Paid surveys for doctors: what physician panels pay, and what gets reported

Paid surveys for doctors are market research studies in which drug, device and health care companies, usually through a research firm, pay physicians an honorarium for their clinical opinion. Two physician panels publish numbers on their own marketing pages: ZoomRx says it pays $50 to $500 per survey, and Sermo says honoraria range from "approximately $5 to more than $500". Those are the companies' own claims, not guarantees. Most of this research is blinded, which is also why most of it never appears under your name in the federal Open Payments database.

This post covers what is specific to physicians: how the medical panels pay, the Sunshine Act question, expert network calls on health care topics, screeners and taxes. For panels outside medicine and a longer list of scam signs, read paid surveys for professionals.

1. Join the panels that say in writing how they pay

Pick panels that state the amount, the payment method and when the money arrives before you give them your license number. Here is what the two that publish this say on their own pages. Every figure is the panel's own marketing claim, not a guarantee.

Sermo says each survey shows its pay before you start, and that payment options and fees vary by country and method, so check yours before a balance builds up.

If a panel does not state its pay publicly, ask before you join: how much per minute, paid in cash or points, and what happens when you screen out.

Here is a made-up example, and the arithmetic is ours. Dr. Okafor is a rheumatologist who takes a 15 minute survey paying $50. That is $200 an hour. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median physician wage at $132.66 an hour in May 2025, so a well-paid survey can beat a clinical hour. A $20 survey of the same length pays $80 an hour, which does not.

Short version: two panels in your specialty that publish their pay are worth more than six that do not.

2. Blinded market research is usually not reportable under the Sunshine Act

The Physician Payments Sunshine Act created Open Payments, the CMS database of payments from drug and device makers to clinicians. Survey honoraria usually stay out of it because of one exclusion: payments made through a third party when the manufacturer does not know who received them.

CMS answers the survey question directly in its Open Payments FAQ (FAQ #8992, current as of July 1, 2024). A manufacturer that pays a market research company to run double-blinded research with physicians is not making a reportable indirect payment, because the third party is there "specifically to maintain the anonymity of the respondents and sponsor."

The rule behind it, 42 CFR 403.904(h)(1), says a manufacturer is unaware of your identity if it does not know it during the reporting year "or by the end of the second quarter of the following reporting year." The definitions in 42 CFR 403.902 count deliberate ignorance and reckless disregard as knowing. So the exclusion depends on blinding that actually holds, not on what the study is called.

What this means for you:

• A blinded survey through a panel is the case CMS describes as not reportable.
• A study where the sponsor learns your name, such as an advisory board or a paid interview the manufacturer runs itself, can be reported. "Consulting fee" and "Honoraria" are both reportable categories.
• When you are unsure, ask the research firm one question: will the sponsor receive my name? Sermo's own guide says reporting "can depend on the structure of the individual study."

The rule covers more than physicians. Under 403.902, covered recipients also include physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives. Some states have their own rules on manufacturer payments too. Vermont's statute, for example, lists the allowable expenditures a manufacturer may make to providers. This is general information, not legal advice.

3. Health care expert calls pay against your own rate, and carry the strictest rules

Expert networks run surveys too, but their main product is the one-hour call. GLG lists calls and surveys among its engagements and says experts "Set your own rate." On the buyer side, AlphaSense's call service says calls are billed at the expert's rate, with an average of about $450. That is a sales page for buyers, across all industries, so treat it as a reference point. Our post on expert call rates covers how to pick yours.

Guidepoint asks for 10+ years of experience, says each invitation states the scope, time and pay up front, and says screening responses are not paid. Its compliance team checks each engagement against your employer's rules.

Clinical trial information is the riskiest thing a physician can bring to a call, because trial results move stock prices. In 2012 the SEC charged a hedge fund adviser and described how a neurologist who chaired the safety monitoring committee for an Alzheimer's drug trial was "generally paid $1,000 per hour" by an expert network and received more than $100,000 for consultations with hedge fund firms. The SEC alleged that he passed on confidential details of the trial, and that the resulting trades produced more than $276 million in profits and avoided losses.

Our rule: if you are an investigator on a trial, or sit on its safety committee, decline every call about that drug, its competitors and its sponsor. Say so in your profile so nobody asks. The post on material nonpublic information explains where the line sits, expert network calls covers what happens on one, and expert network compliance covers the rules networks make you sign.

4. Answer screeners from your real patient panel, and count the screen-outs

Screeners for physicians ask about your specialty, practice setting and patient volume. Answer with real counts from your practice, not your best month. A panel that pays a clinician for an opinion on a drug they rarely prescribe is paying for nothing, and good panels check: Sermo lists "No process for verifying medical credentials" as a red flag in a panel, which tells you the good ones verify.

Screen-outs cost time, and the rules differ. ZoomRx says it pays for screener time ("screeners included"). Guidepoint says screening responses are not compensated. Prefer the panel that pays for screeners when two panels offer you similar work.

Back in the made-up example, Dr. Okafor is asked how many patients she started on a biologic last month. She checks her clinic list instead of guessing and answers 6, which screens her out of a study wanting 10 or more. (The study wanted a busier clinic than hers, and that is the screener working as designed.)

One more rule, without exception: never type patient names, dates or record details into a survey, even in a free-text box.

5. Honoraria are taxable self-employment income, with or without a 1099

For payments made after December 31, 2025, a company files Form 1099-NEC once it pays you $2,000 or more in a year, up from $600. A physician who takes a few surveys per panel may never get one. The income is still taxable: the IRS says you must report gig income even when it is not on a 1099. Once your net self-employment earnings reach $400 in a year, you owe self-employment tax at 15.3%.

Keep one log of every payout, gift cards included. The post on 1099 consulting taxes covers quarterly payments and deductions, and paid surveys for professionals covers gift cards and points. This is general information, not tax advice.

If you are employed by a hospital or a university, check whether its outside activity policy asks you to disclose survey income before you start. Our guide to side hustles for doctors compares surveys with the other paid options and covers those policies.

Where Instant Expert fits

Panels set the price for a few minutes of your opinion. On Instant Expert, a buyer invites you to a specific paid call or a written or voice answer and sets the amount up front. You receive the full amount offered, and you can reply with a higher price. You can claim your profile or see open paid requests on the request board.

Today, join one panel in your specialty that publishes its pay, and write down which trials you must never discuss.