Last week, our COO Jed Rudd attended the Fall Fly In for NALTO (National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations). In addition to winning the big conference giveaway, Jed came away with significant insights about the future of healthcare staffing. Here’s what we learned…
Shortages and Industry Growth: Staffing Forecast
More staffing shortages loom on the horizon – making locums solutions more valuable than ever. Because Tribal nation facilities normally experience greater shortages than other regions, we’ll likely see a rise in demand.
Travel nursing exploded during the COVID era while the locums industry has had smaller growth. But it’s clear the old idea of locums as a “necessary evil” is outdated, with more facilities and providers recognizing – and depending on – its value.
If you were wondering, the most utilized specialties across the locums field are:
- Hospitalist
- OB
- Anesthesia
- Internal Medicine – Gastroenterology (we’re not sure why they combined those two)
- General surgery
These aren’t common specialties for Tribal Health, but they do represent a future direction where we’re likely to grow.
Where is Healthcare Staffing Going?
Crystal ball time: these are the developments predicted for the next few years.
- Vendor Management Systems (VMS) and Managed Service Providers (MPS) will continue to grow. Will that be the case in the Tribal facilities we serve? Probably not as much but other facilities will likely see those trends.
- More providers will try their hand at locums. We’re already seeing a rising number of providers searching for ways to take control of their destiny as opposed to becoming a cog in the wheel of corporate medicine. So it makes sense that locums looks increasingly attractive to them.
- Locums provider organizations (like us) will likely become greater partners to hospital/clinic administrations as they budget and plan for staffing.
From a legislative perspective, some states are looking to limit pay rates – primarily in nursing and skilled nursing areas and in states with strong Medicaid programs such as Oregon, New York, and other Northeast states. Federal legislation is being proposed to keep physicians and APCs from forced employment, countering the AB 5 model in California.
As leaders in our space, we’re committed to developing local advocacy for our field. This is another way to ensure we stay flexible and versatile in meeting the needs of both our healthcare team and our clients.
Working Toward A Stronger Future Together
As far as our place in the evolving world of healthcare staffing – Tribal Health continues to be unique in our mission, commitment, and services. That’s an advantage and so is this: the innovative skills and ideas some of us bring from other industry backgrounds. Yes, we have staffing veterans on our team, and we’re always studying best practices and refining our operations. But the breadth of experience we contribute is one reason we deliver such a fresh and compelling approach to our client facilities.
One last prediction. Tribal Health is positioned for a strong and successful future. We’ve been growing fast and we’re on track to continue our expansion in 2024. From our talented providers to our operational leadership, we’ve built a reputation for exceptional patient care and practice management. But what you might not realize is how nimble we are in accommodating shifting facility needs. Our versatile bench of clinical talent and consulting solutions is designed to bring facilities into a more innovative future. If you’re ready to start building that future, we’re ready to help.
