Staffing shortages and provider burnout have been causing issues in hospitals and clinics across America for the past several years. Thankfully, there is a solution. Locum tenens providers can fill in gaps to ensure continuity of care for patients when a full-time staff member leaves unexpectedly or needs a break. Read on to find out what you need to know about this essential solution for today’s healthcare systems.
What Is Locum Tenens?
Locum tenens refers to physicians, nurses, and other providers who fill in for full-time staff. It’s a Latin phrase that means “to hold the place of,” and that’s just what locum tenens providers do at hospitals, urgent care clinics, outpatient providers, and private practices alike. Locum tenens is one of the most valuable resources for hiring managers facing staffing challenges.
Continuity of Care for Patients
When healthcare providers leave unexpectedly or full-time employees want to take vacations or sabbaticals, it can leave a gap in service that negatively impacts patients. Hiring locum tenens workers enables facilities to maintain uninterrupted continuity of care for patients, thereby avoiding service disruptions and ensuring uninterrupted treatment even in the absence of full-time, permanent staff.
Reduced Burnout for Permanent Staff
Taking advantage of locum tenens providers can benefit full-time staff, particularly during staffing shortages when they would otherwise be overburdened with work. Hiring locum tenens providers lets healthcare facilities give permanent staff members a break when they need it, even if they are dealing with ongoing staffing shortages. Introducing the flexibility to take time off helps to prevent provider burnout.
Increased Access for Underserved Communities
Locum tenens providers come from all different kinds of healthcare backgrounds, including some specialized fields. Bringing that kind of knowledge to underserved communities in rural or impoverished areas improves access to necessary services and helps patients who might otherwise go without get the care they need, regardless of geographic location.
Regained Revenue for Hospitals
Providers, patients, and healthcare facilities alike can benefit from locum tenens. Incorporating this staffing solution into a hospital’s overall strategy helps to regain unclaimed revenue by amplifying the facility’s capacity for procedures during times of high patient volumes. Patients get the care they need, and hospitals reap the benefits of providing that care.
Cost-Effective Staffing Solutions
Another benefit of locum tenens for hospitals and healthcare clinics is that there is no need for long-term commitment. Eliminating the need for extraneous long-term employment contracts means hospitals don’t have to worry about benefits, retirement plans, and paid time off for employees that they would only need for a short period. Effective staffing solutions often incorporate locum tenens workers as a means of reducing overtime expenses, as well.
A Streamlined Hiring Process
Recent changes to state and federal regulations surrounding locum tenens workers have streamlined the onboarding process for temporary physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers. Given how long it takes to find, hire, and onboard new permanent staff members, this can be an invaluable benefit. There’s no need for healthcare facilities or patients to go without during the permanent hiring process thanks to locum tenens.
Learn More About Locum Tenens
If you run a healthcare facility that could benefit from locum tenens physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers, your next step is simple. Contact a healthcare staffing agency that can help you find locum tenens providers today.