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Job Options For US Licensed Physicians Who Want to Live Abroad, but Use Their Degree

  • Jun 30
  • 7 min read

So many US licensed physicians these days think about moving abroad and living in another country. However, many of them want (or need) to continue earning money, ideally at a salary or rate comparable to their current income as a doctor. Therefore, we often get posts on our physician communities asking about options for continuing to work as a physician either in the United States, but from remotely, or for other options to earn income practicing as a physician in the location that they want to move. Many of these questions ask about options for telemedicine or nonclinical jobs that they can do from abroad. Below, we cover what job options are available to physicians licensed in the United States who want to live internationally.


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Job options for U.S. physicians who want to live abroad, with both clinical and nonclinical options


What job options are open for U.S. licensed physicians who want to live abroad? 


While many doctors who are licensed to practice medicine in the United States are able to successfully build careers while living abroad, this is a pathway that requires a lot of planning and research. Talking to other physicians who have done this can provide lots of context for specific options. While in theory anything is possible, it’s important to understand what’s feasible and what’s not, and what hurdles you’ll potentially encounter.



Important principles to know when approaching job options as a doctor wanting to live internationally


Medicare does not allow you to participate in patient care from abroad


This is a very important hurdle for those who think that they can “just do telemedicine from abroad” or otherwise work in your clinical capacity as a US licensed physician while living on international soil. Additionally, many private insurers have the same rules, so you’re going to need to be very careful about payer mix if you intend to practice within the United States remotely.



Many malpractice policies will not cover you if you live internationally


If you are thinking about practicing medicine in any form from another country under a US based malpractice policy, even if you won’t be billing insurance, it’ll be important to get a policy that will cover your clinical practice.




The DEA does not allow you to prescribe controlled substances from outside of the United States


Again, even if you have are maintaining a cash pay practice, it’s important to know this if you are in a field like telepsychiatry or pain management where you may be prescribing controlled substances.



Taxes can get complicated


You’ll want to make sure that you work with an accountant accustomed to dealing with cross border taxes, as living abroad but working in the US can create tax residency or work authorization obligations in both countries.



Your employer may have restrictions about working internationally


Even if you’re currently at a job where you work remotely, let’s say for a non-clinical job, they may not be okay with you working from another country. This could be because of the issues above, or just a policy that they have. You'll want to discuss this with them before you assume it’s possible.



You’ll need to be licensed to practice medicine in the states where you’re treating patients


Just like in the US, if you’re engaging in clinical care, you’ll need to be licensed in the states that you’re seeing patients in.


Important rules for physicians living abroad who want to keep practicing clinically in the US


What options do I have for working in the US as a board certified physician if I’m living in another country?


Telemedicine


While this is possible, there are important caveats relating to the principles above. You won’t be able to do telemedicine and bill Medicare or other private insurers that don’t allow you to practice from abroad, and you’ll need appropriate malpractice insurance. You likely won’t be able to prescribe controlled substances.


Even if you aren’t billing insurance - for example if you are doing cash pay medicine - your biggest hurdle will be your employer, as many companies don’t allow you to practice from abroad. Many telemedicine companies won’t allow physicians to log into their platforms from outside of the US because of concerns about cybersecurity, HIPAA or privacy, their insurance contracts or Medicare billing rules, or other employment law issues that they may encounter with hiring you. It may just be too complicated for them to navigate when so many doctors want to practice telemedicine from within the United States.


As such, starting your own telemedicine practice may make it easier. Some specialties in particular lend themselves to this, such as psychiatry, sleep medicine, weight management, lifestyle medicine, hormone replacement gigs, or other boutique niche areas where you are providing more concierge type services. The big thing is going to be that you can’t prescribe controlled substances or may need to set up a relationship or partnership with a US based practice for them to help your patients out with being seen in person or getting certain prescriptions if necessary.


Learn more in our dedicated article about doing telemedicine from abroad.



Non-clinical jobs


Many doctors assume that they can just continue to work as a physician in a non-clinical job. This is less straightforward than you may think, particularly because of the employer issues alluded to above, with concerns about cybersecurity, HIPAA or privacy, their insurance contracts or Medicare billing rules, tax complications, or other employment law issues. Therefore, many non-clinical jobs, particularly those where you have to access patient information, may not hire physicians who are not physically located in the United States.


That said, you may have more luck with jobs such as:

  • Medical writing

  • Medical editing

  • Continuing medical education

  • Clinical informatics

  • Pharmaceutical medical affairs

  • Clinical research

  • Drug safety/pharmacovigilance

  • Medical science liaison (some travel required)

  • AI model evaluation

  • Health technology consulting

  • Startup advising

  • Expert witness consulting

  • Quality improvement consulting




Pharmaceutical Jobs


Although alluded to above, we wanted to focus in on jobs that are within the pharmaceutical space, as many of these companies are used to actually hiring US physicians and having them do a lot of their work abroad, as many pharmaceutical companies have branches abroad. This is a great avenue to consider if you’d like to continue making money in a way that acknowledges your medical expertise.




Academic research jobs or other jobs with hospital systems


Again, this may be hard depending on what you require access to and your employer policies, but in theory, some administrative or research jobs could be done remotely or in a sabbatical type capacity for those doctors only wanting to take a few months to live abroad. This may includes roles within peer review, quality assurance, population health, research, manuscript writing, grant writing, teaching, or curriculum development.


Some fields may actually be amenable to physicians working abroad in order to help fulfill coverage requirements, such as teleradiology. Often, final signoff will still need to be by physicians living in the United States for the reasons previously mentioned, but you could provide preliminary reads.



Doing locums in the United States occasionally


Don’t forget, you can also come back to the United States and practice locums from time to time. Locums can be quite lucrative and you may be able to maintain a good percentage of your clinical income even though you’re working far less, and then just enjoy your time living abroad during other times. Don’t count out this option!


Learn more about locums in our physician’s guide to locums.



Practicing medicine abroad in the country you relocate to


This is a large topic, and we cover this in depth in this article on which countries allow you to practice medicine abroad, but briefly, you could look into opportunities to actually practice medicine in the country you’re relocating to. In some cases, some countries have made the process very easy, but in most cases, you’ll have some hoops to jump through, including:

  • Getting licensed in that country

  • Potentially having to take exams or redo portions of your training

  • Whether or not they recognize US credentials

  • Proving language proficiency

  • Getting relevant immigration/work authorization boxes checked



Conclusion


While moving abroad is never a straightforward process, there are certainly options for physicians licensed to practice medicine in the United States to live abroad while maintaining substantial income through their work as a physician. It’ll be important for you to be honest with yourself about how much money you need to make to be happy, and how willing you are to jump through the hoops you’ll have to jump through in most cases. That said, the world is a big place with lots of options, so start by exploring these possibilities and see where it takes you!



Additional career resources for physicians looking to practice from abroad


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