Roughly 75 percent of hospitals, medical groups and other healthcare facilities used locum tenens in 2011, the fifth straight year that at least three-quarters of healthcare facilities administrators have used locum tenens, according to a survey from Staff Care.
Locum tenens are temporarily-staffed physicians who fill in for main physicians or are brought on when a hospital is short-staffed. For the eighth consecutive year, 41 percent of hospitals and other providers said they are looking for locum tenens physicians to supplement their current physician staff.
Other key findings from the survey include:
• Roughly half of healthcare facility administrators said they use one to three locum tenens physicians per month, while 40 percent do not use locum tenens.
• Most respondents (57 percent) said they use locum tenens to fill in until a permanent physician is found.
• The biggest cited benefit of locum tenens was that they allow the hospital or facility to continue its treatment of patients. However, the biggest drawback was the cost.
Locum tenens are temporarily-staffed physicians who fill in for main physicians or are brought on when a hospital is short-staffed. For the eighth consecutive year, 41 percent of hospitals and other providers said they are looking for locum tenens physicians to supplement their current physician staff.
Other key findings from the survey include:
• Roughly half of healthcare facility administrators said they use one to three locum tenens physicians per month, while 40 percent do not use locum tenens.
• Most respondents (57 percent) said they use locum tenens to fill in until a permanent physician is found.
• The biggest cited benefit of locum tenens was that they allow the hospital or facility to continue its treatment of patients. However, the biggest drawback was the cost.
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5 Key Benefits of Locum Tenens Physicians