Medical practices are moving front-desk work to remote staff. Phones, scheduling and insurance checks pull clinical teams away from patients, and in-house hiring is slow and expensive.
The pressure is measurable. In MGMA’s March 10, 2026 poll of 294 practice leaders, 45% named eligibility and prior authorization as their staff’s most time-consuming phone task, and 31% named scheduling.
This guide ranks 10 agencies that supply remote medical assistants or healthcare staff. Each entry follows the same format, so practices can compare like with like.
How we ranked these agencies
Each agency was scored on what it publishes about its own service, checked in October 2026:
- Front-desk scope: Calls, scheduling, intake and insurance work listed on the agency’s own pages.
- Staffing model: Dedicated or shared staff, supervision and replacement terms.
- Pricing transparency: Whether rates are published or require a sales call.
- Compliance documentation: HIPAA training or certifications the agency states publicly.
- Speed to start: How quickly an assistant can begin work.
The top 10 medical virtual assistant and staffing agencies
1. Wing Assistant
Wing Assistant places one dedicated healthcare virtual assistant with a practice and backs that person with supervisors and a customer success manager.
- Best for: Practices that want a supervised front-desk assistant working within 48 hours.
- Front-desk scope: Patient scheduling and confirmations, EMR updates, intake forms, and insurance claims and coverage checks in Epic, Athenahealth and Kareo.
- Staffing model: US-based or global assistants supervised by Team Captains and Supervisors, with free replacement; ISO 27001, SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant.
- Pricing: From $1,099 a month part-time (80 hours) or $1,799 full-time (160 hours), no long-term contract.
- Worth noting: Part-time plans run in designated time slots; full-time plans cover any hours in the practice’s time zone.
2. My Mountain Mover
My Mountain Mover supplies full-time medical virtual assistants, including virtual medical receptionists, to US practices.
- Best for: Practices that prefer one all-inclusive monthly fee.
- Front-desk scope: Patient calls and appointment scheduling, with separate scribe, billing and administrative roles available.
- Staffing model: Assistants drawn from the top 2% of applicants, a dedicated account manager, and health insurance, paid time off and sick leave covered by the company.
- Pricing: $1,895, $2,195 or $2,400 a month across Core, Specialized and Expert tiers.
- Worth noting: Rates rise with healthcare experience, software skills, credentials and language needs.
3. MyOutDesk
MyOutDesk assigns a dedicated virtual medical receptionist who works through the practice’s existing phone and practice management systems.
- Best for: Practices that want a receptionist embedded in their current tools.
- Front-desk scope: Patient calls and routing, scheduling and reminders, intake and registration, insurance verification, and patient messages and follow-up.
- Staffing model: Background-checked, HIPAA-trained staff dedicated full-time to one practice.
- Pricing: Not published; the company says its assistants cost up to 70% less than an in-house hire.
- Worth noting: Every assistant is full-time, so smaller practices should size the workload first.
4. Hello Rache
Hello Rache provides healthcare virtual assistants to medical, dental, veterinary and optometry practices, with scribing as a core service.
- Best for: Practices that want front-desk help and scribing from one provider at an hourly rate.
- Front-desk scope: Virtual receptionist and virtual administrative assistant roles, alongside virtual scribes.
- Staffing model: Registered nurses and other medical professionals based in the Philippines.
- Pricing: $9.50 an hour, with no contracts and no setup fees.
- Worth noting: All assistants work offshore, so confirm shift overlap with clinic hours.
5. MedVA
MedVA was founded by two Southern California physicians and places medical virtual assistants with US clinics.
- Best for: Clinics that want a clinically educated assistant working their own hours.
- Front-desk scope: Phone reception, appointment scheduling, insurance verification, medication refill requests, records management, billing and collections.
- Staffing model: Mostly registered nurses based in the Philippines, with the same assistant working the clinic each day.
- Pricing: Confirm the current rate directly, as published figures differ across sources.
- Worth noting: Ask how medication refill requests are handed to a licensed clinician.
6. Portiva
Portiva, founded in 2009 and based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, provides administrative support services to medical, dental and veterinary practices.
- Best for: Practices that want reception and prior authorization support from one vendor.
- Front-desk scope: Medical virtual receptionist, insurance verification and prior authorization, alongside remote scribing, transcription and billing.
- Staffing model: Virtual medical assistants assigned by role, from the front desk to the billing office.
