The coronavirus may end up beingthe big nudge in favor of telemedicine that helps establish itpermanently as a mainstream medical offering.

For years, telehealth providers have been trying to convinceskeptical consumers that sitting in a waitingroom and sterile doctor's office is not a necessary requirement ofmedical care. And now that consumers are finally seeing the valueof communicating with a health care provider virtually, telehealthproviders, 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 theprior week and continues to rise," said Teladoc, a publicly tradedprovider of telemedicine services in a March 13 press release.

Related: Amid coronavirus outbreak, telemedicine providesvital link to care and prevention

Public health officials and providers are encouraging those withsymptoms to resort to telehealth whenever possible as a way toprevent further spread of the virus and to keep hospitals andclinics from being overwhelmed. However, some telehealth providersreport that their IT systems have been overwhelmed by the surge indemand.

Three doctors at the Cleveland Clinic tell CNBC that the virtual service they rely onhas been experiencing slowdowns and leading to long waits forpatients.

Roy Schoenberg, president of American Well, the company thatruns the Clinic's telehealth service, tells CNBC that demand on thesystem has quadrupled since Friday, which he conceded had led tosome technical issues.

"Certain geographies where the public impact of the virus ishighest have seen wait times skyrocket from 5 to 10 minutes to 60to 70 minutes," says Schoenberg.

Medical providers and insurers have been steadily increasingtelemedicine offerings in recent years as a way to cut costs andprovide more convenient service. And in response to the outbreak,at least five states have mandated thatinsurers waive the costs associated with telemedicine visits.

Unfortunately, those who would benefit most from remote medicalcare, including older patients with mobility challenges orresidents of rural areas, may be the ones most likely to strugglewith online care due to lack of internet access or a lack offamiliarity with technology.

The coronavirus may end up being the big nudge in favor oftelemedicine that helps establish it permanently as a mainstreammedical offering. In the meantime, however, telemedicine providersmay face many of the same challenges as conventional providers indealing with a historic pandemic.

Read more: 

• Why more employees are embracingtelemedicine
• 6 tips for changing the telemedicineconversation
• Feds look to telehealth to rein in Covid-19coronavirus