The current shortage of physicians and a renewed emphasis on retention have kept healthcare groups and their financial leaders focused on filling vacant practices. The locum tenens industry has indeed benefited from the ever-changing healthcare industry over the years in that healthcare groups see it as a more and more viable staffing alternative. Locum tenens, as a career option, is also becoming more and more appealing to mid-career physicians. It is no longer an option that only entices retiring physicians.
The severe shortage of physicians in different specialties across the country (especially in primary care) will require a number of struggling healthcare systems to “think outside of the box” to ensure their staffing levels are maintained appropriately. This is an observation made by Bruce Kirby, CEO of Pinnacle Locum Tenens. “For the past years,” he added, “The locum tenens marketplace remained robust despite a depressed economy. Last year, at least half of all facilities needed some sort of temporary recruiting service in order to sustain appropriate staffing levels. Changing government regulations, work-life preferences among providers and a positive shift in the perception of the locums business concept have all contributed to the growth of the locum tenens industry.”
Still a growing industry
So much so, in fact, that at least 50% of locum tenens physicians still plan to continue providing temporary coverage for more than three years following their initial assignment. Kirby considers this a positive change, seeing that it was only about 30% for the past five years. This is because more and more younger physicians are choosing locum tenens as a career path. Moreover, at least 15% of physician respondents intend to look for a permanent position using locum tenens as a selection vehicle, known in the industry as a “working interview.”
As the physician shortage continues to trouble many hospitals, healthcare facilities are gearing up to focus on maintaining their service delivery lines. More than 80% of hospitals, healthcare systems and administrators have utilized locum tenens for the past 12 months, mainly as a retention tool for their existing employees. Further, at least half of facilities have actively sought locum tenens doctors, largely to maintain their service lines or when a doctor leaves their facility. At least 50% of the respondents also cited that locum tenens coverage helps them with retention by covering vacations and times of extended absences.
“The growing popularity of locum tenens can actually be linked to the physician shortage,” added Kirby. “Over recent years, we’ve observed that facilities not only use locum tenens during staff absences but also as a tool to find permanent physicians during times of competitiveness and difficult markets, such as in primary care, ER, radiology, surgery and other sub-specialties.”
Why locum tenens?
Recent surveys indicate at over 70% of healthcare facilities that utilized locums physicians allow them to help manage the seasonality of their practices in terms of the peaks and valleys in patient volumes. At least half of those surveyed indicated that locum tenens insures service and sustainment of revenue streams, while a third of them said it helps take some burden off of their staff.
“Temporary physician staffing has become a standard tool for many healthcare groups, and many practices have even integrated the cost of locum tenens coverage within their recruiting budgets,” noted Kirby. “I think the main rationale for the utilization of locum tenens services is its potential return on investment. Rather than leave vacant vacancies, locums doctors can immediately bring additional income through referrals, admissions and other ancillary services without the costs of benefits, incentives, vacation, CME, taxes and malpractice insurance premiums.”
Kirby noted that healthcare facilities should be diligent in tracking and analyzing the cost of temporary staffing versus the “added value” advantage. Pinnacle Locum Tenens, for instance, uses the ‘working interview’ approach, where administrators can streamline their recruiting efforts by ‘taking a test drive’ of a physician and assessing their candidate-facility compatibility before they permanently hire.
“With this approach you can have continued patient care and enhance the cost-effectiveness of physician recruiting efforts at the same time,” said Kirby. “Plus, the flexibility of locum tenens makes it an excellent alternative for many experienced physicians. Physician supply does not appear to be improving anytime soon, so healthcare organizations can minimize the adverse effects of staffing shortages by using locum tenens physicians.”