Editor’s Note
Tension across staffing is coming from more than one direction, and this edition of Locums Digest looks at how those forces are starting to overlap. The lead story examines why more physicians are leaving clinical roles, and how retention challenges can quickly become access and coverage constraints for healthcare organizations. Experienced clinicians stepping away can affect scheduling, recruiting, and patient flow at the same time.
Several stories focus on how healthcare employers are responding with more deliberate workforce planning. Faster hiring processes, stronger onboarding, flexible coverage models, and better use of locum tenens agency partners all become more important when shortages deepen or retirements accelerate. In specialties such as cardiology and infectious disease, facilities are also rethinking how to maintain access when permanent supply remains tight.
At the same time, leadership discipline is becoming more important as technology and regulation continue to shift. Executive appointments tied to AI and workforce platforms, renewed scrutiny of noncompetes, and stronger attention to physician burnout all point to a market that’s still evolving. The organizations best positioned for what comes next will be the ones that stay adaptable, move early, and solve problems before they become vacancies.
– The Locumpedia Editorial Team
Lead Story
The Unexpected Reasons Driving Physician Turnover
April 21, 2026 | Medical Economics
Burnout is only part of why more doctors are leaving clinical roles. A large study tracking more than 712,000 physicians found attrition rising across specialties, regions, and demographic groups. With projected shortages reaching as high as 86,000 by 2036, retention pressures carry growing operational consequences.
What pushes clinicians out often sounds solvable, but it’s difficult to fix at scale. One study found 34% of physicians do not feel heard by organizational leadership, while another tied loss of autonomy to stronger intent to leave. After-hours inbox work and documentation burdens also continue stretching the workday beyond scheduled hours.
Some facilities are responding with both short- and long-term strategies. Locum tenens and other flexible coverage models, such as internal float pools, can help maintain access when vacancies open. Others are investing in leadership development, culture, and workflow changes that have already reduced turnover and burnout.
La Vida Locum
An Inside Look at the Cardiology Workforce: Shortages, Demand, and Strategic Responses
April 9, 2026 | Medicus Healthcare Solutions
Keeping cardiology roles filled is becoming harder as demand rises and the workforce ages. By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans is projected to be 65 or older, while nearly half of US adults already live with some form of cardiovascular disease. It’s a combination that may mean higher patient volumes, more complex cases, and added strain on timely access to care.
Open positions can disrupt schedules, slow patient flow, and create financial pressure for hospitals. Many organizations are responding by expanding APP utilization and using locum tenens cardiologists to stabilize care while permanent searches continue. Faster hiring and more flexible staffing models may become increasingly important as shortages worsen.
80% of US Counties Have No Infectious Disease Physician. Here’s How Hospital Medicine Teams Are Adapting
April 6, 2026 | LocumTenens.com
Infectious disease staffing gaps are forcing many hospitals to rethink specialty access. The article notes that 80% of US counties have no infectious disease physician, while the specialty makes up less than 1% of the physician workforce. That leaves many hospitalists and ICU teams managing sepsis, resistant infections, and antibiotic stewardship with limited on-site specialist support.
Tele-ID programs are becoming a more common answer, with growing evidence tied to stronger stewardship and reduced antibiotic overuse. Even so, weak fellowship fill rates continue limiting the future supply of specialists. Coverage may increasingly mean rapid access to ID expertise rather than filling a traditional on-site role.
Reducing Time-to-Fill in Critical Specialties
March 8, 2026 | Concord Physicians
Filling critical specialty openings often comes down to speed, and delays rarely start where people think. Many searches lose time to unclear requirements, slow decisions, credentialing steps, and schedule coordination before a clinician ever starts. When the specialty is already scarce, every extra day can narrow the candidate pool.
Locum tenens can help when facilities run permanent searches and short-term coverage at the same time. Clear timelines, defined expectations, and faster communication can keep shifts staffed while longer hiring decisions move forward. Organizations that reduce administrative delays are often the ones that shorten time to fill without disrupting service lines.
Locum Leaders
- In her first interview as NALTO President, Liz Hale says stronger trust, higher standards, and tech that supports relationships rather than replaces them will help shape the future of the locum tenens industry.
