The coronavirus may end up being the big nudge in favor of telemedicine that helps establish it permanently as a mainstream medical offering.

For years, telehealth providers have been trying to convince skeptical consumers that sitting in a waiting room and sterile doctor's office is not a necessary requirement of medical care. And now that consumers are finally seeing the value of communicating with a health care provider virtually, telehealth providers, much like the rest of the health care system right now, just can't keep up with demand.

"This week, patient visit volume spiked 50 percent over the prior week and continues to rise," said Teladoc, a publicly traded provider of telemedicine services in a March 13 press release.

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