Locum tenens providers have become an indispensable resource for healthcare organizations to maintain continuity of care and reduce provider burnout.
Locum providers fill gaps due to physician and advanced practitioner vacancies, extended leave or increased patient demand, allowing healthcare organizations to maintain high-quality care without interruption. With the increasing number of provider searches using locum tenens, the challenge now lies in controlling costs.
Strategic Cost Management and Effective Staffing
Overspending on locum tenens coverage can significantly affect an organization’s bottom line. Common issues include bill rates not aligned with market conditions, operating under different contractual terms, decentralized purchasing and uncapped travel expenses. Effective strategies to address these challenges include:
- Aligning Bill Rates with Market Conditions: Utilizing locum demand metric reports helps align bill rates closely with market conditions, ensuring that organizations are not overpaying for locum tenens services.
- Centralizing Purchasing: Consolidating procurement and vendor management under a single program or technology platform can streamline processes, reduce administrative burden and provide greater visibility into your locum tenens staffing program usage and costs.
- Conducting an Invoice Analysis: An invoice audit can uncover unfavorable fees and additional expenses, revealing opportunities for cost savings.
By adopting these practices, healthcare organizations can maintain control over their locum tenens staffing programs, ensuring both cost containment and high-quality care delivery.
Navigating Market Dynamics
It is crucial to understand the current locum tenens landscape and what drives cost and demand. Anesthesiology, radiology and CRNAs have been the most in-demand specialties, week over week. Many factors, including specialty, open job volume and market trends, can influence rates. Rather than relying on standard rate cards that increase rates every year, healthcare organizations should review the current market demand.
Review Invoices
A comprehensive cost analysis can offer insights into better allocating your financial resources. When was the last time you took a closer look at your invoices? Examining them for additional fees such as seasonal fees, malpractice fees or even marks up travel can significantly increase overall spend. By removing many of these “junk” fees, healthcare organizations typically see up to 10% in cost savings.
Open Shift Management
An important cost savings measure is to reduce locum tenens usage in general. When there are open gaps in your schedule, healthcare organizations should leverage more affordable labor categories before contracting external locum providers. Technology solutions, like Shifts, can mobilize providers through a tiering system that prioritizes the most economically efficient options for filling shifts: employer providers, direct locums, then agency locums. This tiering strategy allows healthcare organizations to control costs while ensuring that staffing decisions align with financial stewardship.
Qualivis: Financial Stewardship Partner in Locum Tenens Management
Created by hospitals for hospitals, Qualivis is not a staffing agency but rather a strategic partner managing a network of over 200 agencies—more than 50 of which specialize in locum tenens. Endorsed by 27 state hospital associations and organizations of nurse leaders, Qualivis simplifies healthcare staffing to help hospitals build a more sustainable workforce.
Leveraging Qualivis’ technology and market data helps healthcare organizations develop strategic workforce initiatives that focus on cost efficiency without compromising quality. These strategies allow them to manage their locum tenens staffing efficiently, ensure financial stewardship and set high standards of patient care. Contact your Qualivis account manager to schedule a market review or invoice analysis today.