Last updated: 2026-08-24
Honest Taskers, ChartSpan, and Plutus Health lead this year's shortlist of pulmonology virtual medical assistant companies, seven firms ranked on published pricing, the Business Associate Agreement position each states in its own words, commitment terms, and what each publishes about itself. For pulmonology practices the work that matters is coordinating pulmonary function tests before the consultation so results are available. Below we set out which tasks happen before the patient arrives, what a home oxygen approval needs assembled, what the work costs, whether a provider knows how equipment suppliers work, and what to expect in week one. Of the seven here, one publishes a rate and one states a signed BAA, and those two columns narrow the list faster than any claim about quality.
Disclosure: Honest Taskers publishes this list and appears at position 1. We're judged on the same five published criteria as every other company here.
At a glance
- 1Honest Taskers
- 2ChartSpan
- 3Plutus Health
- 4Remote Leverage
- 5Cloudstaff
- 6Task Virtual
- 7WOW Remote Teams
How we chose the best pulmonology virtual medical assistant companies
We ranked these firms on five facts, each read at the provider's own website on August 24, 2026: the scope each offers pulmonology practices, the HIPAA and Business Associate Agreement position in the firm's exact wording, published pricing, commitment terms, and the verified detail each publishes. We ignored claims about screening quality and talent percentiles, because every firm in this market makes them and none is checkable from outside. What's checkable is what a firm will commit to. For pulmonology practices the additional question is whether the assistant can handle obtaining authorization for biologics in severe asthma and for home oxygen without being taught the basics first.
Best pulmonology virtual medical assistant companies compared
The table ranks all 7 on the same columns, Honest Taskers first because we publish the list. Facts were read on August 24, 2026 and change often, so treat them as a starting point, not a quote.
| Company | What the firm offers | HIPAA / BAA as stated | Published pricing | Model | Notable verified facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honest Taskers | Hourly placed staff working in your own systems across reception, intake, records, prior authorization, billing support and patient outreach | BAA when PHI is accessed; HIPAA compliance verified by Accountable | $10.00–$12.65/hr | Hourly, no minimum; two-week trial | Licensed nurses and physicians in pool; 99.6% average monthly retention |
| ChartSpan | Chronic care management, whole service | Not publicly listed | $2,457 | Managed clinical program | Focuses exclusively on CCM; its clinical staff handle monthly outreach, time tracking and documentation for the practice; provides a 24/7 nurse care line; handles enrolme |
| Plutus Health | RCM + coding audit + AI agents | SOC 2 Type II | $1.7 | Outsourced revenue cycle | medical billing and coding, medical coding audit, inpatient coding, HCC coding, DRG validation, denial and AR management, charge entry, claim scrubbing, insurance eligibi |
| Remote Leverage | Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru (explicit) | Not publicly listed | $6–$10/hr | Placed remote staff | $6–$10/hr ($6–8 entry, $8–10 experienced), one-time placement fee, $100 refundable deposit to start a search; Patient intake and scheduling, insurance verification, prior |
| Cloudstaff | Staffing | HIPAA compliant; ISO 27001, ISO 9001, PCI- (but see limitation) | Not publicly listed | Placed healthcare staff | Managed offshore teams across healthcare and other verticals; 1,000+ companies (company-reported); Philippines, Colombia, India, Kenya |
| Task Virtual | Kolkata, West Bengal office | HIPAA-trained | $6.24/hr | Placed remote staff | $6.24/hr; Reception, medical billing, transcription, insurance verification, EMR data entry, patient follow-up, credentialing support, call answering; HIPAA-trained; stat |
| WOW Remote Teams | Latin America (region stated, countries not named) | Not publicly listed | Not publicly listed | Placed remote staff | Not publicly listed (priced by seniority, skills, English level and hiring model); Medical and healthcare listed as a role category; Not stated |
Read the compliance and pricing columns together. The firms that publish a rate aren't the ones with the weakest compliance position, which is the usual assumption, and several firms publish neither a price nor commitment terms nor a Business Associate Agreement, which means three separate negotiations before you can compare them to anything. For pulmonology practices the scope column matters too, because chasing sleep study results and CPAP compliance downloads isn't work every provider has done before.
1. Honest Taskers
Best for: pulmonology practices that want a published hourly rate, a signed BAA and third-party verified compliance with no minimum.
