Healthcare organizations are using locum tenens physicians when they need to maintain services/revenue while permanent candidates are sought, according to a recent National Association of Community Health Centers Web seminar.
There were 36,000 locum tenens physicians in 2008, according to studies, and that number is expected to grow – experts estimate that over the next 10 years, the number will hit 50,000-65,000.
With 33 percent of the 815,000 doctors in America over 55 years of age – and of those, 77 percent are specialists – experts are calculating a shortage of 60,00-200,000 physicians in the next decade.
“Recruiting physicians is going to be one of the top priorities that community health centers will face in the next five to 10 years,” said Kurt Mosley, vice president of strategic alliances for Merrit Hawkins, Staff Care and Med Travelers, all companies of AMN Healthcare, and a presenter of the seminar “Have Stethoscope, Will Travel, the Growing Use of Locum Tenens Physicians.”
There are currently 1,750 physician openings and 3,000-5,000 clinicians needed per year, not including executive/administrative positions. According to the Lewin Group, 32 million newly insured patients under health reform law, each visiting the doctor at least two times per year, equals 64 million new patient visits.
With increased competition, there won’t be enough doctors to go around and patients are likely to use community health centers more often, according to Mosley.
“The several hundred new doctors a year is a very small increase compared to the several thousand needed,” he said. “Many of the doctors out there have to work double-time because we simply don’t have enough of them.”
This is where locum tenens physicians have come in handy.
A recent NACHC survey, “Staff Care 2009 Review of Temporary Physician Staffing Trends” asked community health centers if they had used locum tenens physicians any time in the last 12 months. About 72 percent replied yes.
When asked why:
34 percent said to fill in until a permanent doctor is found.
22 percent said to fill for staff who had left.
37 percent said to fill gaps left by vacations or continuing medical education.
3 percent said to meet rising patient demand.
11 percent said to fill in during peak usage times.
25 percent said to test market a new service.
In 2009 primary care led the pack when requesting staffing care days at 42.7 percent.
The survey also measured the skill levels of locum tenens – half were deemed “good,” 16 percent were “excellent,” 33 percent were classified as “adequate” and only 1 percent were “unsatisfactory.” More than half (54 percent) of permanent physicians polled said they accepted the use of locum doctors in their practice.
“They are there for one function and one function only,” said Mosley. “To take care of the patients.”
While it’s more cost-effective to contract directly with a single locum tenens physician, there can be advantages of working with a staffing agency, said seminar co-presenter Joshua Werlinich, director of community health for Staff Care.
“A temporary-to-permanent hire can be an effective recruitment tool,” he said. “You can ‘test drive’ the provider.”