Global opportunities for paid physician surveys are a popular discussion point among physicians around the world. Paid online surveys are nothing new and are a common income stream considered by those wondering how to make money online as a doctor. In fact, paid medical surveys for doctors have been in existence since the Internet launched. However, the majority of online survey companies pay healthcare professionals mere pennies to answer a few questions.
In the past, physician paid surveys that offered lucrative compensation were often too good to be true. This is no longer the case. Medical surveys for cash are quickly growing in popularity, as credible companies urgently seek the unique expertise of medical professionals—and are willing to pay for it.
Here’s how paid medical surveys work and how doctors can find the best surveys for money in exchange for their expertise.
What are paid physician surveys?
A paid doctor survey is like any other survey, but they are aimed specifically at doctors with expertise in certain fields and conditions. It is an opportunity for clinicians to highlight the issues that are important to them and their patients. And at the same time, market research surveys arm companies with valuable medical insights and accurate information that allow them to strategise based on what’s actually happening on the frontlines of medicine.
The goal of a paid doctor survey for organisations is to receive valuable information that can be used to influence health policy and medical treatment decisions. With every completed survey, you are impacting a lot more people than just the medical survey companies.
How much do online surveys for doctors pay?
Market research insights can pay exceptionally well, especially for certain medical specialities. For example, oncology is in high demand, with rough estimates revealing genuine medical surveys for money paying up to hundreds of pounds per hour for a survey respondent’s time.
Surveys vary in terms of how much they pay and how long they take to complete. Doctors’ surveys may take anywhere from a few minutes to complete or up to 60 minutes. It will vary depending on which online survey sites and paid medical survey you choose. In 2023, the majority of surveys are online medical surveys and allow you to complete them on your own time in the comfort of your own home or practice.
Generally, the more time a survey takes to complete, the more it pays.
Benefits of taking paid physician surveys
There are multiple benefits of taking part in paid medical surveys for doctors. Here are just a few of the top benefits for survey participants.
Supplemental income
Paid survey sites allow physicians to generate an additional stream of income. Depending on the demand at the time, some fields will pay more than others. Dermatology and neurology are especially lucrative fields, and these surveys pay significant amounts to qualified experts who participate.
Surveys can be taken during off-hours and breaks or whenever is most convenient for participants. For this reason, the flexibility of paid medical surveys is a good fit for a doctor’s busy schedule.
Play a role in the latest medical developments
Never forget that each paid survey contributes to the latest medical developments. By offering real-world insights into various specialist fields, doctors play an important role in future medical advancements and progress.
Paid medical surveys impact the lives of other healthcare professionals and patients— as well as to the future of medicine. Your insights affect the decisions of pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, lawmakers, and market research companies.
Become an advocate for your patients
The healthcare industry is dependent on feedback from online paid surveys to affect change. Many top pharmaceutical companies rely on physician surveys to help them understand their patients’ experiences with their drug products.
Responses from relevant surveys help healthcare companies understand how the drug works in real world scenarios. By participating in surveys, you can share information about prescribing habits, patient usage of the drugs and attitudes towards the company’s products. Through paid medical surveys, you are advocating for your patients.
Keep up to date in your speciality and learn about new medical products
Medical research and pharmaceutical companies also want to get the word out about their new medications, medical devices, and other products. By completing doctor surveys you will earn while you learn about new patient treatment trends and medical solutions. Top medical survey sites offer an interactive and lucrative way to stay up-to-date in your field.
I deposit my earnings into a separate investment account. It’s only a little each time but with repetition and returns it’s turning out nicely.
Sermo Member
US Emergency Medicine Physician
Different types of paid surveys
There are two methods of research most commonly used for paid medical surveys: quantitative and qualitative market research. They are most often completed one-on-one or with focus groups of survey panels.
Quantitative paid surveys
As the name suggests, quantitative research focuses on data and numbers, summarising doctors’ responses to questions. This often includes statistical analysis that either proves or disproves a hypothesis. A quantitative survey gathers data to use in testing, so you won’t be asked to provide in-depth answers or opinions.
