Practice staffing · Dedicated VAs · published $/hr
DocVA
DocVA places dedicated virtual medical assistants with healthcare practices for phones, scheduling, charting support, prior auth follow-up, and related admin work at a published hourly rate. It is staffing, not an ambulatory EHR.
Strong fit
- Small and mid-sized practices that want a dedicated, healthcare-trained virtual assistant at a published hourly rate
- Offices that will hand phones, scheduling, scribing, or prior authorization follow-up to one remote assistant who stays with them
- Buyers who want no long-term contract and a start within the week, not a long staffing bid process
Weak fit
- Health systems that require a secure, Epic-approved offshore facility from day one
- Buyers looking for a full outpatient EHR or a consumer telehealth clinic
- Teams that only need a one-time temp, not the same person over time
Bottom line
DocVA is worth using for small and mid-sized practices that want a dedicated virtual medical assistant at a published hourly rate. It suits clinics that assign someone to onboard the assistant and track results. Practices that need stronger security certifications and facility-based staff may prefer MEDVA.
Score breakdown
Weights: Outcomes 35% · Product 30% · Implementation 20% · Pricing clarity 15%.
DocVA, LLC places dedicated virtual medical assistants with U.S. and Canadian practices. They handle phones, scheduling, charting support, prior authorization follow-up, and other administrative work.
Founder and CEO Nathan Barz started the firm in 2024 after a background at Wharton and in investment banking. Its published rates are about $10 to $10.95 per hour, and each practice keeps the same assistant instead of a rotation. It is a staffing firm, not software.
Results look strongest when the practice assigns someone to own onboarding. That person should measure phone coverage, charting delays, or prior authorization turnaround after the assistant starts.
Setup is light for small clinics that finish HIPAA training and system access. On daily administrative and clinical support work, DocVA competes closely with HelloRache and Staffing For Doctors. MEDVA puts more weight on SOC 2 and secure facilities.
Among practice staffing firms we review, DocVA scores second overall, just behind MEDVA. It leads the group on how quickly a practice gets started and on pricing clarity.
MEDVA suits clinics that care more about compliance levels and scale than a public price list. HelloRache suits practices that mostly need charting help, at about $9.50 per hour, and Staffing For Doctors suits practices that want teams experienced in their specialty.
Competitor landscape
| Vendor | Overall | Ease of implementation |
|---|---|---|
| MEDVA | 7.8 | 7.4 |
| DocVA | 7.6 | 7.8 |
| HelloRache | 7.5 | 7.6 |
| Physicians Angels | 7.5 | 7.4 |
| ScribeEMR | 7.4 | 7.2 |
| My Mountain Mover | 7.3 | 7.2 |
| GMVA | 7.1 | 7.0 |
| Staffing For Doctors | 7.1 | 7.3 |
| Staffingly | 7.1 | 7.2 |
| Portiva | 6.9 | 7.0 |
| Cool Blue VA | 6.8 | 7.0 |
| CareVMA | 6.6 | 7.0 |
| MedGather | 6.6 | 7.1 |
Pricing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | A published all-in hourly rate for dedicated virtual medical assistants. DocVA advertises no long-term contract. |
| What usually drives cost | Hours per week, the mix of duties (phones, scribing, billing support, bilingual), and any added call center or specialty work. |
| What to ask before you buy | The current all-in hourly rate for your role, whether the $10 or the $10.95 rate applies, and the terms for onboarding and replacements. |
| Published pricing | About $10 to $10.95 per hour, all-in, for a dedicated assistant, as published by DocVA. |
DocVA lists rates of roughly $10/hr and $10.95/hr. Confirm a current quote before signing.
Prerequisites for purchase
| Need | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What you need to get DocVA to function | |
| A named practice owner or office manager to work with the assistant | Assistants with no one in charge drift off task and leave. |
| A written task list for phones, scheduling, charting, billing, or prior authorizations | A vague request to help with everything fails. |
| An agreed plan for EHR and practice management access and the business associate agreement | Assistants cannot work without secure access to your systems. |
| HIPAA and privacy training expectations confirmed with the vendor | Handling patient information safely is required. |
| Hours, overlapping time zones, and rules for urgent issues written down before day one | Work that piles up unnoticed brings back the staffing gap. |
| What will maximize your value | |
| Measure answered calls, charting delays, or prior authorization turnaround every week for 90 days | Having someone in the seat is not a result. |
| Keep one dedicated assistant on the same task set for the first month | Rotating assistants wipes out training. |
| Stop the old workarounds (personal phones, after-hours charting) after one week of both | Running both hides whether the assistant is working. |
| Review unfinished work with the assistant every day in the first week | Problems hide in inboxes. |
| Write down the EHR steps and templates the assistant must follow | Knowledge that lives only in staff heads does not get passed on. |
| Deal-breakers | |
| You need an EHR or patient-engagement product, not a person. | |
| No one on site will train or check the assistant's work. | |
| Your lawyers will not sign a business associate agreement or allow remote access to patient data. | |
| You expect clinicians who prescribe or treat patients, not administrative staff. | |
| Leaders will not decide which tasks move away from the office staff. | |
Value creation time frame
| # | Stage | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Define the role and match | 3-10 days. Set the role, hours, and specialty, and narrow the candidates. |
| 2 | Access and agreements | 1-2 weeks. Set up logins, VPN and EHR access, and privacy paperwork. |
| 3 | Training alongside staff | 1-2 weeks. The assistant works alongside a practice trainer. |
| 4 | Routine | 30-60 days. Review the numbers, then add tasks or replace the assistant. |
Leadership
Methodology
| Weight | Factor | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Customer outcomes | Whether buyers get measurable operational or clinical-workflow results after go-live |
| 30% | Product | Capability depth, reliability, and fit for the job the category buys |
| 20% | Implementation | How hard it is to stand up, integrate, train, and stabilize |
| 15% | Pricing clarity | Whether a buyer can model total cost without a mystery quote |
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Highly recommend | Strong outcomes and product with manageable caveats |
| Recommend | Solid fit for the right buyer; know the tradeoffs |
| Conditional | Only with a specific use case or heavy caveats |
| Not recommended | Avoid for most buyers in this category |
Read our full methodology for how we weight scores and assign recommend labels.