The number of physicians taking short-term locum tenens assignments has increased by 88 percent since 2015, according to the CHG Healthcare 2023 "State of Locum Tenens Report."
The report, which was published March 22, found approximately 7 percent of the available physician population has taken at least one locum tenens assignment in the past year by filling in vacant positions in healthcare facilities until a full-time provider can take their place.
The largest group of locum tenens physicians are those over the age of 45, with 59 percent of physicians with locum tenens experience reporting they took their first short-term assignment 10 years after their medical training.
Short-term physicians continue to be in high demand in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 82 percent of the surveyed healthcare organizations that reported using locum tenens saying they anticipate their use to remain constant or increase in the future.
The report also found that 43 percent of physicians who work in locum tenens assignments do so full time, up from 30 percent in 2019. In addition, 71 percent of physicians reported having a very or somewhat positive impression of locum tenens.