Our team has a high bar and a proven process that we use to find the best virtual medical assistants for healthcare providers:
Read more about our vetting process: Why Most Global Hiring Fails, And How the Ataraxis Vetting Process Fixes It
George was professional, responsive and a pleasure to work with throughout the hiring process. He took the time to understand my needs and connected me with an excellent candidate. I truly appreciate his support and would highly recommend his recruiting services.
As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner running a solo telehealth and in-person practice, I needed a virtual medical assistant who could manage patient scheduling, EHR workflows, and front-office coordination with minimal oversight.
My VA through Ataraxis has been exactly that. She handles new patient intake, manages our scheduling and messaging, and keeps everything running while I focus on patient care. What surprised me most is how she’s become a real thought partner. I’ll ask her to review a conversation or an email and she gives me a straight, honest read. That kind of judgment is hard to find. She’s now taking on more responsibilities as we expand our services, and she told me she’s in it for the long haul.
I only wish I had done this sooner. If you’re a mental health provider considering a HIPAA-compliant virtual assistant, don’t wait.
We’ve had an excellent experience working with Ataraxis and are so impressed. Their virtual assistants are professional, reliable, and highly skilled. The onboarding process was smooth, communication is consistent, and they truly understand how to match the right assistant to the right business needs.
They’ve helped us streamline operations and stay organized without the overhead of hiring in-house. I highly recommend them to any business looking for dependable virtual support.
I made a hire through Ataraxis a few months ago.
As it goes in any hiring process, when you meet the right person, you know immediately. I knew when I met the 5th candidate that she’d be the one.
3 weeks into her job she had a fundamental mastery of her own responsibilities. 2 weeks later, she assumed a whole new set of responsibilities on top of that. And now she’s a fully integrated part of my team.
10/10 will work with Ataraxis again.
We’ve had a really good experience working with Ataraxis. They make it easy to find talented healthcare virtual assistants, who have great attention to detail, at affordable rates. The team is very easy to work with and keeps in touch regularly, checking in to make sure everything is running smoothly and that we’re satisfied with our assistants. Overall, it’s been a smooth, professional experience from start to finish.
George has been a great help throughout this process, which was new to us. His team sourced some great candidates for us to choose from, and we are really happy with our hire. George has also conducted regular check-ins and follow-ups. He is happy to share his personal insights and experience around structuring the job description, onboarding, and getting the best out of this recruitment process. I would definitely recommend George and his business for VA solutions.
George and his team did a fantastic job placing a Talent Sourcer on my team. She’s smart, communicates well, works diligently, and is a self-starter. Bonus points, her background (10 years!) is in an industry directly adjacent to ours. As such, she was able to catch on extremely fast and onboarding her was a breeze. My only gripe is that I wish I had taken this on sooner. Thanks Ataraxis!
George reached out to me on LinkedIn, and while I rarely respond to cold outreach offering services, his approach felt thoughtful and genuine, so I decided to explore what his firm had to offer. We’ve been considering offshore talent for several years but hadn’t made the leap, as we hadn’t found the right offshore partner. Recently, we started working with Ataraxis, and it’s been a fantastic experience—they quickly sourced an exceptional contractor for our recruiting team and ran a smooth, efficient process from start to finish.
Highly Recommend!
I had the absolute pleasure of working with George, and I can confidently say that his expertise and guidance have been game-changing for my business. On our first conversation, George provided clear, actionable strategies tailored to my recruitment challenges. His deep industry knowledge, tested outreach methods, and data-driven approach set him apart.
If you’re a recruiter or business owner looking for expert-level guidance on client acquisition, outreach, and recruitment processes, I highly recommend working with George. His advice is practical, results-driven, and delivered with professionalism and genuine care for your success.
Thank you, George, for your time, insights, and the motivation to push forward with confidence!
I was pretty hesitant about hiring people offshore, but had a fantastic experience working with Ataraxis to hire a virtual recruiter for my business. They connected me with Anabel, who’s based in the Philippines and has been incredible—she’s extremely hard-working, quick to learn, and always brings a great attitude to her work. Now I’m thinking about how I can build a team around her.
The entire process with Ataraxis has been seamless, and they regularly check in to make sure I’m happy with the service they’ve provided. It’s clear they truly care about their clients’ success. I highly recommend Ataraxis to anyone looking to grow their team with quality talent!