Pricing: $10.00–$12.65/hrCompliance: HIPAA verified by Accountable; BAACommitment: Hourly, no minimumFirst hire: Two-week working trial
Honest Taskers is where this list starts because the compliance and pricing questions are answered in public rather than in a quote. For pulmonology practices the placed assistant works your time zone inside your own systems on coordinating pulmonary function testing before the consultation so results are available, obtaining authorization for biologics in severe asthma and for home oxygen, chasing sleep study results and CPAP compliance downloads, and tracking oxygen and nebuliser supply reorders with durable medical equipment suppliers. Staff are trained on HIPAA and data privacy under a dedicated compliance officer, a Business Associate Agreement is signed before anyone touches protected health information, and HIPAA compliance is verified by Accountable rather than asserted internally. The talent pool includes licensed nurses and physicians. Rates run $10.00 to $12.65 an hour depending on role, background, schedule and location, billed hourly with no weekly minimum, and the first hire comes with a two-week working trial. Honest Taskers reports 99.6% average monthly retention. See the multi-purpose virtual medical assistant service for role detail.
Limitation: staff work remotely and administratively, so results are available stays with your own clinicians, and Honest Taskers describes its security environment as SOC 2 audit ready rather than holding a SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification of the kind Staffingly and MyOutDesk publish.
2. ChartSpan
Best for: Pulmonology practices weighing a care management option alongside placed assistants.
Pricing: $2,457Compliance: Not publicly listedModel: Managed clinical programCategory: Care management
ChartSpan supplies clinical care management rather than administrative staff, so it answers a different half of the problem than a placed assistant does. Read from its own site: What it is: Chronic care management, whole service; Verified facts: Focuses exclusively on CCM; its clinical staff handle monthly outreach, time tracking and documentation for the practice.
Limitation: the page fetch truncated, so staff credentials and the fee model still need verifying from source
3. Plutus Health
Best for: Pulmonology practices weighing a revenue cycle option alongside placed assistants.
Pricing: $1.7Compliance: SOC 2 Type IIModel: Outsourced revenue cycleCategory: Revenue cycle
Plutus Health is an outsourced revenue cycle firm, which is the right shape when the bottleneck is authorization and claims rather than front-desk cover. From the company's own material: What it is: RCM + coding audit + AI agents; Verified facts: medical billing and coding, medical coding audit, inpatient coding, HCC coding, DRG validation, denial and AR management.
Limitation: no pricing; delivery center locations not named; individual coder credentials not listed
4. Remote Leverage
Best for: Pulmonology practices weighing a regional staffing option alongside placed assistants.
Pricing: $6–$10/hrCompliance: Not publicly listedModel: Placed remote staffCategory: Regional staffing
Remote Leverage recruits in one specific region and prices for that region, which is worth knowing before comparing it to a US-managed firm. From the company's own material: Talent location (as stated): Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru (explicit); Published pricing: $6–$10/hr ($6–8 entry, $8–10 experienced), one-time placement fee.
Limitation: no HIPAA or BAA statement at all, despite an itemized healthcare role list
5. Cloudstaff
Best for: Pulmonology practices weighing a healthcare va option alongside placed assistants.
Pricing: Not publicly listedCompliance: HIPAA compliant; ISO 27001, ISO 9001, PCI- (Model: Placed healthcare staffCategory: Healthcare VA
Cloudstaff places healthcare virtual assistants and is a direct alternative to the firm above it. Read from its own site: Staffing; Managed offshore teams across healthcare and other verticals; Client types: 1,000+ companies (company-reported); Delivery locations (as stated): Philippines, Colombia, India, Kenya.
Limitation: healthcare is one vertical among many, with no medical roles itemized
6. Task Virtual
Best for: Pulmonology practices weighing a regional staffing option alongside placed assistants.
Pricing: $6.24/hrCompliance: HIPAA-trainedModel: Placed remote staffCategory: Regional staffing
Task Virtual recruits in one specific region and prices for that region, which is worth knowing before comparing it to a US-managed firm. From the company's own material: Talent location (as stated): Kolkata, West Bengal office; Published pricing: $6.24/hr; Roles named: Reception, medical billing, transcription, insurance verification, EMR data entry.
Limitation: staff location is not stated separately from the corporate office, and trial terms are not detailed
7. WOW Remote Teams
Best for: Pulmonology practices weighing a regional staffing option alongside placed assistants.
Pricing: Not publicly listedCompliance: Not publicly listedModel: Placed remote staffCategory: Regional staffing
WOW Remote Teams recruits in one specific region and prices for that region, which is worth knowing before comparing it to a US-managed firm. From the company's own material: Talent location (as stated): Latin America (region stated, countries not named); Published pricing: Not publicly listed (priced by seniority, skills, English level and hiring model).
Limitation: neither countries nor rates are published, and no HIPAA statement appears
Which pulmonology virtual medical assistant tasks happen before the patient arrives?
