Almost 9 in 10 healthcare facilities used locum tenens physicians and/or advanced practice professionals last year, according to AMN Healthcare’s 2022 Survey of Locum Tenens Staffing Trends. Jeff Decker, Division President of Locum Tenens at AMN Healthcare, commented that COVID exacerbated a long-standing shortage of physicians, making locum tenens physicians “an even more essential part of delivering quality care at most hospitals in the United States.”
The survey revealed three main reasons for using locum tenens:
- To maintain services while healthcare facilities look for permanent employees (70%)
- To meet rising patient demand (25%)
- To address provider burnout (13%)
Anesthesia providers were the most commonly used type of locum tenens healthcare professionals last year, followed by hospitalists and psychiatrists.
To address the ongoing staffing shortages, healthcare facilities are adding new incentives to their recruiting packages (54%), implementing new retention efforts (49%), adding temporary staff (43%), and expanding telehealth services (35%). AMN found that some facilities are also reducing the hours of service (18%), canceling elective procedures (14%), and eliminating some service lines and programs (11%).
For more insights, download the full report.