- Pricing: Hourly; confirm the current rate directly with the company.
- Worth noting: The broad service menu suits practices consolidating several administrative roles.
7. Wishup
Wishup is a remote staffing company with a healthcare and medical line among its industry services.
- Best for: Practices that want an assistant onboarded the same day.
- Front-desk scope: Clinic administration and operations, phone answering and calendar management.
- Staffing model: Pre-vetted assistants with a dedicated VA manager, 60-minute onboarding and free replacement.
- Pricing: Month-to-month subscription plans that can be cancelled anytime.
- Worth noting: Assistants work 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, with no weekend coverage by default.
8. HelpSquad
HelpSquad offers managed virtual medical assistants for patient-facing and back-office work, including medical billing.
- Best for: Budget-conscious practices hiring full-time support.
- Front-desk scope: Patient-facing support roles, plus back-office medical billing.
- Staffing model: Managed assistants placed on full-time engagements.
- Pricing: From $8 an hour for full-time staffing.
- Worth noting: Patient-facing roles are priced above back-office roles, so quote the exact role.
9. Staffing For Doctors
Staffing For Doctors places remote administrative staff with medical practices from its Los Angeles headquarters, with a separate program for med spas and aesthetic practices.
- Best for: Practices that want simple hourly billing with no minimum.
- Front-desk scope: Remote front-office and administrative staff for medical practices.
- Staffing model: Placed remote staff on flexible terms.
- Pricing: $14 an hour flat, with no setup fee and no minimum commitment.
- Worth noting: The highest published hourly rate on this list, offset by the lack of minimums.
10. Health Carousel
Health Carousel, founded in Cincinnati in 2004, is a healthcare staffing company covering travel nursing, locum tenens and international nurse recruitment.
- Best for: Organizations that need licensed nurses on site for clinical roles such as triage.
- Front-desk scope: Clinical staffing rather than remote reception or scheduling.
- Staffing model: Travel, locum and international placements of licensed clinicians.
- Pricing: Quoted per assignment.
- Worth noting: Practices often pair clinical staffing with a remote assistant who handles the phones and schedule.
Reception, scheduling and triage: where a virtual assistant fits
A remote assistant can answer calls, book and confirm appointments, verify insurance and log messages. Many practices pair that assistant with an automated receptionist that greets callers and routes them before a person picks up. Clinical triage is different work. It means assessing symptoms to decide urgency and next steps.
MedPro’s telephone triage guidance notes that who may perform triage depends on state scope-of-practice laws. Some states allow trained licensed practical nurses; others require registered nurses.
The practical model is a clear handoff. The assistant identifies the reason for the call and routes symptom, result or medication questions to a named clinician, who records the action taken.
What to check before you sign
- Business associate agreement scope. Under 45 CFR 164.314, a business associate contract must provide for compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule. Confirm who signs the agreement and which services it covers.
- Individual logins. 45 CFR 164.312 requires unique user identification. Give each assistant their own login to every system, never shared front-desk credentials.
- Coverage hours. A monthly hours allocation does not guarantee after-hours answering. Confirm shifts, lunch cover and absence backup in writing.
- Replacement terms. Ask how quickly a replacement starts and how practice knowledge is handed over.
- Escalation path. Agree in advance which clinician receives clinical calls and how acknowledgment is recorded.
Conclusion
The right agency depends on how much front-desk work a practice needs covered, how quickly it needs support and whether it wants published pricing. Practices should shortlist two or three providers, confirm compliance terms in writing and keep clinical triage with licensed staff.
Frequently asked questions
What does a medical virtual assistant do at the front desk?
A medical virtual assistant answers patient calls, schedules and confirms appointments, prepares intake forms, verifies insurance and updates the practice’s records system. The exact scope depends on the agency and the contract.
Can a virtual assistant handle patient triage?
An administrative assistant can screen calls and route them, but clinical triage belongs with licensed staff. State scope-of-practice laws decide who may assess symptoms by phone.
How much does a medical virtual assistant cost in 2026?
Published rates on this list range from $8 an hour for full-time staffing to $2,400 a month for specialized assistants. Several agencies quote only after a consultation.
Is a dedicated assistant better than a shared answering service?
A dedicated assistant learns the practice’s providers, scheduling rules and systems over time. A shared answering service takes messages for many clients, so it may not work inside the practice’s EHR.
