Your Orthopedic Assistant Salary Guide – Remote Assistance
Is your orthopedic practice growing, and it’s time to bring on another orthopedic assistant to help you manage your patient load? That’s wonderful news, as a growing practice is a sign of excellent patient care and customer service. But when it comes to hiring an orthopedic assistant, one of the first things you’ll need to assess is the cost to hire. While the average salary of an orthopedic assistant can vary wildly throughout the country, this orthopedic salary guide will help you do the math on just what your practice can afford and see if an in-house or remote orthopedic assistant is right for your practice.
Orthopedic Assistant Salary Guide – 2022 stats
According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for an orthopedic assistant is $55,684, or $27 per hour. Throughout the country, the salary for an orthopedic assistant ranges from $31,000 a year ($14.90 per hour) on the low end to $124,500 ($59.86) on the high end. The majority of orthopedic assistants make between $37,500 and $53,500 per year.
Factors that affect the salary of orthopedic assistants
Location and education are the factors that most affect the salary of orthopedic assistants.
In areas with a higher cost of living, the orthopedic assistant salary is also higher than in other parts of the country that have lower costs of living. Right now, the cities with the highest average salaries for orthopedic assistants are Atkinson, NE; Lake Marcel-Stillwater, WA; and New York City, NY.
Education is another factor that affects the cost of hiring an orthopedic assistant. While a college degree isn’t necessary for orthopedic assistants, those who have degrees tend to make higher salaries than those who don’t. Orthopedic assistants with advanced degrees and years of experience can command the higher end of the salary spectrum.
Some locations lack the employee pool to adequately staff orthopedic practices
While urban areas and university towns are often filled with potential candidates for medical job postings, there are many places in the United States where there simply isn’t a population of medical assistants available. In these areas, practices struggle to hire the high-quality medical professionals they need. When doctors do find a highly educated and experienced orthopedic assistant candidate, they may find themselves paying a salary so high it becomes a financial struggle.
More orthopedists are choosing remote staffing to hire medical assistants
With orthopedic assistants’ salaries making it prohibitively expensive to hire in-house staff, and staffing shortages making it difficult to find the educated and experienced help they need to grow their practices, more and more orthopedists are turning to remote staffing.
The average remote orthopedic assistant salary is $10 per hour, or $20,800 per year for full-time work. At less than half the national average salary for orthopedic assistants, it’s far more economically feasible to hire a remote medical assistant than an in-house one. But that’s not the only benefit to staffing your practice with remote employees.
Remote staffing helps you get the best-of-the-best employees for a fraction of the salary
When you staff your orthopedic office with remote employees, you’re able to access the best-of-the-best talent from all over the world. No longer will you be limited to whatever employee pool exists in your hometown. Having access to high-quality medical assistants can be a lifesaver for your practice, especially if you’re in an area with a high cost of living or low number of potential candidates. Remote employees are the answer to the previously-unsolvable question of “Where will we find the great staff we need that we can also afford?”
How a remote employee fits into your workflow
If you haven’t yet enjoyed the great benefits of working with a remote employee, here’s how it works.
Your remote orthopedic assistant will be able to tap into your computer network, digital files, EHRs, and even your phone system using specialized, secure software. Being able to seamlessly access your office computers and phone will give your remote employee the ability to seamlessly handle a wide variety of tasks including:
Updating EHRs
Scheduling patient appointments
Confirming patient appointments to reduce your practice’s no-shows, therefore increasing your ability to boost profits by keeping your schedule full
Quietly taking notes via computer listening software during patient appointments
Fielding phone calls and taking messages
Processing insurance claims
Pre-authorizing medical procedures
Responding to online inquiries
Posting on your practice’s social media presence
Salary isn’t the only way a remote orthopedic assistant is more affordable
Paying $10 per hour for an orthopedic assistant instead of $27 per hour is already an incredible saving, but that’s not where the financial benefits of hiring a remote employee instead of an in-house employee end.
When you hire a new employee for your orthopedic practice, their wages are not the only expense your office will need to budget for. According to the United States Small Business Administration, the total cost of an employee is 1.25 or 1.5 times their salary. This is because, when you hire an in-house employee, you’ll also be responsible for paying for benefits, paid time off, holidays, sick days, workers’ compensation insurance, and a portion of their social security taxes. For example, if you hire an employee with a $35,000 base salary, you can expect to pay out about $45,000 in total for their employment for one year.
A remote employee’s salary is far lower and more straightforward. With a virtual orthopedic assistant, the $10 per hour salary is all your office is responsible for paying. There are no extra costs for benefits, taxes, or workers comp insurance, and there are no expenses for office space, supplies, or paid time off. It’s all included, making a remote employee easier to budget for and more affordable to hire.
Want to know if a remote orthopedic assistant could work in your practice?
Contact MedVa today. We’ve helped countless orthopedic practices, medical doctors, and even dental offices find the high-quality remote assistants they need to grow their practices. We’d be happy to answer all your questions and help you enjoy the benefits of remote staffing. We look forward to speaking with you.