Supplementing Physician Shortages with Locum Tenens

You can’t turn on the news without hearing about the state of our nation’s economy or the health care crisis many are facing today. With many healthcare facilities experiencing financial cutbacks and the current physician shortages a staggering number of hospitals and groups are turning to locum tenens as a cost effective solution.

Although many administrators feel that locum tenens physicians are too costly to employ, the reality is the costs are far less than the potential losses that will be incurred by lack of physician coverage. Locum tenens physicians are more important now than ever. This is in large part to the ability to provide patient care without interruption and maintain patient satisfaction levels, both equal a steady stream of revenue for healthcare facilities.

In 2010, a large physician staffing firm surveyed hospitals and medium group managers. Of the facilities and groups surveyed, 85% said they used locum tenens physicians in the last 12 months. This number is up from 72% the previous year. 63% of these employers stated that the reason for employing locum tenens physicians was to fill an opening until a permanent physician could be found.

Locum tenens has proven to be a cost effective alternative to the potential shortfall in our healthcare facilities in a number of ways. It is proving to be an important aspect to maintaining physician supply during a time of physician shortages.

As mentioned above providing a continuity of patient care without interruption is a vital aspect of using a locum tenens physician. A temporary physician can step in to replace a physician that is taking a much needed vacation, a physician tending to a medical condition or fill in for a retiring physician until a permanent replacement can be found.

Using locum tenens providers’ costs much less on a daily basis than the revenue they will generate for the practice.

Employing a locum tenens physician will aid in avoiding physician burnout. Working physicians extended shifts and increasing patient volume only leads to putting your patients at risk. Adding a locums provider to your staff will allow physicians to work a practical shift schedule making quality patient care a priority.

Locum tenens physicians can also be used by a facility that is considering a possible expansion to their staff or introducing a new service to the community.

What’s in it for the locum tenens physician?

Many primary care physicians are converting to locum tenens jobs due to the challenges faced in private practices today. Some are finding themselves buried in a mound of non-clinical paperwork, coupled with a dramatic increase in non-reimbursable income. Primary care physicians are overworked, dissatisfied, and burned out.

Locum tenens offers primary care physicians an alternative to the day to day grind of owning a private practice. The opportunity to travel while earning a decent income with none of the burdens of practice management is highly attractive to physicians.

Physicians that are considering retirement are also finding locum tenens an ideal alternative for their lifestyle. Working 1-2 weeks a month allows a physician the chance to slow down their pace while remaining active in medicine.

Whatever the reason, it is evident that locum tenens is proving to be a substantial solution to both hospitals and groups as well as the overwhelmed physicians practicing today.

Amy Cline is the author of this article on locum tenens. Find more information, about locum tenens recruiting here