A growing number of U.S. hospitals are staffing patient monitoring and care coordination with remote workers in the Philippines, where labor can cost up to 70% less than on-site staff, according to Rest of World.
The U.S.-based news outlet, which focuses on international technology stories, investigated and reported on the trend in a July 9 article.
The increased use of virtual nurses in the Philippines has produced a new class of “virtual healthcare assistants” — many of them licensed nurses — who monitor intensive care patients, check insurance eligibility, process transfers and handle intake calls from thousands of miles away.
The Philippines’ outsourced health sector employed about 210,000 full-time workers in 2025 and generated $4.5 billion in revenue for the country, according to the Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines.
Nearly 30% were nurses or other medical professionals, Rest of World reported.
Remote workers typically earn $5 to $10 an hour, compared with more than $45 an hour for U.S. registered nurses. The workers themselves describe a narrower role than the “nurse” label suggests, with some telling the outlet they are “more like nursing aides” than nurses.
Rest of World reported the model is helping fill a shortfall of nearly 80,000 registered nurses, citing data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Transparency around the practice is limited, though. Some facilities “white-label” offshore staff as their own employees, and companies wary of backlash may not disclose the arrangement, said Sarah Matt, MD, a physician and author of “The Borderless Healthcare Revolution.” Employers named in the reporting largely declined to be identified, citing confidentiality agreements.
For clinical leaders, the offshore push raises questions of medical staff governance: licensure and scope of practice, patient privacy, and how much clinical oversight can be delegated and standardized across borders.
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