Between intake coordination, insurance verification, chart updates, pre-visit preparation, and follow-up communication, front-office staff can reach capacity quickly, and internal hiring to cover the gap is expensive.
Physician surveys consistently report that clinicians spend a significant share of each day on administrative tasks rather than direct patient care, a ratio that correlates closely with burnout and reduced patient throughput. Practices that add dedicated administrative support, rather than asking clinical staff to absorb the overflow, tend to see faster documentation turnaround and fewer scheduling errors.
A Virtual Medical Assistant is built to take on that load: scheduling, insurance checks, chart updates, and patient communication, so your team can stay focused on care delivery.
The situation
A psychiatric nurse practitioner running a solo outpatient practice was drowning in administrative work. Her in-office admin left a trail of incomplete, error-ridden EHR entries. When that person eventually resigned without notice, the practice was left with unanswered patient calls, a scheduling backlog, and a clinician spending her evenings doing chart cleanup instead of clinical work.
It’s a pattern that’s all too common in small behavioral health practices. The front-desk and back-office burden falls on whoever’s available, and patient care is the thing that quietly suffers.
The shift
Rather than hiring another local admin at Austin’s going rate of roughly $50K/year plus benefits, she brought on a virtual medical assistant through Ataraxis. The candidate was based in the Philippines with five-plus years of U.S. behavioral health experience, and was vetted through a full EHR simulation, HIPAA compliance review, and reference check before the first introduction.
Total cost: $2,000/month, all-in.
What changed in the first 30 days
The EHR backlog was cleared in two weeks. Standardized intake templates were built out. Patient calls were being answered within three rings, and appointment waitlist volume dropped by 40%. The practice finally had documented SOPs for refill requests, lab tracking, and prior authorizations, workflows that had previously lived entirely in one person’s head.
If your front desk is a bottleneck, whether that’s call volume, scheduling gaps, or chart work piling up after hours, this is what a well-placed virtual medical assistant actually looks like in practice.
No long-term contracts.
A full-time in-office medical assistant in most U.S. markets runs $35,000 to $55,000 in base salary, before benefits, payroll taxes, and overhead are factored in, which typically pushes the fully loaded cost closer to $50,000 to $75,000 depending on region. That figure doesn’t include recruiting time, onboarding, or the cost of replacing a hire that doesn’t work out.
Hiring a Virtual Medical Assistant through Ataraxis gives your practice HIPAA-trained support at a fraction of that cost, without asking you to lower your hiring standards.
Here’s how virtual medical assistant companies like Upwork, Fiverr, OnlineJobs.PH, and Ataraxis compare on key hiring criteria.
Any Virtual Medical Assistant who touches patient records, insurance details, or scheduling information is handling PHI, whether they’re updating a chart, verifying eligibility, or confirming a follow-up call. Location doesn’t change that obligation. A VMA working from Manila or Johannesburg carries the same HIPAA responsibilities as someone sitting at your front desk.
Every VMA placed through Ataraxis signs a Business Associate Agreement before starting work. Training covers PHI handling, minimum necessary access, and incident response, so your team isn’t the one explaining HIPAA basics on day one. All work runs through encrypted, access-controlled systems built for healthcare use, not general-purpose tools repurposed for the job. Ataraxis also signs a BAA with your practice directly, which means the compliance chain is documented on both sides, not assumed.
None of this is a selling point. It’s what keeps patient data secure, your license intact, and your practice out of an OCR audit.
Medical Virtual Assistant & Behavioral Health Biller | Philippines
$11/hr for full-time, $12/hr for part-time | US hours | Available now
Sheila is a Philippines-based Medical Virtual Assistant with nearly a decade of US healthcare experience, HIPAA certification, and fluent professional English developed through direct training by American clients at Aetna. She holds a BS in Biology and completed advanced coursework in Medicine and Allied Fields.
She spent six years supporting a US healthcare insurance account, progressing from Healthcare Specialist to Subject Matter Expert to Team Lead managing 17-20 agents, handling medical and behavioral health claims, insurance verification, prior authorizations, CPT/ICD-10 coding, and HIPAA compliance.
