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Remote Physician Job Options

Sep 16
9 min read

As burnout amplifies and physician demographics change, many doctors in our online physician community post asking for remote physician job options. While several options exist, it’s important not to take a job just because it happens to be remote, so we want to make sure that you are aware of different avenues for remote work as a physician so that you can best assess what may be a good fit.


We often post available jobs via our weekly newsletter or dedicated side gig listserves, so if you haven’t signed up yet, subscribe to our weekly newsletter for alerts!


Disclosure/Disclaimer: Our content is for generalized educational purposes. While we try to ensure it is accurate and updated, we cannot guarantee it. You should do your own due diligence before making decisions based on this page. To learn more, visit our disclaimers and disclosures.


10 job options for physicians who want to work remotely


What options exist for physicians that want to work remotely?


This is a nuanced question, because there are lots of remote jobs out there, some of which are completely clinical, some of which are nonclinical but utilize your medical expertise, and of course, some of which are unrelated to medicine. This article will focus on the job options for doctors who wish to work remotely while utilizing their medical expertise. Please note that some of these options may be more realistic for some specialties than others. 


Also note that many people assume that remote jobs mean better lifestyle, flexibility, and the ability to do other things like care for your children while you’re working. This is often not the case. You may have less vacation, earn less money, and genuinely be tied to your chair the whole time. If you expect to earn money similar to a physician salary, there will be the expectation that you’re working just as hard! Read this article for more context on the question of whether or not non-clinical jobs are actually easier or a better lifestyle.


These days, competition for remote jobs is getting increasingly competitive. You’ll want to be very intentional about networking, building relationships and a brand, and keeping your eyes and ears open to opportunities if you’re serious about getting into this space.



Telemedicine / Teleradiology / Telepsychiatry / TeleICU


Telemedicine is the obvious remote option, and a natural fit for physicians wanting to work remotely for whom their specialties lend themselves to remote work. Obviously, procedural specialties will generally have a harder time finding fully remote jobs unless a particular aspect of their practice lends itself to telemedicine and they are willing to tailor their practice exactly to that niche. 


Recent policy proposals from CMS signal that telehealth reimbursement is here to stay, and as such, more physicians may find themselves moving in this direction. Options for jobs in this space include:


  • Telehealth jobs with companies providing remote services to hospital systems, such as ICU coverage or specialty services. 

  • Positions with large telemedicine companies

  • Starting your own telemedicine practice, whether it be insurance based or cash pay


These jobs could be full time or part time, and often have some flexibility. The big thing to note is that volume and compensation can vary widely. If this is going to be your full time job rather than a side gig, you’ll want to ask a lot of questions prior to signing on, especially if it is a newer company. We have a dedicated article on the questions to ask telemedicine companies to determine if it’s a good fit, with questions ranging from hours to compensation to malpractice.


The benefits of joining an established telehealth platform are often related to infrastructure and tools, as well as patient referrals. However, if you’re going to be doing this for your full time job, it’s worth thinking about whether it makes sense to pay middleman fees forever instead of building out your own practice. Other positions, such as ones that provide hospital coverage for underserved areas or hard to fill shifts, may require that you’re with a larger platform.  


Compensation structures vary by platform and arrangement — pay may be per visit, hourly, or salaried — and employment type (W-2, 1099 contractor, or self-employed) affects both income and taxes. Always confirm how malpractice coverage is handled before signing with any platform. If you're starting your own telemedicine practice, we have a malpractice insurance solution for telemedicine available with a member perk that may be able to help.


Related PSG resources:



Utilization Management 


Utilization management jobs are one of the classic remote physician jobs in the non-clinical space. Insurance companies, hospital systems, and other healthcare entities often require doctors to help assess the medical necessity, efficiency, and appropriateness of care. These may be the physicians you speak to when getting a prior authorization, or be doctors doing other behind the scenes work.


You’ll have to decide whether this work is right for you, as it’s not for everyone. 


Related PSG resources:



Chart review


In addition to the classic utilization management jobs with insurance companies, there are many other forms of chart review that need doctors, and for whom companies hire physicians. Opportunities in this space can include:


  • Independent medical evaluations (IMEs)

  • Quality assurance work

  • Case reviews for law firms

  • Case reviews for life or disability insurance companies

  • Physician advisor work

  • Workers' compensation evaluations


In California, those performing workers' compensation evaluations will need to obtain QME (Qualified Medical Evaluator) certification.


