SIA: Temp Staffing Revenue Takes A Dip YoY, with Locums The Lone Shining Star
Nov. 28, 2023
While revenue in the temporary staffing segment fell a median 10% year over year, the same can’t be said for locum tenens.
Staffing Industry Analysts released its latest pulse report last week, which showed a decrease greater than the 7% decline published in the prior report in August. The new report asked leaders of different staffing firms to help them better understand the data. Here’s what they said were their most significant challenges:
- 40% – the majority response – said it was a slowdown in new requisitions/orders
- 14% claimed it was the difficulty they had attracting new talent
However, the one glowing, bright spot in the report was the 20% year-over-year growth the locum tenens staffing segment experienced. Other healthcare temp staffing segments like travel nursing and per diem nursing saw a 21% and 14% decrease, respectively.
The newest pulse report reiterates what we have already heard about ocums. Last month, SIA announced a prediction of 12% growth in 2023, with that upward trajectory continuing into the following year.
SIA largely attributed this locum growth to an aging population that has upped its need for medical services, especially for more complex illnesses and the upcoming retirement of physicians that would challenge the already damaged supply of healthcare providers. SIA also says advanced practice providers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants who step in to provide crucial medical care where a doctor might not be available, are also still anticipated to stay in high demand.
SIA interviewed 178 staffing companies from all different industry segments in its report. Check out their breakdown of the temp staffing market, and see how other industries outside healthcare stack up to locum tenens.
La Vida Locum
Hayes: Addressing America’s Physician Shortage Through the Healthcare Provider Shortage Minimization Act
Nov. 15, 2023
We’ve written before in previous Locums Digests about the Healthcare Provider Shortage Minimization Act introduced in 2023 as a bipartisan legislative response to America’s healthcare staffing crisis. However, Hayes Locums recently shared an article highlighting this act’s importance with its audience, particularly in rural and resource-limited hospitals.
This Act aims to codify the status of locum tenens providers as independent contractors, thereby serving in their role of filling staffing gaps without becoming traditional employees of the hospitals they serve.
With 52,000 healthcare providers delivering locum care to 7.5 million Americans annually, the Act is critical for addressing the projected shortage of up to 139,000 physicians and advanced practitioners by 2033. The Act is particularly vital given the impending retirement of nearly one-third of physicians, many of whom may opt for locum tenens work. Ensuring locum tenens can operate as independent contractors will help facilities maintain patient care in underserved areas.
Approximately 88% of healthcare facilities nationwide utilize locum tenens, according to the National Association of Locums Tenens Organizations (NALTO). These providers help deliver uninterrupted, quality healthcare across the nation. However, recent legislative efforts like California’s A-B5 have attempted to restrict independent contractors, which could impact specialized professions like locum tenens that rely on this status for flexibility and mobility.
Read Hayes Locums’ complete breakdown of the Act in this article, and show your support for NALTO and locum tenens providers nationwide by contacting your Congressman to ask for their support.
All-Star: The Impact of PTO During Holidays on Healthcare Staff
Nov. 7, 2023
With Thanksgiving in the rearview and the rest of the holiday season ahead of us, All Star Healthcare Solutions wrote a blog post recently discussing the benefits of granting your staff the gift of time off during the holidays.
Here are some of the reasons they gave to show how vital the days off can be:
1. It can improve your employees’ well-being.
Studies indicate that burnout symptoms like emotional exhaustion and physical fatigue significantly affect healthcare professionals, including physicians and advanced practice providers. Providing time off is a key strategy to mitigate burnout and improve well-being.
2. It boosts your productivity.
Time away allows employees to rest and recharge, resulting in a renewed focus on work and collaboration upon their return.
3. It leads to fewer unplanned PTO days.
Seasonal factors like increased patient census and illnesses also contribute to the necessity of mental health days. Emphasizing paid time off during the holidays supports staff mental health and well-being.
4. It promotes a positive work culture.
Heavy workloads and patient care responsibilities often deter healthcare professionals from requesting time off. However, promoting a culture that values vacations and leaves as positive aspects of employment can enhance workplace unity.
5. It can attract more job candidates.
When evaluating potential employers, healthcare professionals consider traditional perks, salaries, and progressive policies like flexible PTO, especially during holidays.
Check out the full article from All Star here.
MPLT: Mastering the Art of Onboarding APPs
Nov. 27, 2023
Advanced practice providers (APPs) are becoming increasingly vital in healthcare facilities, particularly during physician shortages, with their role in patient care. A comprehensive onboarding process for APPs can significantly improve job satisfaction and patient care quality.
MPLT Healthcare highlights some of the ways they have been successful in onboarding their APPs.
- Comprehensive Orientation for APPs: A thorough orientation about the facility, culture, workflow, and patient care is vital. Orientation helps APPs understand the facility’s practices and protocols, ensuring a smooth integration into the team.
- Inclusion in Team Meetings: Involving APPs in daily or weekly team meetings aids in acclimating them to a facility’s work culture. Inclusion encourages collaboration and aligns the team with the facility’s current and future needs.
