For a reality check on how the nation is progressing through the COVID-19 pandemic, just look at the demand for healthcare. For almost a year and a half, providers have been on the frontlines, working long, arduous hours to keep up with patient demand. Across hospitals, facilities, and vaccination hubs, locum tenens healthcare workers stepped in to help alleviate physician burnout, fill in staffing gaps, and do whatever it took to meet the needs of the community.
Now that we’re nearing the end of the pandemic, we see the nation’s healthcare demands are once again changing. Elective surgeries, medical procedures, and doctor’s visits are on the rebound. And as we look at the first quarter of this year and beyond, we see the demand for locums providers is growing too.
Locum Tenens Industry Snapshot
Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) reports that temporary staffing revenue increased by a median of 14% from March 2020 to March 2021, and healthcare positions saw the largest jump. SIA’s findings show a 21% year-over-year growth in allied healthcare staffing, while allied nurse staffing saw a 100% spike in demand.
At Consilium Staffing, our results reflect these trends — and then some. For example, our firm saw 15% days filled growth and a record 15% to 20% revenue increase in March — a definite record for the company. We expect the numbers to continue for the next quarter, which says much about the state of locums demand.
Changing Dynamics
As the pandemic gripped our world, the U.S. saw skyrocketing demand for certain specialists, such pulmonologists, hospitalists, emergency care physicians, and primary care physicians, while other specialties, such as surgery and anesthesiology, took a back seat. But now that vaccinations are rolling out and elective surgeries are on the rise, those specialities are now among those in demand. At Consilium, we see the national trends aligning with our client needs too. Our anesthesiology, behavioral health, and primary care divisions had a record-setting month in March, besting previous records by more than 10% in both days filled and revenue.
The Work Continues
As staffing shortages and budget cuts continue, many hospital administrators have had to be ultra-selective about their locum tenens solutions, prioritizing the greatest patient needs over the most pressing facility wants. Firms like Consilium will continue to be a part of the healthcare solution — representing locums providers who are ready to work when hospitals need them. Our team is steadfast in our belief that what we do matters and our teams have doubled down to work harder to ensure we’re doing all we can to meet the needs of our clients during this time. Our locum tenens providers let us know our approach is a good one, scoring us high in the ClearlyRated benchmarks. Specifically, Consilium received a Net Promoter® Score of 59.8% — an amount that’s three times the industry average of 18% in 2020.
We’re humbled by the recognition, and the positivity only fuels our cause even further. We expect the next quarter to see even greater demand for locum assignments – and our team will be ready to find the right providers.
