Hospitals increasingly turning to locum tenens physicians

The use of locum tenens physicians in the U.S. has nearly doubled to 48,000 since 2002, according to a survey conducted by healthcare staffing company Staff Care. Hospitals are turning to locum tenens and staffing agencies to fill staffing shortages, which the Association of American Medical Colleges forecasts could grow to more than 100,000 physicians by 2030.

Ninety-four percent of healthcare facility managers surveyed by Staff Care reported working with contract physicians last year. The increase could be attributed to a larger pool of physicians willing to do contract work. For physicians, there are several benefits to pursuing contract work: It allows physicians to practice in different clinical settings, choose when they’ll work, and earn an hourly wage that tends to be higher.

Source: Stat