- Recognize Their Value: Acknowledging the contributions of APPs during onboarding boosts morale and demonstrates commitment to their success. This recognition can positively impact the facility’s morale and bottom line, enhancing onboarding.
For more on MPLT’s strategic onboarding advice and how it can transform your healthcare practice, delve into the article.
Locum Leaders
Aya Healthcare Acquires Winnow AI Platform Designed to Recruit Passive Candidates
Nov. 17, 2023
Aya Healthcare, the US’ largest healthcare talent and staffing software company, recently acquired Winnow AI, a data science-driven platform to enhance physician recruitment and retention strategies. Winnow AI integrates artificial intelligence with business intelligence, targeting passive physicians who are more likely to relocate. Winnow AI’s model identifies potential candidates by aligning them with open roles and existing providers, predicting job changes and preferred relocation areas. This approach streamlines the recruitment process, making it faster and more efficient.
Winnow AI will be integrated into Aya’s Provider Solutions division, complementing their existing DocCafe brand, which focuses on active physician job seekers. This acquisition enables Aya Healthcare to cater to active and passive job-seeking platforms, incorporating locum provider hiring and overall provider recruitment management through their Aya Connect system.
Alan Braynin, President and CEO of Aya Healthcare, highlights the acquisition’s role in bolstering healthcare organizations’ ability to fill provider positions, emphasizing the dual approach of Winnow AI and DocCafe. He says this strategy aligns with Aya Healthcare’s goal to deliver innovative solutions, aiming to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve access to care.
Winnow AI, developed by SwitchPoint Ventures, offers a targeted approach to building healthcare teams by matching candidate profiles with those of a company’s top doctors.
Dive into the entire article to explore how this innovative approach provides a unique solution to provider shortages.
CHG Healthcare Ranks Fourth in Computerworld’s 2024 Best IT Workplaces
Nov. 27, 2023
CHG Healthcare recently received a “2024 Best Place to Work in IT” distinction from Computerworld. The honor ranks the company fourth among midsize organizations. With this award, Computerworld acknowledges CHG’s commitment to challenging and rewarding its IT staff.
The IT Services division at CHG is renowned for its “people-first corporate culture,” according to Dean Lythgoe, Vice President of Information Technology at CHG. Lythgoe’s approach helps foster a team environment where its members are both highly skilled and collaboratively inclined, he says, which is essential for navigating the complexities of a growing business.
Key factors contributing to CHG’s recognition include its benefits package, flexible and remote work options, and high employee engagement. The company also provides well-defined career paths with tangible goals, increasing employee retention and satisfaction, which Computerworld scored highly.
The award is part of Computerworld’s annual “Best Places to Work in IT” list. This ranking is determined through a comprehensive questionnaire that assesses various aspects like benefits, career development, diversity, equity, inclusion, and training. The process involves a review by a panel of industry experts, ensuring a thorough and credible evaluation.
See the press release from BusinessWire to learn more about how CHG Healthcare earned this distinction among its peers in healthcare.
All Star Leader Katie Escalante Named to SIA Global Power 150 Women in Staffing List
Nov. 17, 2023
Katie Escalante, Chief Sales Officer at All Star Healthcare Solutions, has been recognized in the 2023 Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) Global Power 150 Women in Staffing list. This prestigious list acknowledges female leaders who have significantly contributed to the success of their companies and the broader staffing industry.
All Star Healthcare Solutions, known for its locum tenens and direct-hire services in healthcare staffing, celebrates Escalante’s integral role in the company. All Star credited Esalante for her pivotal role in driving the growth of the Locums and Direct-Hire Divisions, contributing to All Star’s success.
Escalante’s expertise in healthcare staffing has been instrumental in responding to the evolving needs of client facilities and providers. She was recognized for her commitment to maintaining a caring and dynamic company culture and her dedication to mentoring staff for successful careers.
This achievement highlights the contributions of individuals like Escalante, who play a vital role in shaping the industry’s future. The honorees will be celebrated at the SIA Executive Forum North America in Las Vegas on March 25-28, 2024. Check out the full Global Power 150 Women in Staffing list on the SIA website.
Read All Star’s blog article for more details on Escalante’s recognition and impact on the staffing industry.
Hire Power
Butler Street Webinar to Discuss Techniques to Help Manage Time
Nov. 20, 2023
NALTO®’s final Butler Street webinar session of the year will be at 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 12.
Butler Street, a management consulting firm focusing on sales training and leadership development, will present the “Time & Priority Management” webinar to discuss the different techniques managers in the locum tenens space can use to improve productivity.
Erika Bantz, the senior consultant for Butler Street, will discuss the following:
- Time management techniques
- Evaluating importance and prioritizing activities
- Overcoming roadblocks
Sign up today for the final NALTO®/Butler Street session of the year and learn how to conquer the things preventing you from reaching your potential.
Making the Rounds
Mastering Headline Craft to Increase Physician Engagement
Oct. 31, 2023
An article from Doximity, an online community for healthcare professionals in the US, focuses on how minor adjustments to headlines can significantly increase engagement among physicians. Doximity emphasizes the importance of headlines as a viewer’s first impression of content, potentially being the only part they read.
