Why healthcare organizations use locum tenens
Physician staffing is a tough business these days. It can take seven months to
a year to hire a staff physician — possibly even longer for physicians in
high-demand specialties like orthopedics or radiology. So what do you do in the
meantime?
Well, a whole industry has evolved over the last 20 years or so to solve that
very problem. The term “locum tenens” is Latin for “to
hold the place of, to substitute for.” A locum tenens physician
is a licensed and credentialed — likely even board-certified —
physician who fills a gap in your medical team.
Used strategically, locum tenens physicians can help you attract and keep more
of your staff, which helps your facility or group retain more patients and
produce higher revenue.
Today the industry is thriving
Spending on locum tenens services has more than doubled in
the last 4 years.
Today the recruiting firms providing so-called
“temporary physicians” produce more than $2.5 billion in revenue
annually.
The industry estimates that 6% of the more than 600,000
U.S. physicians work locum tenens at least some of the time.
Among physicians who accept locum tenens assignments,
approximately 30 percent practice this way exclusively.
There are lots of good reasons to hire a locum physician
To fill in for an absent staff member (who may be ill, on
vacation, on sabbatical or maternity leave)
To cover while staff physicians attend CME courses
To supplement permanent staff during busy times
To staff new positions or facilities while physicians are
recruited
Also, in today’s competitive healthcare industry more and more executives
include locum tenens as an integral part of their master staffing plans. This
way they can maintain moderate physician staffing and bring in a locum
physician or two during traditional periods of peak census. Often this is more
efficient and cost-effective than maintaining peak staffing levels and paying
for a lot of down time — in addition to employee benefits and physician
perks.
Used strategically, locum tenens physicians can help you attract and keep more
of your staff, which helps your facility or group retain more patients and
produce higher revenue.
Today’s locum physician is highly qualified
Reputable physician staffing firms today follow JCAHO
(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) and NCQA
(National Commission on Quality Assurance) standards in verifying
physicians’ education, training, work experience, licensing and
credentialing.
A study published in the November issue of the Journal of
Healthcare Management indicated that 85% of locum tenens physicians
are board certified, compared to 65% of active U.S. staff physicians.
The majority of locum tenens physicians are licensed in
more than 1 state and credentialed more often, and more recently, than the
majority of physicians on permanent staff.
Because a locum physician generally works in more
environments and facilities than the average U.S. physician, and because his or
her training and experience undergo perpetual scrutiny, that physician is more
likely to be up-to-date on the latest technologies and procedures than his or
her staff physician counterpart.
Do you really need a physician staffing agency to hire a locum physician?
You probably can find the right physician for the job yourself, but can you do
it fast enough? Does your facility or group have the staff to handle all the
details of getting the physician or CRNA to your patients when needed? Sure,
you can handle the pressure. But do you really want to?
Most of the time, the decision boils down to time,
resources and money. If your facility or group has the time and
resources, an in-house department can be the right choice. If you have more
money than time, a physician staffing agency will expedite getting the
physician to your site.
Most agencies have hundreds of licensed physicians
credentialed and ready to work. For example,
LocumTenens.com’s proprietary database stores information on roughly
40,000(?) physicians. The licensing and credentialing documentation on close to
3,000 of those is stored electronically to facilitate your search process.
Agency recruiters work under pressure all the time. They can relieve you of
much of the stress of finding qualified candidates, verifying training and
experience, checking references and, when needed, expediting the licensing
process.
Many physicians can diagnose and treat your illness, but in critical situations
you probably want to see a specialist. Similarly, there are times when finding
the right physician calls for tapping expert resources (like LocumTenens.com?).
Why Use an LocumTenens.com Physician
Recruiter?
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