Getting pulmonary function testing done before the consultation, and authorizing biologics in severe asthma and home oxygen, are where a pulmonology practice's admin hours go, and none of it needs presence. The cost gap is large: a medical secretary or administrative assistant earned a median $22.08 an hour, about $45,930 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 wage data for secretaries and administrative assistants, before benefits, payroll tax and a desk, against published remote rates from $9 an hour. Keep in the building whatever genuinely needs a person there: greeting patients, physical specimens and mail, and anything requiring a wet signature. The practical route is to start with the single task costing you the most rather than defining a whole role upfront, because the job's easier to scope once somebody's doing it. Hourly and cancel-anytime arrangements suit that far better than a quarterly minimum. For the task-level breakdown, see virtual medical assistant duties.
What does a home oxygen approval need from a pulmonology virtual medical assistant?
The documented test values and clinical criteria, assembled into one packet, since an incomplete packet is the usual reason for denial.
- BAA versus HIPAA training. A Business Associate Agreement puts breach liability in writing. "HIPAA-trained" describes a person who sat a course. Five firms in this market state a BAA; the rest state training. Ask which you are getting, in writing.
- Home oxygen and DME documentation. Oxygen and equipment approvals hinge on specific documented test values and clinical criteria. Ask how the assistant assembles that evidence, because an incomplete packet is the usual reason for denial.
- Commitment before certainty. Terms run from a Flexi Plan with no minimum hours to a 3-month minimum at 20 hours a week. Match the term to how sure you are.
- Access scope. Grant the minimum systems access each task needs and review it quarterly and on every staff change.
- Time zone against your day. Ask for the shift pattern rather than the delivery country, which matters most where staff are offshore.
How much does a pulmonology virtual medical assistant cost?
One firm publishes a rate here. Honest Taskers is $10.00 to $12.65 an hour with no weekly minimum. The other six on this list, ChartSpan, Plutus Health, Remote Leverage, Cloudstaff, Task Virtual and WOW Remote Teams, quote on request. For pulmonology practices the unit worth computing is cost per authorization obtained and testing completed before consultation, which you can work out from a two-week sample rather than from a quote. Rates were checked on August 24, 2026 and change often. For rate context, see how much a virtual medical assistant costs in 2026.
Does the pulmonology virtual medical assistant company know how equipment suppliers work?
Ask, because that relationship drives oxygen and CPAP approvals, and weigh it beside a signed BAA, a published rate and an exit you can use.
- A signed Business Associate Agreement. Five firms in this market state one. Get the document before access, not after the first shift.
- A published rate. An undisclosed rate means you negotiate compliance terms alongside the money.
- An exit you can use. Cancel-anytime, no lock-in, month-to-month and a no-minimum Flexi Plan all exist here.
- DME supplier coordination. Ask whether the assistant has worked with durable medical equipment suppliers, since that relationship drives oxygen and CPAP approvals.
- Named systems experience. Ask which practice management and EHR systems the specific assistant has worked in, and who trains them on yours.
What should a pulmonology virtual medical assistant do in week one?
Hand over pre-consultation testing coordination first, because a consultation held without results is the appointment you pay for twice.
- Measure one month of consultations held without required testing and DME approval rate so you have a baseline to judge against.
- List the five tasks you would hand over in week one, with the system each requires.
- Mark which touch protected health information, which decides whether a BAA is mandatory.
- Shortlist on stated BAA, published pricing and exit terms before reading any quality claims.
- Review at four weeks against the baseline rather than against an impression, then widen scope.
For a fuller hiring walkthrough, read how to hire a virtual medical assistant.
Methodology and sources
We read each company's own website on August 24, 2026, recording the scope offered, the HIPAA and Business Associate Agreement position in each firm's exact wording, published pricing, commitment terms and the verified facts each publishes. We set aside claims about screening quality and talent percentiles, because every firm makes them and none is checkable from outside; where such figures appear above they are labelled as the company's own claim. Wage context is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Business Associate Agreement obligations are set by the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Where a company published no figure we marked it "not publicly listed" rather than guessing; practice counts, retention rates and savings claims are company-reported and we did not audit them. Portiva, Pearl Talent and Wishup were excluded because their sites refuse automated requests, and Phoenix Virtual Solutions was excluded because its domain now returns an expiration notice.
Related staffing guides
The fastest way to narrow this market is to decide which tasks touch patient data, because that single question removes several firms. Our explainer on what a virtual medical assistant is covers the scope a remote hire can own for pulmonology practices, and where the compliance obligation begins.
Speak with Honest Taskers about staffing pulmonology practices.