Hospitals using more freelance physicians amid doctor shortage
Some physicians are finding financial and overall quality-of-life benefits to being locum tenens instead of taking on full-time positions—and they’re finding plenty of hospitals in need of their services.
With the ongoing physician shortage, the number of U.S. doctors working as freelancers has nearly doubled to 48,000 and some predict it could double again over the next decade.
“We’re a necessary evil,” Rob Gleason, chief operating officer with Fusion Healthcare Staffing, a recruiting agency based in Sandy, Utah, said to STAT News. “We’re staffing rural hospitals where many physicians don’t want to go permanently.”
For the doctors themselves, the perks include better hourly pay, not waiting for reimbursements and deciding when and where they’ll work. For hospital administrators, however, it’s a change from past practices where locum tenens were looked down upon and shown to be at higher risk of delivering poor outcomes to patients.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.