Advice for locum tenens physicians

What does pay for performance mean for locum tenens physicians? Since locum tenens physicians may work at multiple locations within a year, it is vital for them to keep up with their own procedure logs from all work locations, according to Di Hall, CPCS, CPMSM, director of compliance and quality improvement at Medical Doctor Associates, a locum tenens and permanent placement medical staffing firm. A locum tenens physician's clinical "home" may be several hospitals, and each is scrutinizing numbers of tests and treatments, compliance with clinical guidelines, infection rates, adverse actions, and other performance criteria, Hall wrote in an online article last week on the Multibriefs website.

She advised locum tenens practitioners to keep copies of all procedure/case logs from all work locations as part of a credentials file, and this should include data on any outliers. “Understand the review process and requirements of the clinical locations where you work—while each is unique, there should be some common ground as well,” she wrote. “Be willing to participate within the process and have patience with the administrative needs of that process as well.”