Make Money with Medical Surveys
Here are some ways to make money with medical surveys for those looking to supplement their income
Table of Contents
What are medical surveys?
In my pursuit of bringing in non-clinical income, one of the many side hustles that has arisen has been the pursuit of medical surveys. These are generally online-based surveys directed particularly towards the medical community. These surveys are anywhere from 3 to 60 minutes in length (usually). For physicians, there are loads of ways to make money with medical surveys!
Often the websites that offer these surveys are marketing companies that perform research on behalf a pharmaceutical company. Companies can benefit from the opinions of medical professionals (i.e. physicians, pharmacists, mid-level providers, nurses, etc.) and they will compensate you for your time.
I have utilized a few websites I will list at the end of this article that seem to appropriately reimburse you for your time. Your degree, specialty/subspecialty, time in clinical practice often dictates what surveys you may be a candidate for.
How to appropriately seek out these surveys and be ‘screened in’ are pivotal to making money for your time. Below I have outlined a few key concepts for using medical surveys to bring in extra income.
Your profession matters
The first key aspect is your profession. From what I have experienced filling out medical surveys, it appears being a physician is highly sought after. There do appear to be a smattering of surveys for other professionals, but the opinion of a M.D. or a D.O. appear to be prioritized. Further, your field in medicine may dictate how many surveys you are a candidate for.
For instance, the time of a pulmonologist, rheumatologist, or oncologist may be more valuable. These subspecialties are often prescribing novel medications (think monoclonal antibodies, new immune-checkpoint inhibitors, biologics/immunologics etc.) These types of medications are money-makers for pharmaceutical companies, and the opinions of those who would theoretically prescribe them is valuable. I would imagine that there are less surveys for emergency medicine physicians, orthopedists, etc.
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take
I could not pass up an opportunity to be cheesy (sorry).
What I mean by the subtitle above is that you may be offered multiple surveys, but only be ‘screened in’ for a few. For many survey websites, you will be directed to a dashboard that displays anywhere from two to ten surveys you qualify for.
First, you have to answer a number of questions to see if you fit the population they are searching for. I would say I screen out of approximately 50-75% of the surveys I am offered. This is usually due to my years of experience (I have only been out of residency for 3 years).
Another common reason that I screen out is these companies want someone who is a specialist in a particular disease state or field. For example, being a pulmonologist, I often receive surveys for phase two or three trial medications for the treatment of Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). One of the screening questions may ask “how many patients are you the primary pulmonologist for severe IPF ?” If I put in how many patients I see in clinic a week in general pulmonary clinic, that severe IPF patient amount may be lower than this particular survey is looking for. Because of my honest responses, I often ‘screen out.’
To that end I say, do not be discouraged, try for every survey you qualify for, with the understanding that you will screen out of a majority of them.
Your undivided attention
I do not wish for this to sound too serious, as many of these surveys you can pause and return to. However, these are often surveys looking for opinions on medical management or thoughts on novel pharmacologic agents that could affect patient care.
It is very important that you focus on the questions they are asking you, answer to the best of your ability, and be honest. Often times, if you do not know something, the surveys will give you an option to say “I don’t know.”
I also use this section to bring to your attention there are questions created to monitor your attention and honesty. Many surveys will often have a question asking you to select a certain answer. This is their way of asking “are you paying attention?” or are you just arbitrarily putting answers down in hopes of expediting your payment. Whether it be time monitored surveys or control questions, they are monitoring your survey for authenticity.
How long do medical surveys take?
The surveys range from “micro-surveys” that are on the order of 2-7 minutes, or as long as 30-60 minutes for a full-length survey.
Most of these survey companies understand survey burnout and try and keep them on the shorter end. I often take these surveys on my phone while I am rocking my infant to sleep. If something arises at home or work I can easily pause the survey and come back to it. This allows me to focus on the survey at hand, but put it away if my attention is needed elsewhere, as it often is. I will try and take surveys during commercial breaks, or if I am in a waiting room for an appointment, etc. Needless to say, you can take them just about anywhere, and return to them if you get interrupted.
How much money can you make taking medical surveys?
The honest answer is, it depends.
Now, I understand that is not the answer you wanted, but what I will say is, you get out what you put in. The more you regularly and appropriately fill out surveys, the more survey sites are willing to offer subsequent surveys to you. They are incentivized to provide surveys to individuals who complete them in a timely manner.
“Micro-surveys” like those offered by InCrowd pay on the order of 5-10 dollars for a very brief survey. Full length online surveys, depending on your specialty, can offer anywhere from $10-$75 per survey. Your reimbursement is often based on the duration of survey, your specialty, and what input is needed.
To further elaborate, some surveys are looking to perform a telephone survey. These often present as brief online screening surveys that determine if you would be an appropriate candidate for interview. If you screen in, often reimbursement for a 30–60-minute telephone interview will compensate on the order of $150-$650 dollars. Most of the companies listed below will reimburse you via a check, or paying through a third party application like PayPal.
HIPAA
Last thing, a minority, will ask for information from patient charts. I will preface by saying these sites work hard to keep all information confidential and de-identified. However, as a physician it is my personal opinion that this is a confidentiality gray area.
I would remind everyone to be mindful if you choose to pursue surveys that ask for information from patient charts. Unfortunately, these often are the surveys that pay more. I personally avoid these types of surveys, but honestly these are less common so it has not been a major issue.
Take home points
There you have it! I hope we have provided you with all the tools necessary to make money with medical surveys. Medical surveys are actually a great way to make some non-clinical money. I by no means make a substantial amount of money with medical surveys. However, I often make between $100-$300 dollars a month! Enough for a date night for my wife and I. I’ll take it!
A few brief take home points include:
- Sign up for multiple survey sites and complete the profile section so you are only being sent surveys that pertain to your profession, thus increasing the chance you ‘screen in’
- Jump on those surveys quickly! Many sites want a certain quota of participants and then will close the survey out once they meet that requirement. The early bird catches the worm!
- Recognize that you will be ‘screened out’ of a majority of the surveys
- Be mindful when filling out the surveys, don’t rush, and pay attention to the questions
- Full surveys and telephone interviews pay more
- If you make more than ~$600, it will need to be noted on your taxes
- Have fun, and make a little extra change on the side!
Medical Survey Sites
Here are a few companies that offer professional medical surveys:
If you liked this article, check out the 10 Best Physician Side Gigs! As always…
Stay motivated!
The Motivated M.D.
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