Most recently she spent three years at a US mental health telemedicine company, as a Behavioral Health Biller and Patient Coordinator managing claims, pre-certifications, EHR records, and provider scheduling.
EHR/software: SimplePractice, TheraNest, Athenahealth, AdvancedMD, NaviNet, CoverMyMeds, Zendesk, RingCentral, Google Workspace.
References (10/10 and 9/10 re-hire): Two former managers described her as consistently exceeding performance targets and one of the strongest assets on the team.
Best fit for: Mental health practices, behavioral health telehealth platforms, and medical billing teams needing HIPAA-certified, US-trained expertise in insurance verification, claims, and patient coordination.
Healthcare Virtual Assistant & Medical QA Specialist | Kenya
$11/hr for full-time, $12/hr for part-time | US hours | Available now
Monica is a Kenya-based Registered Nurse and Healthcare Quality Assurance specialist with 7+ years of clinical and remote US healthcare experience. She holds a BS in Nursing and a Master of Public Health (Epidemiology) and is ACLS and BLS certified.
She spent two years as Remote Healthcare QA Manager for a US-based home care provider, auditing 200+ Medicaid and insurance claims monthly, maintaining 98% documentation compliance, managing prior authorization pipelines for CCA and MassHealth, and presenting biweekly compliance reports to US leadership. She is currently HR Representative and Perinatal Educator for a US-based doula company in California.
Software: Insightly, Ritiko, WellSky, Monday.com, Hireology, Google Workspace, Canva, Slack.
References (10/10 — both): One of her US-based managers called her “one of the best staff the company has had”, crediting her with introducing a digital filing system that improved audit readiness and client retention company-wide.
Best fit for: US home health agencies, small healthcare practices, telehealth platforms, and health insurance operations needing remote Medicaid claims auditing, prior authorization management, and HIPAA-compliant clinical documentation support.
A Virtual Medical Assistant (VMA) is a remote healthcare support professional who manages the clinical and administrative workflows that keep a practice running: charting support, scheduling, insurance verification, and patient communication. Whether you run a solo practice, a specialty clinic, or a multi-provider group, a VMA is built to take that operational load off your in-house staff so your team can stay focused on patient outcomes.
Clear, professional communication and reliable multitasking
If you’re weighing a VMA against other healthcare support roles, our healthcare virtual assistant hub breaks down every position we place, from medical billers to care coordinators.
(0 to 2 years of experience) Handles front-office fundamentals under supervision: call management, scheduling, and patient record updates. Familiar with EHR systems, basic medical terminology, and HIPAA requirements.
Best suited to practices that need reliable front-desk coverage without handing off higher-complexity work yet.
(2 to 5 years of experience) Manages a broader set of clinical and administrative duties: patient intake coordination, prescription refill requests, insurance verification, and telehealth documentation. Comfortable navigating EHR workflows and supporting providers with minimal oversight.
A good fit for practices that want to improve throughput without adding headcount in-house.
(5+ years of experience) Handles more complex workflows: medical scribing, pre-charting, care coordination, and oversight of virtual front-desk operations. Has working knowledge of clinical protocols, compliance requirements, and EHR optimization, and can mentor junior staff.
Well suited for practices that need someone capable of running remote clinical support with limited direction.
Many of our virtual medical assistants have MBAs and graduate degrees, so you’ll have access to high-level expertise, without the price tag.
These roles overlap in a lot of people’s minds, but they cover distinct parts of practice operations. Here is the short version:
| Role | What They Handle |
|---|---|
|
Virtual Medical Assistant (VMA) |
Broad clinical and administrative support. Insurance verification, prescription refills, patient intake, EHR updates, and care coordination. The role most practices reach for when the administrative load has outgrown front-desk capacity alone. |
|
Front-of-house patient contact. Answering calls, scheduling and rescheduling appointments, managing the waitlist, and handling basic intake. Less clinical depth, more volume and responsiveness. |
|
|
Works alongside the provider in real time. Documents patient encounters directly in the EHR during or immediately after visits, so charting doesn’t pile up after hours. Requires the strongest grasp of clinical terminology and workflow of the three. |
Switching platforms is not the solution. Your virtual assistant integrates directly into the EHR you already use. Our candidates are screened for familiarity with the major systems used across mental health, psychiatry, and behavioral health practices. Below are the platforms we actively recruit for. If you are running something not listed here, let us know and we will screen specifically for that experience.
