Glossary

Telehealth sales & outbound calling glossary

The terms telehealth brands and call centers use when they talk about partials, answer rate, conversion and compliance, in plain language.

Abandoned cart

A telehealth buyer who added a plan or product and left before paying. In telehealth it usually overlaps with an abandoned checkout.

Abandoned checkout

A patient who reached the payment step of a telehealth funnel and left without paying. Usually the highest-intent type of partial.

Abandoned registration

A lead who created an account or entered contact details but never finished the intake or purchase. Also called an abandoned sign-up.

Answer rate

The share of outbound calls that a person picks up: calls answered divided by calls made. Driven by number reputation, caller ID and call timing.

BAA (Business Associate Agreement)

The HIPAA contract between a covered entity, such as a telehealth provider, and a vendor that handles protected health information on its behalf.

Branded caller ID

Showing the brand’s name and sometimes its logo on the patient’s phone screen instead of an unknown number.

Callback

A call booked at a time the patient chose, used when they are interested but can’t talk now.

CNAM

Caller Name delivery: the registered name shown with a phone number on many U.S. carriers.

Compounded medication

A medication prepared by a licensed pharmacy for individual patients, such as compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide in GLP-1 programs.

Conversion rate

In outbound sales, the share of answered calls that end in a sale: sales divided by answered calls.

CPA (cost per acquisition)

What a brand pays in marketing to acquire one paying patient.

Do-not-call (DNC)

Lists and requests that a number must not be called. Includes the national registry, state lists and internal lists such as a patient saying “not interested”.

DTC telehealth

Direct-to-consumer telehealth: brands that sell treatment programs straight to patients online, usually cash-pay and by subscription.

Floor price

The lowest price a brand approves for a product, which an agent may offer to save a sale.

Inside sales

Selling remotely by phone and video rather than in person. Outbound telehealth sales is a form of inside sales.

Intake

The medical questionnaire a patient completes so a licensed provider can decide whether a treatment is appropriate.

Lead conversion

Turning a lead into a paying customer. In telehealth it means converting partials, registrations and abandoned checkouts into paying patients.

Lead follow-up

Contacting a lead after they show interest, by email, SMS or phone. A sales call goes further than a reminder by handling objections and closing the sale.

Lead reactivation

Calling older leads or partials that went cold, within consent and do-not-call rules, to bring them back into the funnel.

LTV (lifetime value)

The total revenue a subscriber brings over the life of their subscription. High for GLP-1, TRT and HRT programs.

Partial

A person who started a telehealth funnel, gave contact details and often part of the intake, but left before paying.

Patient acquisition

Everything a telehealth brand does to win new paying patients, from paid ads and funnels to outbound sales and lead conversion.

Pay per sale

A call center pricing model where the brand pays a fixed fee per closed sale instead of per hour or per call.

PHI (protected health information)

Health information that can identify a person, protected under HIPAA. Partial data is often PHI.

Spam Likely

A warning label phones show for numbers flagged by carriers or analytics engines. It sharply reduces answer rate.

Speed to lead

How quickly a lead is contacted after it comes in. Faster calls convert better, especially in the first hour.

STIR/SHAKEN

The U.S. framework that digitally signs calls so carriers can verify the caller ID is not spoofed.

TCPA

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the main U.S. federal law on telemarketing calls, consent and calling practices.

Telesales

Selling by telephone. Outbound telesales calls leads the company already has; it is different from cold calling.

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