Introduction: Work from Home Non-Clinical Jobs For Physicians
SEAK has had the honor and pleasure of helping many physicians with their transition to a non-clinical career. Of great interest to many physicians exploring a career transition is targeting work from home non-clinical jobs. Luckily there are numerous available work from home non-clinical jobs for physicians.
The reason why there are so many work from home non-clinical jobs for physician has to do with what these jobs entail. What is often times required in these positions is for a physician to review a medical chart and answer questions about that chart. Alternatively, the physician could be asked to do some form of medical writing. In any event, all of these activities can be performed quite effectively from home. That’s a win-win for both the employer and the physician. The employer doesn’t have to pay for office space and the physician gets to work from home.
Below is a very brief summary of the five most common work from home non-clinical jobs for physicians.
Most Common Work from Home Non-Clinical Jobs for Physicians
- Work from Home Non-Clinical Jobs for Physicians in Health Insurance. Health insurers (private and governmental) require a large number of physicians to determine which treatments and tests will and will not be covered by insurance. Many thousands of physicians work directly for insurance companies or work for companies contracted by payors to perform utilization reviews (e.g. independent review organizations or IROs). The work involves reviewing medical charts, reviewing policy language, doing some quick medical research and then offering concise opinions with reasoning as to why the treatment or test is or is not covered. It’s a great fit for remote work and these days non-clinical jobs for physicians in the health insurance industry are mainly work from home.
- Work from Home Non-Clinical Jobs for Physicians in Disability Review. Similar to working for payors/health insurers, these jobs involve working for disability insurers or their contractors. The work involves chart review and making a determination on whether the insured’s records provide evidence of their meeting the definition of disability under the disability insurance policy language at issue. Because most of the work involves reviewing medical records, disability review is very well-suited to remote based work. Most doctors performing disability reviews work from home.
- Work from Home Non-Clinical Jobs for Physicians in Life Insurance. Physicians who work for life insurers as medical directors typically work from home as well. Being a life insurance medical director is extremely well-suited for remote work. Physicians working for life insurers are tasked with reviewing medical records and tests and helping the underwriters understand the mortality risk of the person applying for life insurance. Again, you are basically studying medical records and offering your opinions and helping non-medical professionals understand what is going on.
- Work from Home Non-Clinical Jobs for Physicians in Industry: Pharma, Medical Device Companies, and Contract Research Organizations (CROs). Many of the non-clinical jobs for physicians in industry are performed remotely from home. The most common role for physicians in industry, especially at an entry level, is serving as a medical monitor/safety/pharmacovigilance physician. The work involved is well-suited to working from home. These industry roles involve combing through medical records to document and analyze adverse medical events for patients participating in clinical trials and trying to determine if these AMEs are related to the trial at hand.
- Work from Home Non-Clinical Jobs for Physicians in Medical Writing. Writing is an endeavor that is extremely well-suited to being done remotely. Many physicians work as medical writers. Physician medical writers can either be employed or serve as freelance independent contractors. Freelance physician writers almost always work from home and employed physician writers often do so.
Work from Home Non-Clinical Jobs for Physicians: Conclusion
If you are a physician considering a non-clinical career and you would prefer to work from home, you’re probably in luck. Many of the most common and numerous non-clinical roles that physicians serve in are mostly work from home these days. Remote work is appropriate for many non-clinical jobs which involve reading, researching, writing, and speaking on the phone or Zoom. Both the employer and the employee benefit when physicians are able to work from home. The employee gains flexibility and loses their commute while the employer saves on overhead costs.
James J. Mangraviti, Jr. is the co-founder of SEAK, Inc.’s annual Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians Conference, held each year in Chicago. SEAK’s Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians Conference features a faculty of dozens of physicians who have experience in non-clinical and alternative careers. Many of our faculty are SEAK alumni. SEAK’s Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians conference also includes free 1-1 peer mentoring, the opportunity to interview with employers and recruiters, and a robust networking experience. Jim can be reached at 508-457-1111 or jim@seak.com.