Scheduling, notes, billing, and telehealth support.
Documentation, scheduling, and billing workflows.
Integrated clinical documentation, patient engagement, and revenue cycle support.
Behavioral health scheduling, charting, and billing.
Behavioral health EHR workflows, e-prescribing, and billing.
Insurance paneling, credentialing support, and session admin.
Administrative support for practices operating.
Clinical workflows, population health tools, and billing.
Managed billing, scheduling, and documentation.
Not seeing your platform? We screen candidates for any EHR your practice runs. Contact us to request a platform-specific search, or browse our full list of supported EHR systems to see the complete range of platforms we recruit for.
Your Virtual Medical Assistant should combine clear, professional communication with a working understanding of clinical workflows and regulatory requirements. Day to day, that looks like confirming appointments, triaging patient messages, verifying insurance, updating EHR records, and preparing basic billing documentation, all through HIPAA-compliant systems.
The value of a full-service virtual medical assistant services is that your clinical staff get room to take on more patients without adding administrative strain to the team.
Document patient encounters in real-time within the EHR to support accurate charting and clinical workflow.
Coordinate and manage patient appointments, follow-ups, cancellations, and automated reminders.
Handle inbound and outbound calls, secure messages, and pre-visit intake forms to ensure smooth patient-provider interactions.
Assist with prescription refills, lab result tracking, prior authorizations, and insurance coordination.
Update and maintain accurate patient records, treatment notes, and clinical documentation in compliance with HIPAA.
Check patient insurance eligibility, coverage, and co-pay details prior to scheduled appointments.
Support the billing team by preparing claims, reviewing codes, and flagging missing documentation.
Set up virtual consultations, troubleshoot patient access issues, and ensure readiness for remote appointments.
Guide new patients through registration, consent forms, and pre-visit documentation.
Navigate and update electronic health records efficiently, ensuring completeness and compliance.
Assist providers with daily task lists, follow-up reminders, and organizing case notes for review.
Review documentation for accuracy, flag discrepancies, and help maintain compliance with clinical standards.
Reduce documentation burden and free up time for patient care.
Gain high-quality support without hiring additional in-office staff.
Ensure faster response times and smoother clinic operations.
Ataraxis does the heavy lifting by thoroughly screening and vetting virtual assistants before they’re matched with you. This means you won’t waste time sorting through unqualified candidates.
Ataraxis virtual assistants are fluent in English and skilled at communicating professionally, ensuring there’s no miscommunication in your day-to-day tasks.
Unlike many freelancers who may not align with your work hours, Ataraxis virtual assistants are willing (and happy) to work in your time zone, making collaboration seamless.
All Ataraxis VAs are college educated and have specialized experience in various fields, so you can trust them to hit the ground running.
Hiring through Ataraxis gives you access to ongoing support. If your team of virtual assistants needs adjustments, Ataraxis is there to help, unlike freelancer platforms where you’re on your own.
Freelancer platforms often attract short-term gig workers who juggle multiple client projects at the same time. Ataraxis virtual assistants are committed to building lasting partnerships with one employer, becoming a true extension of your team.
When you’re ready to hire a virtual medical assistant, the best location depends on the mix of cost, language skills, time-zone overlap, and talent depth your business needs. Here’s a quick tour of the best regions, each with clear advantages and a few trade-offs, to help you decide where to hire a virtual medical assistant who fits your workflow.
We created the Global Outsourcing Talent Index, a data-backed audit of all 193 UN-recognized countries scored across five variables: labor cost, English proficiency, talent availability, digital infrastructure, and political stability.
The results were eye opening and are frequently cited by major news sites and industry blogs all over the world.
Pros:
It’s no surprise that many healthcare providers choose to hire a Filipino virtual medical assistant. Candidates from this region have strong English proficiency, familiarity with western business culture, and experience working for U.S. clients. 24/7 support is also easy because night-shift work is common.
This region excels in customer service, lead generation, virtual assistance, data entry, bookkeeping, medical billing, and healthcare administrative support.
Cons:
Increasing demand for Filipino VMAs is slowly pushing wages up and internet outages during typhoon season occasionally interrupt service.
