

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