There is a real tension in this story and it is worth stating rather than glossing over.
Key takeaways
- The Association of American Medical Colleges projects the US faces a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, including a shortfall of up to 40,400 primary care physicians and 19,900.
- 67 live listings in this category publish a rate, at a median top-of-range of $120 an hour and a ceiling of $400.
- The work is remote contract work, asynchronous, with no set hours and no guaranteed volume.
- Applications screen on a short skills assessment rather than a resume or interview.
What was reported
The finding
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects the US faces a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, including a shortfall of up to 40,400 primary care physicians and 19,900 surgeons. Demographics are the primary driver: the US population is projected to grow 8.4% by 2036 while the population aged 65 and over grows 34.1% and those aged 75 and over grow 54.7%. The AAMC notes the projection is smaller than its 2021 report only because it assumes hypothetical growth in residency positions.
The AAMC projects a shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, driven by an ageing population: those aged 75 and over are projected to grow 54.7%. Meanwhile AI labs are paying clinicians for their time to evaluate medical models. Those are competing claims on the same scarce hours.
What the listings pay
The case for doing the evaluation work anyway is that unreviewed medical AI is going to be deployed into that shortage regardless, and it is better if clinicians shape it. The work involves no patient contact and no protected health information, so it does not take a clinician away from a panel. Across 67 live medical listings on our board that publish a rate, the median top-of-range is $120 an hour, reaching $400.
| # | Role | Advertised rate | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Healthcare Attorney (BigLaw Firms) | $140 to $400 an hour | micro1 |
| 2 | Physician Talent Network | $110 to $250 an hour | Mercor |
| 3 | Disease-Area Clinician, Trial Endpoints & Prescribing | $150 to $230 an hour | Mercor |
| 4 | Pharma Commercial Forecasting Expert, Launch Curves | $130 to $210 an hour | Mercor |
| 5 | Therapeutic Area & Clinical Survey Expert | $200 to $200 an hour | Mercor |
| 6 | Clinician (Oncology / Hematology) | $160 to $200 an hour | micro1 |
| 7 | Military/Veteran Mental Health Experts | $100 to $200 an hour | micro1 |
| 8 | Multilingual Primary Care Physician (MD): Clinical Documentation & AI Evaluation | $170 to $190 an hour | Mercor |
| 9 | Medical Safety Expert | $140 to $190 an hour | Mercor |
| 10 | Clinical Law Professor / Clinic Director | $180 to $180 an hour | Mercor |
Source: 67 live listings on this board that publish a rate, read directly from each posting on 2026-09-06. Listings without a published rate are excluded rather than estimated.
How this compares across the board
A rate only means something next to the alternatives. This is every category we track with at least five listings publishing a rate, ranked by median top-of-range, so you can see where this work sits rather than taking a single number on trust.
| Category | Listings | Median low | Median top | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal | 95 | $100 | $140 | $400 |
| Medical | 68 | $77 | $120 | $400 |
| Consulting | 45 | $80 | $120 | $280 |
| Finance | 94 | $80 | $110 | $280 |
| Engineering | 114 | $70 | $100 | $300 |
| Research/PhD | 132 | $70 | $90 | $280 |
| Writing | 36 | $40 | $80 | $280 |
| Bilingual | 78 | $44 | $52 | $120 |
| Annotation | 25 | $12 | $24 | $120 |
Same source and date as above. Categories are matched on listing title, so a role can appear in more than one.
What it means for you
Most clinicians treat it as a few hours a week rather than a substitute for practice, which is the sensible framing given the numbers above. See healthcare evaluation roles and clinical domain expert roles.
Who should apply
Two checks before you spend time on an application. Confirm the role accepts applicants from your country with the eligibility checker, since a meaningful share of listings carry location requirements. Then run the advertised rate through the take-home calculator, because this is contract work and the headline figure is before self-employment tax.
Applications complete on the hiring platform and usually take a few minutes, with a short skills assessment in place of an interview. Fill in every credential, language and professional background field on your profile. Those are what route you to the better paid listings, and most applicants leave them blank.
Frequently asked questions
How large is the projected physician shortage?
The AAMC projects up to 86,000 by 2036, including up to 40,400 primary care physicians and 19,900 surgeons.
Does AI evaluation work take clinicians away from patients?
It is a fair question. The work is asynchronous with no patient contact, and most clinicians do a few hours a week alongside practice rather than reducing clinical time.
What does clinical AI evaluation pay?
Across 67 live medical listings publishing a rate, the median top-of-range is $120 an hour, reaching $400.
Is protected health information involved?
No. You review model output using your clinical knowledge, so there is no patient contact and no PHI.
Which clinicians qualify?
Physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and allied health professionals all appear in current listings, with specialty credentials paying toward the top.
Sources
See every live role
The full board updates several times a week, with the advertised rate on each listing and closed roles removed.