As a facility manager or staffing coordinator at a hospital, clinic, or other healthcare facility, ensuring that your patients receive the level of care they deserve is your primary priority. But sometimes, you may find yourself grasping at straws in order to find adequate coverage when a provider takes an unplanned absence, or goes on vacation. Locum tenens providers are a quick and efficient solution to these staffing issues—these experienced and vetted healthcare professionals take short- or long-term temporary assignments at facilities in need of extra hands. Not sure if using these professionals is the right choice for you? Read on to discover four reasons why you should staff your healthcare facility with locum tenens providers.
1. Save Money
The first thing you should know about locum tenens providers is that they provide massive cost saving opportunities to healthcare facilities. When you take on a permanent provider, you’re oftentimes obligated to pay for the following expenses in addition to their salary:
- Benefits
- Signing bonuses
- Health insurance
- Relocation fees
When you hire a locum tenens provider, however, all you need to worry about is their salary. In addition, hiring and onboarding a locum tenens provider is quicker than hiring a permanent provider. This means you don’t have to deal with some of the expenses associated with candidate searching, such as money lost to gaps in patient care and impeded workflow.
2. Never Worry About Unplanned Absences
It’s common that healthcare providers will need to take extended time off for personal reasons, however, if you’re not prepared for this eventuality, your patients will feel the impact. Locum tenens providers are a simple and easy option for dealing with these unplanned absences, as they can be deployed within hours to your facility in order to fill in unexpected staffing gaps.
Locum tenens providers offer a solution for when your permanent providers go on PTO, as well. Once you know a doctor or nurse practitioner is taking time off, you can easily set up coverage by hiring a locum tenens provider. This way, your patients will continue to get the same level of care you’ve promised them.
3. Expand Service Offerings
One of the great benefits of locum tenens providers is that they run the gamut of healthcare professionals, meaning you’ll have access to temporary staffing help in any specialty you need.
If your facility is looking to expand service offerings, you can start by hiring a locum tenens professional who has experience in that service, and use them as a resource for other permanent providers who you are looking to hire for that expanded service line.
4. Combat Permanent Provider Burnout
Let’s face it, it’s easy for healthcare providers to feel burnt out after many long days of caring for patients. In fact, the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says that one of the main causes for physician burnout is time pressure and low control of pace.
By leveraging locum tenens providers, you can ease the time and pace burdens on your permanent providers, which could lead to less burnout overall.
Partner with Wellhart
Interested in taking on locum tenens providers at your clinic or hospital? Reach out to one of our account executives today to learn more about how Wellhart can help you solve your staffing needs.