Hospitals are a 24/7/365 operation and demand for services is high—in 2023, roughly 34.5 million Americans were admitted into a hospital. Hospital medicine physicians (more commonly referred to as hospitalists) play a crucial role in ensuring timely and high-quality care to patients in these crucial healthcare settings, however supply of these doctors is outpacing demand, causing disruption in the field. But what is a hospitalist exactly, how is the profession changing, and how could locum tenens doctors, nurse practitioners (NPs), and physician assistants (PAs) be leveraged in hospital staffing solutions? Read on to learn more.
What is a hospitalist?
Traditionally, a hospitalist is a physician who provides care to patients in a hospital. They often specialize in internal or family medicine, but are normally seen as generalists who can take on the comprehensive care of hospitalized people.
In recent years, however, the preconceived idea of what is a hospitalist has been changing. According to the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), there’s been a 42% increase of NP and PA integration into hospital medicine teams due to physician competition and fluctuating patient volumes, changes that have altered the conventional hospitalist meaning.
What does a hospitalist do?
Hospitalists take on a wide variety of roles and responsibilities in hospital settings, but their main focus can be distilled into a few key areas. Hospitalists:
- Coordinate daily care for patients, collaborating closely with all members of a patient’s care team
- Diagnose, treat, and perform medical procedures (depending on scope of practice)
- Facilitate improvements in procedure to maximize quality of patient care
- Oversee transitions in patient care
Hospitalists are key players in a hospital’s operations, acting as the backbone to quality patient care.
Is there a shortage of hospitalists?
As of 2025, there’s a shortage of around 5,310 hospitalists, with a demand for 45,290 hospital medicine physicians compared to a supply of 39,980, according to data reported by the United States Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA).
This imbalance between supply and demand is only projected to get worse over time—between 2025 and 2037, there’s an expected 3% decrease in the total supply of hospital medicine physicians alongside a 12% increase in demand, meaning that the supply of hospital medicine physicians will only meet about three-quarters (76%) of the projected demand by 2037.
Can an NP or a PA be a hospitalist?
While the traditional definition of a hospitalist is a doctor, an imbalance between supply and demand of hospital medicine physicians has accelerated the inclusion of NPs and PAs in hospital medicine teams. Scope of practice for both NPs and PAs have been expanding in recent years across the country, giving these healthcare providers a solid on-ramp to becoming hospitalists themselves.
According to the SHM, 82% of hospitalists provide care in community, rural, and safety hospitals—and given that rural hospitals are closing in vast numbers across the country due to low reimbursement rates, many facilities looking for comprehensive hospital staffing solutions have turned to NPs and PAs to fill in the gaps.
Why take on a locum tenens hospitalist?
If your hospital is seeking hospital staffing solutions, locum tenens hospitalists (physicians, NPs, or PAs) is a viable and increasingly popular option. Not only do hospitalist locums allow hospitals to quickly adjust their staffing levels to meet fluctuating patient volumes or cover unexpected absences, but they are also cost-effective solutions that maintain the integrity of your facility’s bottom line.
Locum tenens hospitalists travel from facility to facility on short-or long-term temporary assignments, providing care where they’re needed most. Given the transient nature of the locum tenens profession, these crucial providers can be deployed quickly to your facility whenever a need arises.
Locum tenens hospitalists, NPs, and PAs also provide practical economic benefits to facilities looking for hospital staffing solutions. According to SHM, around 80% of the costs associated with hospital medicine is in salary and benefits—but NPs and PAs are typically paid at about 60% of a physicians salary, offering a cost-efficient solution to your staffing challenges.
As qualified providers, locum tenens hospitalists will help your hospital maintain the levels of quality care your patients expect and deserve.
Find Locum Tenens Hospitalists with Wellhart
If you’re a facility manager seeking comprehensive hospital staffing solutions, Wellhart’s here to help. We staff locum tenens hospitalists (physicians, NPs, and PAs) across the United States—reach out to us today to learn more!