Using Locums to Drive Hospital Revenue: 5 Tips

Using Locums to Drive Hospital Revenue: 5 Tips

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UrologyLocums.com understands that the healthcare labor shortage, coupled with increased demand for urologists, has made it challenging for healthcare facilities to optimize service line revenue. Hospitals and medical facilities are now allocating a higher percentage of their budget to temporary staffing to recoup lost dollars. Strategically leveraging locum tenens urologists can directly increase the volume of patient visits and procedures a healthcare facility can offer, regaining potential lost revenue.

The healthcare revenue challenges are rooted in patient backlogs and labor shortages. Many hospitals haven't fully recovered from the suspension of elective procedures, resulting in US hospitals losing between $16.3 to $17.7 billion per month in revenue, totaling almost $200 billion annually. In addition, margin projections were down 37% compared to pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2022, according to Kaufman Hall research. Patient backlogs and physician shortages, estimated to reach 124,000 urologists by 2033, have continued to delay care and negatively impact hospital revenue. Medical facilities have wrestled with staff shortages for several years, and to add to the pressure, in December, there was a quit rate of 2.7% in the healthcare sector.

Incorporating a flexible workforce into your healthcare facility’s staffing strategy can quickly help regain unclaimed revenue. Demand for locum tenens urologists has been high, with the locum tenens market projected to experience year-over-year growth of 7% in 2023, according to data from SIA.

Locum tenens can help hospitals and health systems offset revenue challenges in the following ways:

1. Fill Urologist Vacancies Quickly

Temporary staffing offers a more flexible solution than permanent hiring. Permanent hiring takes time; UrologyLocums.com can credential and onboard a skilled urologist in as little as 30 days. UrologyLocums.com goes beyond just providing locum tenens urologists. We take the time to connect you with the right locum tenens, ensuring each urologist is a great cultural fit and a seamless extension of your team. We also conduct an extensive vetting process to confirm they have the qualifications needed to help you advance your strategic initiatives. Patient volumes vary, and locum tenens offers a quick and flexible way to make sure your community has access to the care they need, and you are able to capitalize on revenue opportunities.

2. Increase Procedure Utilization to Generate Revenue

With locum tenens, you can increase the volume of revenue-generating procedures during periods of high demand. The amount of revenue urologists drive to a healthcare facility can vary across specialties. Locum tenens urologists can offer an immediate increase in the volume of high-value procedures your healthcare facility can perform. In addition, locum tenens ensures your team is equipped with a broad range of medical specialties to ensure all service lines are optimized with the right mix of talent.

3. Combat Urologist Burnout with Locum Tenens

Locum tenens are a great resource for supplementing and supporting your permanent healthcare professionals, easing their workloads and boosting employee satisfaction scores. Temporary staff can help keep hiring and onboarding costs down and also enables a healthcare facility to deliver high-quality care and service. In a time when urologists are so difficult to recruit, keeping your existing urology team happy is paramount for retention.

4. Increase Patient Satisfaction Scores and Referrals

Ensuring your patients have access to the healthcare services they need is critical to retention and referrals. By reducing and offsetting the workload for full-time staff, your medical facility can deliver a premium level of care and service to new and existing patients. Quickly gain the resources you need for your community through leveraging strategic staffing partnerships with UrologyLocums.com. As a result, the service you offer leads to stronger patient satisfaction rates and more referrals.

5. Achieve Strategic Objectives & Increase Revenue

UrologyLocums.com helps you achieve strategic goals and objectives by creating custom staffing projects that align with your unique needs. UrologyLocums.com can help your medical facility expand or launch new urology service lines or even transition your program from an outsourced to employed model. We help your medical facility capture additional revenue while achieving strategic objectives that lead to long-term success.

​As your strategic staffing partner, UrologyLocums.com locum tenens is responsible for filling all required shifts with quality urologists while ensuring continuity of patient care and maximizing revenue generation.

UrologyLocums.com provides complete support for maximizing collections, reducing long-term locum tenens spending, and ultimately increasing revenue for your medical facility.

To learn more about how we can help recover unclaimed revenue at your hospital or medical facility, contact us today.