Qualitative paid surveys
Qualitative surveys are focused on gathering more abstract information, such as opinions or motivations. The goal of qualitative surveys tends to be focused on gaining insights into people, rather than numerical data. Be prepared to answer “why” and “how” questions and offer more in-depth answers than you would on a quantitative survey.
How to get started with Sermo
Sermo is not only a hub of legitimate medical surveys for money; it is a platform to talk about all things medical. With more than 1,000,000 doctors and counting, it is completely free to sign up for healthcare providers.
Collectively, members at Sermo received more than £20 million in the last year from taking medical surveys.
Doctors may build their profile, or they may opt to join anonymously. To create an account, simply add your name, email address, and country of practice. You’ll then go through the verification process before your account is fully activated.
After creating an account, doctors are free to provide as much or as little information about themselves as they please.
Questions and concerns about paid surveys for doctors
Searching for the best UK survey site? Naturally, clinicians are sceptical about participating in surveys for money. After all, many wonder about confidentiality and how the online survey information will be used. This section addresses some of the most common questions and concerns about paid surveys for physicians.
Are paid physician surveys legitimate?
This is the most common question regarding online medical surveys. Countless medical panels are claiming to offer surveys for doctors. While most are legitimate, payouts per survey vary wildly. Many such panels are no more than online survey routers, which provide access to third-party surveys. You can trust the surveys that are presented to you on Sermo, as they have been vetted and verified.
In 2021 alone, Sermo partnered with 500+ of the world’s most trusted companies in the healthcare space ranging from pharmaceutical manufacturers to healthcare consultancies, including 17 of the top 25 manufacturers globally.
How much can you earn doing paid online surveys?
This is a common question asked about paid questionnaire surveys. It depends on your speciality, experience, and how many surveys you complete. But, in general you can expect to make from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds each year. And to make things even better, you can roll your physician surveys for honorarium directly into an investment or separate pension to compound how much you earn per survey.
Do paid surveys count towards CME hours?
Medical surveys are industry-sponsored and may relate to theoretical or unapproved products. For this reason, physicians generally cannot claim category 1 CME hours for time spent on filling in online surveys for cash.
While some experts claim category 2 CME credit, this is something that should be checked via your credentialing body.
What are the best survey sites?
The best paid survey sites provide a lot more than simple payouts to doctors for their expertise. The top survey sites also give health professionals a comprehensive view of the medical issue or topic in review and amplify doctors’ viewpoints to impact other medical professionals and patients around the world. The top paid medical surveys have accurate time estimates and provide the doctor with a sufficient honorarium for their valued opinions.
How many surveys can I qualify for?
The amount of paid surveys you qualify for will vary, but you can expect at least one per month. The majority of doctors will be eligible for a few surveys per year. It largely depends on the speciality of the survey taker. The best way to find out is by getting started with Sermo to automatically qualify for the best-paid medical surveys.
Paid survey opportunities exist for a reason: your expertise and knowledge are valuable and worth sharing and can add to your income.
Survey providers have strict screening criteria to ensure they reach exactly who they want to answer their questions.
How do participants get paid for taking a survey?
Payment is straightforward, and typically involves direct transfer, a bank cheque, Amazon gift card, Mastercard debit card, donations to charities, or local payment apps such as PayPal. You can select from any of these digital payment tools for completing surveys.
Are there opportunities for HCPs who aren’t physicians?
Yes! Sermo also welcomes practising physician assistants, nurses, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, veterinarians, and other healthcare professionals. All paid online surveys are directed toward the appropriate speciality. You can read more here.
The bottom line
Taking a medical survey to earn extra money is an excellent way of creating an additional income stream—while contributing to the future of medicine. Doctors often work long hours, and finding downtime can be a challenge. But the beauty of surveys is they can be completed whenever is most convenient to participants.
It can be challenging to find legitimate surveys. However, Sermo makes it easy. Join the world’s first (and largest) online community specifically for doctors and gain access to top-quality surveys that you can trust.