*Ataraxis virtual medical assistants from this region have power and internet backups to minimize service interruption and are willing to work in your time zone.
Pros:
Near-shore time zones mean you can hire a virtual medical assistant who works the same hours as your U.S. team, reducing lag on urgent tasks. Businesses with a large Spanish-speaking customer base may also benefit from hiring bilingual virtual assistants.
This region excels in sales development, business development, digital marketing, customer success, and account management.
Cons:
Hourly rates are much higher and the talent pool is much smaller compared to the Philippines and other regions.
Pros:
Highly educated, English-first workforce with a neutral accent, which is a big plus for phone-based support, especially for U.K. and Australian companies. South Africa overlaps with U.S. mornings and U.K. afternoons, which is ideal for trans-Atlantic operations.
This region excels in virtual assistance, healthcare administrative support, sales development, business development, digital marketing, customer success, content moderation, and account management.
Cons:
Cost of talent sits between Latin America and the Philippines, trimming, but not eliminating, cost savings.
Pros:
Rapidly growing BPO sector that is less competitive compared to the Philippines and Latin America. Top candidates from this region have accents that are almost indistinguishable from U.S. based staff.
This region excels in virtual assistance, executive assistance, software engineering, accounting, data entry, social media management, and business development.
Cons:
Infrastructure and internet reliability still improving outside major hubs.
Pros:
Near-shore location for U.S companies delivers real-time collaboration for East-Coast teams and fluent English support. Very competitive operating costs versus onshore hires.
This region excels in customer service, BPO call centers, healthcare claims, technical support, and help desk support.
Cons:
Smaller population means fewer specialised VMAs, so scaling a large team may be harder. Hourly rates trend closer to Latin American levels given limited supply.
Pros:
Countries in this region are well-known for high education levels and strong work ethic. Arguably, the deepest talent pools for technical roles and has an ideal time zone overlap for European companies.
This region excels in software engineering, quality assurance, DevOps, data analytics, and other technical roles.
Cons:
Costs are much higher than the Philippines, East Africa, and time zone differences may be a bigger obstacle for U.S. companies.
Hiring your first virtual medical assistant is perfectly doable on your own, but most business owners underestimate the hours it takes to sift through resumes, schedule calls, and run multiple interview rounds. Research shows that the DIY path typically drags on for weeks (or months), involves several interviews, and can still lead to mis-hires if you rush the vetting stage.
List everything you want your virtual medical assistant to own and create detailed instructions. Clarifying scope upfront helps with long term retention and minimizes confusion.
Having a set schedule helps create structure and consistency.
Write a descriptive JD with required experience, KPIs, schedule expectations, etc.
Post your job description to virtual medical assistant websites and craft a recruitment message you can use to reach out to candidates directly.
Expect to screen 40-100 candidates to find your ideal virtual assistant.
Give 2-3 finalist candidates a short take-home assignment to test their attention-to-detail, responsiveness, and work product.
A bad hire can cost up to 50% of first-year pay, so doing your due diligence is cheap insurance.
Draft an employment or contractor agreement, include an NDA, and grant tool access.
When you hire a virtual medical assistant through Ataraxis, you skip steps 2-7, saving you weeks of lost productivity.
We source top talent globally from regions including the Philippines, Latin America, South Africa, and East Africa, and beyond.
Our team screens over 200 applicants with a 5% acceptance rate. Every candidate goes through:
You’ll only meet the top 3–4 finalists we’ve personally vetted and approved.
Read more about our vetting process here.
For each role, we’ll shortlist 3–4 highly qualified finalists based on your requirements. You’ll have the opportunity to interview each candidate and decide who’s the best fit for your team.
We set up and maintain secure VPN access and use timekeeping and productivity monitoring tools to ensure accountability. All staff are trained in data security best practices to maintain compliance and confidentiality.
Protecting PHI is a top priority. All staff sign Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) and strict confidentiality agreements, and Ataraxis signs BAAs with all of our customers. Our internal processes and systems are designed to maintain full HIPAA compliance at every level.
Ataraxis has been operating for just under two years, but our roots run deep. Our founder has led a successful recruitment business for nine years, employing global talent within that company as well. (We eat our own cooking.)