Related PSG resources:



Consulting


True consulting roles for consulting companies like McKinsey, Bain, etc are likely not remote, as they often require a lot of networking and presence at events. That said, when you’re not on the road, a lot of your work may be done remotely these days.  As a bonus, consulting relationships can compound over time, opening doors to additional nonclinical opportunities such as board positions, speaking engagements, corporate roles, and other long-term opportunities.


If you have a significant brand or are a key opinion leader, you could also build your own consulting business where you truly are mostly remote.


Related PSG resources:



Pharmaceutical industry jobs


While not all pharmaceutical jobs are remote, several can be fully or mostly remote. These include medical director, clinical development, pharmacovigilance or drug safety, medical communications, and medical science liaison (MSL) roles. These jobs are very different from each other, so you’ll want to learn about them in a lot of detail before deciding what’s right for you.


 Related PSG resources:



Chief Medical Officer or other Corporate Roles in the Business World


There are so many healthcare companies out there, and many of them hire physicians in various roles. Many of these positions are primarily remote, or can be. They will likely require some degree of occasional travel or appearances, but on days that you don’t have events, there are many positions in this space that entail you working with others on the team or with companies that your company works with remotely. These roles tend to be with strategy, clinical feedback, product development, go-to-market planning, etc.


Many physicians who become well known in their respective niches have been able to successfully pivot to these roles. There’s no set pathways here, but it often involves a lot of networking, building of relationships and thought leadership, and/or being a key opinion leader or clinical expert in your field. Some of these roles start out as consulting or advisory positions which evolve into roles, whereas others get MBAs and more intentionally work their way up the ranks at companies.


 Related PSG resources:



Clinical trials work


Most traditional clinical trials work roles do require in person work, such as classic principal investigator (PI) or sub-investigator (sub-I) opportunities. However, there are some remote roles in this space focusing on clinical trials development and medical oversight. 


Related PSG resources:



Startup founder


Many physicians these days are dipping their toes into entrepreneurship. Often times, these roles start out in your home office as you vibe code a new product or build out your business. If you have the risk appetite and entrepreneurial drive to do something like this, and you’re the boss, this could be a great way to work remotely and on your terms. As your business evolves, depending on the nature of the business, you may find yourself having to get out into the world more for conferences and events, but again, you could probably shape this cadence to be as much or as little as you like.


3 categories for remote physician jobs


Medical writing, content creation, or media & entertainment roles


These days, everybody needs content. This has created a market for physicians who enjoy writing or proofreading, particularly with large media organizations. Medical writing opportunities can include:


  • Working for the media

  • Working as a medical consultant for a show, TV network, or movies

  • Contributing articles to consumer health publications

  • Writing for professional medical outlets or CME platforms

  • Freelancing for pharmaceutical or health tech companies developing patient education content

  • Educational content creation

  • Maintaining your own blog as part of building a personal brand


While side gig or freelancing work is typically done on a per piece basis, companies that produce regular healthcare content do hire some full-time writers. Beware, you may take a significant pay cut to do this work, particularly as AI can do more and more of the drafting, and your role may be more related to proofreading, fact-checking, and editing. 


Related PSG resources:



Content creator or influencer


Before you laugh, in this day and age, this can be a legitimate full time career for doctors. Many physicians have either met or surpassed their clinical income by creating an online brand. 


Doctors are experts in fields that patients are actively seeking credible information about. This creates opportunities to be a trusted, evidence-based voice in a space that is too often dominated by influencers without medical credentials or expertise.


Building a brand and a social media following can occur via many outlets, all of which can be monetized through ad revenue, affiliate marketing, pay for views, sponsorships, brand partnerships, or other mechanisms. These include things like social media channels, podcasts, books, blogs, Substacks or other newsletters, online courses or programs or courses, and speaking engagements.


Related PSG resources:



A quick word on non-medically related remote job options that we’ve seen many of our physicians switch to


Once you shift outside of wanting to do something medically related, there are so many options out there. It would be impossible to list all of them, but here’s some common ones that members of our online communities who now work fully remotely have engaged in:


  • Real estate investing

  • Venture capital

  • Coaching

  • Franchise ownership

  • Teaching (could be medically related)

  • Being authors



Conclusion


Many physicians have successfully transitioned to remote roles, but it’s not the easiest jump these days. Competition for these roles is legitimately high, and there’s a good chance you’ll have to take a pay cut depending on the role. That said, if being remote is your number one priority, rest assured that there are both traditional and non-traditional ways to do so as a physician.



Additional resources for physicians wanting to work remotely


While we've already outlined a lot of resources above specific to roles, we’ll highlight some that are more applicable generally speaking:  


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