AMN Healthcare Survey

Most Healthcare Facilities Using Locum Tenens Physicians to Fill Vacancies

Nearly 90% of healthcare facilities used locum tenens physicians and/or advanced practice professionals to fill gaps in their staffs last year, according to a new survey from AMN Healthcare, the nation’s leader in total healthcare talent solutions.

The company’s 2022 Survey of Locum Tenens Staffing Trends indicates that 88% of hospitals, medical groups, and other healthcare facilities used locum tenens physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), and/or physician assistants (PAs) sometime in the prior 12 months, primarily to address staffing shortages. The term “locum tenens,” Latin for “to take the place of,” refers to physicians and other advanced practice healthcare professionals who take temporary work assignments which may last from one day to one year.

“A long-standing shortage of physicians, which has been exacerbated by COVID-19, has made locum tenens physicians an even more essential part of delivering quality care at most hospitals in the United States,” said Jeff Decker, Division President of Locum Tenens at AMN Healthcare. “They are part of an increasingly flexible healthcare workforce that can be mobile and able to deliver care when and where they are needed most.”

Seventy percent of those surveyed indicated they use locum tenens physicians and other providers to maintain services while they seek to fill openings in their permanent staffs. Twenty-five percent use them to meet rising patient demand, while 13% use them to address provider burnout, which has become more prevalent due to COVID-19.

COVID-19 Driving Use of Locum Tenens Providers

Anesthesia providers, including anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), were the most utilized type of locum tenens healthcare professionals last year, the survey indicates. According to Decker, hospitals, medical groups, and other facilities need more anesthesia providers as procedures requiring anesthesia have rebounded from COVID-19 related lows. Hospitalists, a type of physician specializing in hospital inpatient care, were the second most utilized type of locum tenens provider, due to the large volume of hospital inpatient work created by COVID-19. Psychiatrists were third on the list, as COVID-19 has increased the incidence of mental health problems nationwide and has highlighted the dearth of behavioral health professionals that preceded the pandemic, according to Decker.