The Percentage of Patients with a Telehealth Claim Decreased Nationally and in Every Region Except the Midwest in October
Noninflammatory Female Disorders Entered the Top Five National Telehealth Diagnostic Categories in October for the First Time in 2025
NEW YORK, NY—January 15, 2026—The percentage of patients with a telehealth claim decreased nationally and in every region except the Midwest in October 2025, according to FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. Nationally, that percentage decreased from 14.7 percent in September to 14.5 percent in October, a 1.7 percent drop. In the Northeast, the decrease was 2.2 percent, and in the South and West, it was 2.5 percent. In the Midwest, there was an increase of 0.02 percent. The data represent the commercially insured population, excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid.
Telehealth utilization as measured by telehealth claim lines1 decreased nationally and in the Northeast and West but increased in the Midwest and South in October 2025. Nationally, telehealth claim lines decreased from 5.0 percent of medical claim lines in September to 4.9 percent in October, a decrease of 0.5 percent. In the Northeast, the decrease was 4.1 percent and, in the West, it was 3.6 percent. In the Midwest, telehealth utilization increased 2.4 percent and, in the South, it increased 0.04 percent.
Diagnostic Categories
In October 2025, noninflammatory female disorders entered the national top five telehealth diagnostic categories for the first time in 2025. This diagnostic category entered in fifth position, displacing sleep disorders, which fell off the list. In October, the noninflammatory female disorders category remained in fifth position in the Midwest; it moved up from fifth to fourth position in the Northeast and from fourth to second in the West. It was not ranked among the top five in the South in either September or October.
In October, the largest percentage of telehealth claims, nationally and in every region, again consisted of patients with a mental health condition. From September to October, that percentage increased nationally and in every region. Nationally, patients with a mental health condition increased from 62.1 percent of patients with a telehealth claim in September to 63.9 percent in October.
Urban Versus Rural
In October 2025, as in September, telehealth utilization was higher in urban than rural areas nationally and in every region.2 Nationally, 14.6 percent of patients in urban areas had a telehealth claim, compared to 7.4 percent in rural areas. The largest difference occurred in the Midwest, where the percentage of urban patients using telehealth (11.1 percent) was 2.3 times the percentage of rural patients (4.8 percent). The smallest difference was found in the Northeast, where the percentage of patients in urban areas using telehealth (16.8 percent) was 1.5 times the percentage of patients in rural areas using telehealth (11.4 percent).
Age Distribution
In October 2025, the age group 19-30 had the highest proportion of patients with a telehealth claim nationally and in every region, followed by the age group 31-40. At the national level, in the age group 19-30, 24.0 percent of patients had a telehealth claim, and in the age group 31-40, 23.2 percent of patients had a telehealth claim. Nationally and in every region, the age groups 0-9 and 65 and older had the lowest proportion of patients with a telehealth claim. In all areas, less than 10 percent of patients in those age groups had a telehealth claim.
Procedure Categories
In October 2025, psychotherapy services and procedures, and established patient office or other outpatient services (including those for mental health conditions), were, as in September, the top two procedure categories nationally and in every region. The order of the two varied by location and month: Psychotherapy services and procedures ranked first nationally in October (48.0 percent of patients with a telehealth claim) but ranked second in September (46.4 percent). Established patient office or other outpatient services ranked second nationally in October (47.5 percent) but ranked first in September (48.0 percent). Established patient office or other outpatient services also ranked first in the South and West in both September and October, while psychotherapy services and procedures ranked first in the Midwest and Northeast in both months.
About the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker
Launched in May 2020 as a free service, the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker uses FAIR Health data to track how telehealth is evolving from month to month. An interactive map of the four US census regions allows the user to view an infographic on telehealth in a specific month in the nation as a whole or in individual regions. Each year, the infographic introduces varied views into telehealth utilization. In this sixth iteration of the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, each infographic shows month-to-month changes in telehealth utilization, both through telehealth’s percentage of medical claim lines and percent of patients with a telehealth claim; and that month’s top five diagnostic categories; top five procedure categories; age distribution, which captures the percentage of patients within each age group with a telehealth claim; and urban versus rural telehealth usage.
For the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, click here.
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1A claim line is an individual service or procedure listed on an insurance claim.
2 Each telehealth service was attributed to a rural/urban designation in a region based on the patient’s medical service area, which FAIR Health determines based on the unique geographical pattern of services utilized by the patient.
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