With another year drawing to a close, the downtime afforded by the holiday season is a fine time to take stock of the locum tenens industry’s journey in 2022. For our part, this year Locumpedia expanded, evolved, and explored new landscapes, launched new products, and forged friendships at industry events.
As any astute observer knows by now, the locum tenens industry experienced boom times in 2022. Staffing Industry Analysts’ US Staffing Industry report estimates that locum tenens industry revenue reached an astounding $4.7 billion this year, up 7% over 2021.
Likewise, locum tenens was the only healthcare segment that SIA projected to increase this year. As a result, both locum providers and the facilities they served experienced exponential growth. According to an AMN survey, about 90% of healthcare facilities used locum tenens physicians and advanced practice providers to fill staffing gaps this year.
The need for locum tenens providers to address staffing shortages didn’t stop there. Locum tenens was primarily used by hospitals, medical groups, and other healthcare facilities as a way to search for permanent staff. However, 25% of locum providers were used to meet patient demand and 13% to address provider burnout, which has spiked as a result of the pandemic.
The business of locum tenens experienced a magnitude of growth this year that can be keenly felt by industry leaders and by Locumpedia. Join us as we look back on what Locumpedia experienced in 2022.
For Locumpedia, 2022 was a year marked by milestones.
In February, we launched the first truly free locum tenens physician job board for staffing agencies at the annual NALTO/NAPR Conference in February in Las Vegas. During our first annual conference visit, we had the opportunity to explain our vision to dozens of industry leaders. And – psst! – in case you haven’t heard, Locumpedia Board is the only free locum tenens job board that isn’t owned by a staffing agency. Within a few short months, our board went from zero to 15 employer members and over 4,000 job postings.
Soon after in May, Locumpedia highlighted locum tenens provider Dr. Stephanie Freeman, who launched the first physician-led summit for providers wanting to jumpstart their locum tenens career in addition to the first association for locum tenens providers, called the National Association of Locum and Independent Physicians (NALIP).
In June, we debuted our provider news digest, Locums CME, which serves as “continuing medical education” news for locum providers, and is the physician-focused equivalent to our Locums Digest series that mainly covers topics of interest to the agency and employer audiences.
With the midterm election season underway, NALTO and its lobbying firm took to Capitol Hill to amplify industry voices across the country by promoting HR 7881 (more on that below) and by lobbying against the PRO Act, which ultimately did not pass in 2022, much to the relief of the industry. The PRO Act, as passed by the United States House of Representatives in 2021, would have changed the locum tenens industry overnight. Had the bill passed the US Senate, many locum tenens providers likely would have ceased providing clinical services to hospitals and other healthcare facilities nationwide.
Locumpedia Flies Higher
In late September, Locumpedia exhibited at the 2022 NALTO Fall Fly-in in Denver. Two years after launching our site in mid-2020 (somewhat prematurely due to Covid-19), this was our time having an exhibitor booth. We greatly enjoyed reconnecting with industry leaders and vendors over the two-day conference while telling our story as the first locum tenens industry platform to anyone who would listen! According to NALTO, this Fly-In was the most attended in the event’s history. A large percentage of attendees were new members, underscoring the industry’s impressive growth this year.
In conjunction with the Fly-In, Locumpedia launched its advertising program, the only such program that caters exclusively to the locum tenens industry. Our program allows advertisers to showcase their businesses to thousands of highly qualified buyers, sellers, and providers of locum tenens services who visit our site each month. To learn more about our advertising opportunities, request a media kit.
On the tradeshow floor, we had what you might call a business epiphany. Several new NALTO member agencies asked if we would be willing to impart some of our 22 years of experience in locum tenens marketing to their fledgling locums agencies. We always aim to please, so in October, we launched Locumpedia Services — affordable managed marketing services for businesses that serve the locum tenens industry, including staffing firms, service providers, and more. As we like to say, “you manage your sales team, and let our expert professionals manage your marketing.” Hit us up if you’re interested in elevating your marketing results.
November was another big month for Locumpedia.
Like NALTO, Locumpedia serves as a resource for the industry by advocating for the rights of locum tenens providers and staffing firms. In November, we helped raise awareness of NALTO’s ongoing lobbying efforts to promote the industry in Washington, DC, with the publication of our story about the Health Care Provider Shortage Minimization Act (HR 7881). The act, which recently gained bi-partisan support, would clarify and codify the treatment of locum tenens physicians and advanced practitioners as independent contractors for tax and legal purposes.
Also in November, we launched our first annual Locum Tenens Providers of the Year award campaign, which recognizes the heroic providers who went above and beyond the call of duty in 2022. If your agency worked with an exceptional provider this year, nominate them by January 13, 2023.
And now — you are here!
As the only dedicated news source for the locum tenens industry, Locumpedia had a unique vantage point that enabled us to provide valuable insights for participants in the locum tenens industry.
In the past 12 months, Locumpedia published a total of 43 news stories across five news departments: Feature Stories, Locums Digest, Locums CME, Locums Briefs, and Locum Profiles.
Below is a breakdown showing the number of stories published in each news department:
These eight themes dominated our news coverage in 2022:
- Physician burnout, which accelerated to unhealthy levels as the pandemic entered its third year
- Healthcare staffing shortages induced by burnout and increased demand for medical care
- COVID-19 and its continuing effect on hospital staffing and finances
- Locums agency leadership changes
- Staffing agency acquisitions and consolidation
- How locum tenens is becoming more accepted and seen as a strategic advantage
- NALTO’s leadership changes and lobbying campaigns to protect the locum tenens industry
- Healthcare technology and its transformative effect on healthcare delivery
Our 10 most-loved locum stories in 2022
In 2022, the stories that resonated with our readers spanned major healthcare staffing industry trends, consequential legislation, staffing agency rankings, and a new association and conference for locum tenens physicians.
Our top 10 stories consisted of four Locums Briefs, three Locums Digests, one Locums CME, one Locum Profile, and one Feature Story. Without further ado, these were our top 10 stories of the year based on the number of pageviews.
Let’s look through the lens of what 2023 holds for Locumpedia and for the industry.
While no one has a crystal ball, we expect these new trends to continue next year, in addition to the major themes we covered in 2022: increased investment in healthcare staff satisfaction, a focus on how policies and regulations could impact provider well-being and healthcare, and a potential revenue decline for allied healthcare.
As 2023 approaches, we will continue to chronicle the ongoing evolution and growth of the locum tenens industry while building a viable business that benefits all industry participants.
Here are our top 7 business goals for 2023:
- Strengthen our staffing agency ties at the 2023 NALTO/NAPR conference
- Double our locum tenens news coverage
- Expand Locumpedia Directory to include physician-focused resources
- Quintuple candidate CVs and triple job postings on Locumpedia Board
- Forge new strategic partnerships with complementary organizations
- Launch our “agency in a box” managed marketing platform (what’s this, you ask? Stay tuned!)
- Debut our unique market research program for the locum tenens industry
What was your top locums moment of the year?
But enough about us! We want to know about your most memorable industry moment in 2022.
Maybe it attending the first NALTO conference in two years, or a provider who made a difference in your life, or an important company achievement.
Whatever it was, we would love to hear about it. To share your favorite locums moment on LinkedIn or Twitter, include the hashtag #2022LocumLights with your story.
And that’s all, folks! Thank you for being a part of Locumpedia’s story. We’re proud to serve you as you serve providers who care for our friends and family. Here’s to another great year in 2023!
