Locate a Physician on Your Own? Or Through a Locum Tenens Firm?

One of your internists has informed you that he or she will be taking a six week sabbatical. Ideally, you would like to find a physician to provide temporary coverage on your own, but you're not sure where to begin or what all the process entails. Frankly, it's quite involved!

First comes the easy part: determine the timeframe for which you will need coverage and the call schedule.

Next, identify and locate physicians who meet your skill and procedure requirements and contact them to determine their interest and availability. Even though the number of locum tenens physicians is increasing, do you know how and where to find them? Other physicians in your group may have colleagues they can contact to get the word out, but if that is unsuccessful, you will need to begin cold calling physicians. You will need to describe the opportunity, answer questions from the prospective candidates and be prepared to ask pertinent questions about any possible licensing issues or any history of malpractice.

At the point you have identified a locum physician candidate, it is necessary to conduct further due diligence, which is also quite involved. Completing due diligence means you:

Verify all state licenses and DEA information
Verify medical school and training
Obtain references and background checks
Obtain National Practitioner Data Bank Report
Determine any Medicare or Medicaid eligibility issues
Verify eligibility for and obtain malpractice insurance

After due diligence is completed, you will need to make the necessary arrangements for air travel, lodging and a rental car if the physician is from out of town. You will also need to complete and process the myriad of paperwork to temporarily add the physician to your payroll system.

As you can see, identifying, getting a commitment from, verifying and making arrangements for locum tenens physicians involves detailed, time sensitive and time consuming tasks. Do you have adequate time or resources to identify and contact, screen and conduct comprehensive interviews with the number of physicians it might take to find even ONE who meets your criteria AND is available when you need them? And to then accomplish everything else that needs to be done?

If not, it is good to know that locum tenens firms have staff members whose only responsibility is to complete this entire process in a timely manner. In fact, they do this day in and day out, and you can set the entire process in motion with just one phone call.

Developing a good working relationship with a locum tenens firm that has high ethical standards can be a huge benefit to an organization. Reputable locum tenens firms already have a pool of physicians with a variety of experience, training and skills. They will compile all the documentation for you along with written and verbal references attesting to the physician's clinical skills, clinical knowledge, staff and patient rapport and work ethic. They will conduct the due diligence and handle all the details, and present to you only those physicians who meet your requirements. Plus, they pay the physician directly.

The next time you have a physician away for vacation, CME or a sabbatical, save your valuable time by contacting a locum tenens firm to provide the necessary coverage. Please contact us to learn how we can assist you in providing the right locum tenens physician(s) for your needs.

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