Customer lifetime value calculator for telehealth subscriptions

Lifetime value estimates what an average patient is worth over the whole time they stay subscribed. For subscription telehealth it comes from three numbers: price per refill, gross margin and churn.

• Average lifetime (months) = 1 / monthly churn
• Lifetime revenue = monthly price x average lifetime
• Lifetime gross profit = monthly price x gross margin x average lifetime
• Capped lifetime gross profit = monthly price x gross margin x the sum of (1 - churn) for each month up to the cap

The simple formula assumes patients can stay forever. The capped version counts only the months up to your cap, which is more cautious and closer to how most brands plan.

For refills every 3 months, enter the price of one refill and the churn per renewal. The calculator converts both to a monthly equivalent so the results compare with monthly plans.

A monthly plan costs 89 USD with a 70% gross margin. Each month 12% of patients cancel. Lifetime is capped at 36 months.

These numbers illustrate the formula; enter your own.

• Use gross margin after medication, pharmacy, consult and shipping, not product margin alone. A refill can carry costs the first order did not, and the reverse.
• Month-one churn is often much higher than later churn in telehealth. A single churn rate averages that out. The retention table shows the shape a single rate implies; compare it with your own cohort data.
• Patients who pause and restart are hard to count. Decide whether a restart is the same patient or a new one, and use the same rule everywhere.
• Lifetime value is the ceiling on what you can pay to acquire a patient. Most brands keep CAC well under it to leave room for profit and for cash to wait for refills.