Better Serving Physicians Through Technology

Patient satisfaction has long been a buzz word in healthcare. We’re moving into an environment where health systems are not only worried about patient satisfaction but also clinician satisfaction. Health systems are investing in the clinician experience in an effort to stave off burnout, resignations and retirement.

Technology provides a unique opportunity to address the clinician experience as hospital find new ways to address staffing challenges and patient access bottlenecks. At LocumTenens.com, we are investing in technology that has a tangible impact on physicians, allowing us to better serve them and improve their locum tenens experience.

One area that has historically caused physicians headaches: credentialing.

The multi-step process of gathering and verifying practitioners’ qualifications is a prerequisite to obtaining clinical privileges that is required each time a clinician takes an assignment at a new facility. As a result, physicians working locum tenens face challenges to meet the stringent vetting and credentialing standards on a regular basis. This can be a major burden for physicians and often requires a considerable time expenditure. It’s important to minimize this friction and allow physicians to do what they went to medical school for—to practice medicine, not stress over administrative processes.

That’s why LocumTenens.com is working to take away the headache of credentialling for physicians. We recently announced a partnership with Axuall, a workforce intelligence technology company. The goal of the partnership is to enhance credentialing efficiencies by reducing delays, establishing smooth processes, and alleviating any strain on the physician.

During a pilot of the program, we found that clinicians completed their portion of the credentialing process faster and were more satisfied with the experience. According to one of those physicians: “It is 10 times easier than any other system I’ve ever worked with for credentialing. I was telling my wife that other hospitals need to adapt to the software.”

Technology has the power to increase physician satisfaction and improve processes for health systems through:

Efficiency—As healthcare organizations continue their journey to become high reliability organizations, building efficiency in processes is critical. Technology can bring new levels of efficiency to previously manual processes through automation, reduced errors, and increased agility. We are investing in technology solutions that have a tangible impact on our physicians and their ability to care for patients.

Physician Wellness—Over the years, we have often heard physicians criticize the perpetual red tape and tedious processes that impede patient care. As a result, many physicians have chosen to work with locum tenens to remove administrative burdens and allow them to practice pure medicine.

Reduced Delays—The credentialling process is historically sluggish. There can be many slowdowns along the way, which negatively impacts both the physician and the hospital. Through technology, we can reduce delays in the credentialing process and get physicians to work faster.

Financial Benefits—Efficiency through technology often has the upside of bringing financial benefits for a health system. In the case of credentialling, by reducing delays for the physician and hospital, both can realize an improved bottom line. Hospitals improve access to care with physicians caring for patients sooner and physicians start earning sooner.

Technology plays an important role for physicians looking to practice locum tenens. As a result of the initial success of the Axuall platform, we plan to integrate all credentialed clinicians to the platform by the end of 2022 with a goal of ensuring a seamless experience for new and returning clinicians. It’s another step in improving the physician experience and making locum tenens work more accessible.