Yes. Once hired, your chosen candidate will work exclusively for you on a full-time basis. They’ll act as a dedicated member of your team, fully aligned with your goals and workflow.
We take care of all the back-end work including compliance, paperwork, and payroll. You’ll simply receive a monthly Stripe invoice for each person you hire, making the process seamless and hassle-free.
No. Our agreements are month-to-month, giving you complete flexibility. There are no deposits or lock-in contracts.
Hiring a virtual medical assistant saves money compared to having full-time office staff. This lets you and your team focus more on growing your business and doing what you do best.
Great virtual medical assistants often come from countries and regions like the Philippines, South Africa, Latin America, East Africa, and Eastern Europe. These countries are known for their skilled workers who speak fluent English and have strong work ethics.
Yes! At Ataraxis, your virtual medical assistant will match your local time zone, making teamwork easy and smooth.
US-based virtual medical assistants usually cost $25 to $50 per hour. Ataraxis offers MBA-level, full-time virtual medical assistants starting at just $11 per hour. This means you get great help for up to 70% less.
We keep your information safe by using secure VPN connections, regular monitoring, and privacy agreements signed by every virtual assistant.
Payments are easy and secure with Stripe. We also promise 100% satisfaction – if you’re not happy, we’ll fix it right away.
It depends on your workload. We offer both full-time and part-time virtual assistants, so you can choose the option that fits how much support you actually need. Full-time VAs tend to integrate deeper into your team and build more institutional knowledge over time, while part-time VAs are a good fit if you have a narrower, well-defined set of tasks.
Check out our pricing page to see rates for both options.
Ataraxis uses software to monitor your assistant’s activities, ensuring they are always working efficiently and staying productive.
It’s best to set up clear communication methods right from the start. You can use popular tools like Slack, WhatsApp, Zoom, or email, based on what works best for you.
Your satisfaction is our #1 priority. If you’re not happy, we’ll quickly address the issue and find you a better match, or issue a prorated refund if needed.
Great communication skills, attention to detail, strong work ethics, time zone alignment, work from home readiness, and problem solving skills. We carefully choose assistants based on their skills, experience, availability, and special abilities to make sure they match your business needs.
Yes! Many businesses find virtual medical assistants deliver even better quality work, especially for specialized tasks.
Paying very low rates, like $2-3 per hour, usually means getting less skilled workers and lower quality work. Ataraxis offers affordable assistants who are highly skilled.
It usually takes 1-2 weeks to get your virtual medical assistant fully onboarded and familiar with your business, ensuring you work well together from the very beginning.
No. They collect symptoms, verify medications and allergies, follow your scripted questions, and escalate urgent or clinical issues to licensed staff according to your escalation matrix.
They can prep templates and ensure documents are queued. Only licensed clinicians complete and sign clinical notes.
They send multi-channel reminders, confirm visits the day before, manage waitlists, offer quick reschedules, and run recall lists for follow-ups.
Your VMA retains your style guide and response playbook, including tone, do’s and don’ts, compliance notes, and escalation rules, and applies them across calls, emails, and portal replies.
You do. During onboarding, you set the decision matrix and style guide. The VMA follows your rules for tasks, tone, compliance, and escalation.
Only if you choose. The VMA uses your phone number, email domain, portal, and approved scripts so the experience feels in-house.
Our virtual medical assistant services cover the full engagement: sourcing and vetting, HIPAA training and BAA execution, secure VPN and system setup, and ongoing support. You get a full-time, dedicated VMA starting at $11/hour with no lock-in contract.
Ataraxis’s virtual medical assistant services start at $11/hour for full-time roles, billed monthly with no deposit or long-term contract. That’s up to 70% less than a comparable U.S. hire, and the rate covers recruiting costs, management, and replacement coverage.
Yes. Every VMA signs a Business Associate Agreement before starting, Ataraxis executes a BAA directly with your practice, and all work runs through encrypted, access-controlled systems. Compliance is built into the service, not an add-on.
If your clinic is managing high patient demand with limited staff, bringing on Ataraxis’s virtual medical assistant services is the right move. You’ll reduce staffing pressure, tighten up daily workflows, and give your providers the room they need to focus on care.
Start Hiring a Virtual Medical Assistant Today
