LocumLife - March 2009 - (Page 14) Economy watch Changes in the marketplace Up to a 6-week delay in credentialing for government contracts. A decrease in contracts in the parts of the West, Florida, and Missouri. A surplus of opportunities in Pennsylvania and Oregon. More chances to extend contracts at rural facilities. Greater demand for emergency medicine physicians, hospitalists, pulmonary specialists, critical care providers, and primary care practitioners, particularly those in internal medicine. A switch from physicians to mid-level providers, especially in rural areas. More long-term opportunities available. An increase in requests for repeat contracts. would likely exist for those who are willing to reverse that trend. Rural areas continue to have the highest demand. CC: That is true—I am seeing an increase in requests for rural settings from clients who have not thought of using locum tenens services in the past. However, the hardest hit markets, from our perspective, are in the western states of California, Colorado, Arizona, Washington, and Nevada. These states are dealing with serious financial issues. Although the locum tenens market has not been directly impacted yet, there are concerns expressed by individuals being asked to commit to long-term opportunities in a region, state, or city that is experiencing financial turmoil. If hospitals, clinics, or practices in these areas are forced to close or reduce their staffing ratios due to a lack of patients and financial funds, that will affect the availability of contracts. DS: Also, there are limited opportunities in Florida and Missouri, but many exist in Pennsylvania and Oregon. We are discovering that most rural facilities are trying to keep their temporary physicians in place by extending contracts on either a part- or full-time basis. Interested? Circle #611 or go to www.locumlife.com/readerservice Interested? Circle #606 or go to www.locumlife.com/readerservice 14 LocumLife MARCH 2009 www.LocumLife.com http://www.vistastaff.com/physicians/blog http://www.vistastaff.com http://www.maximphysicians.com/locumlife http://www.vistastaff.com http://www.maximphysicians.com/locumlife http://www.locumlife.com/readerservice http://www.locumlife.com/readerservice 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.