LocumLife - March 2009 - (Page 12) Economy watch The Participants Tim Boes joined Staff Care as president in October 2008. He brings to the Irving, Texas, company more than 25 years of experience working in the private and public sectors of the healthcare industry. Al Bryant has been the marketing consultant for Delta Locum Tenens, a staffing company located in Dallas, Texas, for the past year. He has been involved in the locum tenens industry since 2001. Chris Cain is an account executive for Solvere Inc., based in San Clemente, California. He started with the locum tenens company 4½ years ago as a physician recruiter and has placed specialists of all kinds. Dana Sirstins has committed her professional endeavors to Salt Lake City, Utah-based CompHealth for the past decade. She currently acts as a locum tenens staffing consultant. many physicians have determined the headaches of running their own practices have become too much of a burden, so they shut them down and practice locum tenens full-time. TB: We are seeing some increase in moonlighting from physicians in mid-career who are looking to try out new things without the expense of moving away. Also, some providers who have practiced locum tenens for years and were thinking of retiring have reconsidered and continue to accept opportunities. HOW HAS THE ECONOMY AFFECTED PAY RATES? CC: With increased competition for available positions, locum tenens physicians have less time to consider an opportunity and negotiate the best contractual terms. Overall, this has led to some contracts priced at or below previous ones. We have seen a steady price point for our locum tenens physicians, and we are starting to see our current contracts hold their prior years’ pricing. We are viewing the recent economic changes and the impact on the market as one of basic supply and demand. Those contracts that are highly sought are starting to see some price/pay erosion, where the hard to recruit/staff locations maintain a strong value for locum tenens physicians. TB: The pay rate is dependent on the client’s and provider’s situations. But with today’s financial strains, it behooves staffing companies to have more flexibility when necessary. There is extra pressure on everyone, and we have found ourselves trying to balance what physicians are willing to accept and what clients are willing to pay, but we and our industry continue to be recognized for the value we provide through rates and compensation. AB: In my experience, rates have not decreased or leveled off. They continue to increase throughout the country. HAS THE MIXTURE OF CONTRACTING FACILITIES CHANGED? DS: I would say about 85% to 90% of our opportunities continue to be hospital-based. The settings that are feeling the budget crunch at the moment are those tied to specific elements of healthcare, such as occupational workplace clinics and ambulatory surgical centers that do a majority of elective surgeries. In those instances, we are actually receiving inquiries from displaced physicians who now are looking into locum tenens contracts. CC: Yes, we have seen some serious shifts in how patients are choosing to be seen and/or treated. For the past several years, with the increase in elective and www.LocumLife.com ARE SOME AGE GROUPS TURNING TO LOCUM TENENS MORE THAN OTHERS? DS: More retired and semi-retired physicians have expressed an interest in returning to practice or delaying retirement due to declines in their investment portfolios. We also get calls from those who wish to use locum tenens contracts during vacations to supplement their incomes. Or, physicians may dedicate 3 or 4 days a week to their own practices, but want to fill in another 1 or 2 days with local locum tenens opportunities. Many of them agree to the extra shifts as a means to fund their children’s college education. AB: It really seems to be happening across the age spectrum. People of all ages have watched their investment portfolios drop in value. In addition, 12 LocumLife MARCH 2009 http://www.LocumLife.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.