To enhance engagement, Doximity presents six key themes based on successful examples from their newsfeed:
- Specialty-Specific: Tailoring headlines to specific medical specialties increases relevance and engagement, such as changing a general headline about top hospitals to one focusing on a particular specialty like cardiology or anesthesiology.
- Locality-Specific: Localizing content makes it more relevant and engaging for readers, for example, modifying a headline about the best hospitals in the U.S. to highlight a specific state’s hospital.
- Questions: Framing headlines as questions can intrigue readers and encourage them to seek answers within the article.
- Spoiler Alert: Sometimes, revealing the main point of an article in the headline can attract more readers.
- Less is More: Conciseness is key in headlines. Using acronyms and succinctly summarizing complex topics can make headlines more appealing to busy physicians.
- Name Drop: Including a trusted source in the headline can significantly boost engagement, as seen in an example where mentioning the American Academy of Neurology increased the click-through rate.
Dive deeper into the art of headline creation for healthcare professionals in the full article.
Second Opinion
ChatGPT’s Transformative Impact on Healthcare
Nov. 29, 2021
Generative AI, particularly OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has made significant strides in the healthcare sector just one year after its introduction. Notably, it passed medical licensing exams, aided in medical research, and streamlined administrative tasks for healthcare professionals. AI’s rapid integration into the healthcare industry, typically slow in adopting new technologies, marks a significant shift, but not without questions about the technology’s capabilities and limitations.
ChatGPT, alongside other generative AI models, has dramatically expanded the scope of AI in healthcare. This expansion is attributed to ChatGPT’s initial impact, as Shafiq Rab of Tufts Medicine stated. Healthcare leaders acknowledge AI’s potential in transforming healthcare.
Still, some experts, like Stanford’s School of Medicine dean Lloyd Minor (below), anticipate a period of adjustment as the industry grasps the technology’s practical applications and limitations.
The technology’s rapid development has led to diverse applications, including assisting in drug discovery and targeting diseases like cancer. Tech giants are exploring ways to incorporate AI into clinical practice, enhancing research and patient care efficiency. Shafiq Rab optimistically forecasts that advancements that took a century might now be achieved in a decade or less, signaling a transformative era in healthcare.
However, there are concerns over this technological evolution. The healthcare community is wary of the potential for AI to spread misinformation, reinforce biases, and disrupt medical education. While AI is not seen as a replacement for doctors in diagnosis, its role in healthcare continues to be explored, with implications for both biodefense and the creation of biological threats.
Delve into many ways generative AI has influenced healthcare over the past year in the full article from Axios.
Tennessee Makes Move to Ease Licensing for International Doctors to Combat Physician Shortage
Nov. 24, 2023
In July 2024, Tennessee will implement a new law to simplify the process for international doctors to practice in the US, addressing the persistent physician shortage, especially in underserved areas.
International doctors, who comprise a quarter of the US physician workforce, face significant licensing barriers compared to their US and Canadian counterparts. Despite having undergone the same studies in their country of origin, they often repeat exams and residency, which takes years.
These international physicians should be more utilized. They are crucial in safety-net systems and underserved communities and play a vital role in bridging healthcare gaps in systems plagued by physician shortages.
Senate Bill 1451 in Tennessee allows international doctors licensed abroad to practice in the US without completing a US-based residency. This groundbreaking move, however, requires careful implementation to ensure that these doctors serve in areas with physician shortages, meet high standards of care, and receive adequate labor protections. The Tennessee law aims to increase healthcare access and maintain the well-being of frontline healthcare workers.
Read here about Tennessee’s trailblazing law that would welcome international doctors into the fold.
Medicare Patients Endure Long Travel Times and Shortage of Neurologists, Study Reveals Growing Access Gap
Nov. 26, 2023
A recent study in the medical journal “Neurology” highlights Medicare beneficiaries’ challenges in accessing neurology care. According to the article published in the medical journal for the American Academy of Neurology, nearly one in five Medicare patients travel over 50 miles to see a neurologist, with those patients requiring specialized care for diseases like brain cancer, ALS, and multiple sclerosis most affected.
Neurological disorders affect older populations the most. So, an aging population in the US being at higher risk for neurodegenerative diseases intensifies the need for accessible neurological care. The study involved more than 563,000 Medicare patients, revealing that 17% averaged 81 miles and 90 minutes per trip. According to the study, the travel burden disproportionately impacts individuals in areas with few neurologists and rural regions. These patients were 26% less likely to have follow-up visits, indicating a potential gap in ongoing care.
The “Neurology” study precedes the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw a surge in telehealth use. Neurologists adapted to virtual care, performing most elements of neurological exams remotely. However, telehealth’s primary use has been for follow-up visits, with initial consultations still primarily held in person.
A national shortage of neurologists only compounds these issues. An April 2023 study suggested that neurologists’ estimated 11% shortfall will increase to 19% by 2025, resulting in longer wait times. Rapidly advancing medical treatments and an aging population drive up the demand for neurologists, and factors like inadequate Medicare reimbursement for in-person visits contribute to this shortage as medical students opt for more financially viable specialties.
Find out more about the study in the full article here.
