Strategic Use of Locums Providers to Help Protect the Bottom Line
As the healthcare industry continues its post pandemic recovery, every dollar counts. To minimize inefficiencies and maximize revenue, healthcare leaders can consider how locum tenens support can help optimize workforce decisions.
Perform a Leak Inspection
Healthcare leaders are well-aware of how costly leaks can be. To help pinpoint financial leaks, leaders can consider the following questions:
- Are we losing revenue due to unfilled positions?
- Do we have enough staff to cover our permanent providers who take leave?
- Are we able to ramp up procedures and resume services quickly following closures?
- Is our staffing strategy agile enough to meet fluctuating patient volumes?
- Do we frequently deal with the fallout from costly hiring mistakes?
- Are our permanent providers overworked or approaching burnout?
- Are we losing patients to other facilities because we don’t have specialists on hand?
- Do our patients get frustrated due to appointment wait times?
- Is it particularly challenging to find providers for our facility type (rural, VA, IHS, etc.)?
- Are we maximizing reimbursements for locum tenens services?
- Is our scheduling/coverage fully streamlined?
Using Locum Tenens to Streamline Workforce Decisions and Avoid Losing Revenue
Healthcare organizations can use locums support to stop many drains on revenue. Here’s how facilities can recoup potential losses through locums:
- Use locums to fill vacancies. Avoid losing revenue during the many months it takes to locate, screen, interview, vet, credential, onboard and train providers. Hire locum tenens providers in the interim to ensure uninterrupted access to care.
- Hire locum tenens providers to cover leave. Continue to generate income when permanent providers are out on maternity leave, sick leave, family medical leave, vacation leave or professional development.
- Rely on a locum tenens partner to help meet fluctuating demands. Ramping up services and having adequate staff to meet fluctuating patient volumes can be costly. A locums agency can help.
- Avoid costly mis-hires with a test run. Many locum tenens providers seek permanent positions. Locums to perm can be one way to see if a provider is a match without making a costly permanent hiring mistake.
- Invest in provider satisfaction. Providing locums relief for overworked permanent providers can help ensure providers get the rest they need – keeping them onboard, healthy and happy.
- Use locums to boost patient satisfaction. Patients are more satisfied when they can get appointments quickly and don’t have long to wait once they’ve arrived. Facilities can use locum tenens support to help ensure services run smoothly and patients remain happy and loyal.
- Ensure access to specialists your patients need. Avoid losing patients if you haven’t specialists on hand. There are providers in every specialty willing to take locums assignments.
- Get professionals who are eager to work in hard-to-fill locations. Rely on a locums partner for a pool of providers who are willing and able to travel to rural areas.
- Maximize reimbursements for locum tenens services. Ensure your facility is correctly billing Medicare, Medicaid and private payors for locum tenens providers – based on whether they provide replacement or supplementary services.
- Streamline services and optimize staffing with the help of a locum tenens partner you can trust. Turn to a team of experts who specialize in strategically fulfilling healthcare workforce needs.
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