- Cross Country names Chris Tyrell CIO and Darrick Sogabe Chief Product Officer as it expands AI, platform, and workforce technology strategy.
- As hospitals seek smarter ways to manage workforce costs and staffing complexity, Ringo adds healthcare executive Joe Moscola as its Healthcare Workforce Advisor.
Hire Power
7 Ways CHROs Can Strengthen Physician Retention and Engagement
April 21, 2026 | CHG Healthcare
Physician retention is increasingly being treated as a workforce strategy issue, not just an HR concern. Losing a single physician can cost up to $1 million, while those who are engaged may be significantly more productive than disengaged peers. This makes retention, onboarding, and engagement decisions increasingly relevant to both care access and financial performance.
Several themes stand out, including clearer communication from leadership, stronger physician voice in decision-making, flexible staffing models, and more effective onboarding. Wellness, recognition, and career development also remain important drivers of loyalty. Organizations that address these areas proactively may be better positioned to stabilize staffing and reduce costly turnover.
Ways to Address the Expanding Healthcare Staffing Shortage
April 21, 2026 | Health Exec
A recent Health Exec video interview framed workforce shortages as a problem driven by more than clinician supply alone. Citing the American Medical Group Association, the conversation pointed to economic pressure, policy uncertainty, and support-staff gaps adding strain across organizations. Many employers are feeling the effects in both patient-facing and operational roles.
Training bottlenecks and reimbursement pressure are also limiting how quickly capacity can be rebuilt. Health systems may need staffing plans that connect provider coverage with scheduling, access, and day-to-day operations. More durable solutions may depend on stronger pipelines, steadier policy, and flexible staffing models across departments.
How Workforce Demographics and Retirement Trends Impact Your Staffing Strategy
April 21, 2026 | ConnectHealth
Retirements are becoming a current staffing challenge, not a distant one. As experienced clinicians leave the workforce, facilities can lose both headcount and the operational knowledge that keeps teams running smoothly. Replacing talent is only part of the equation when experience walks out the door as well.
Younger generations are entering healthcare, but transitions still need planning and support. Locum providers can help maintain coverage while permanent teams rebuild and new hires ramp up. Hospitals and other healthcare organizations that treat retirements as a predictable workforce cycle may be better positioned than those reacting one vacancy at a time.
Making the Rounds
Physician Burnout Falls for Third Year in 2025 to 42%, AMA Data Shows
April 20, 2026 | Fierce Healthcare
Burnout is still high, but the trend line finally has some relief. Fierce Healthcare reports that 42% of physicians said they experienced at least one symptom of burnout in 2025, down from 43% in 2024 and 48% in 2023, according to AMA findings. It also notes stress levels eased, and it calls out wide variation by specialty, with infectious diseases among the lowest burnout rates in the data cited.
No one should mistake lower rates for a solved problem. A 42% burnout rate still creates retention pressure, productivity drag, and uneven coverage risk across specialties. Healthcare employers may see more value in targeted workflow fixes where stress remains highest than in broad wellness efforts with limited operational effect. Agencies should also watch whether stronger staffing support shifts demand from emergency coverage toward more planned locum models.
AI May Be Approaching a New Phase in Healthcare, on Two Fronts
April 24, 2026 | Healthcare IT News
AI in healthcare may be entering a more practical phase, with physicians increasingly able to build custom workflow tools using newer coding assistants. These tools could speed innovation around documentation, patient communication, and administrative tasks inside health systems. It also raises new questions about governance, engineering oversight, and how internally built tools should be reviewed before wider use.
At the same time, AI is accelerating cybersecurity pressure for healthcare IT leaders. Security groups are urging organizations to strengthen asset management, code review, and response planning as AI-driven vulnerability discovery advances. For employers and staffing firms alike, the larger message is that AI readiness now includes both productivity gains and stronger operational defenses.
The Practice Quietly ‘Holding Back’ the US Workforce: Viewpoint
April 21, 2026 | Becker’s Physician Leadership
Noncompetes are drawing renewed attention as states continue setting their own rules while a national federal ban appears unlikely. Becker’s Physician Leadership cites research suggesting these agreements can limit mobility, wage growth, and labor market flexibility. It also highlights physician-specific findings from Minnesota after that state barred noncompetes in 2023.
That matters in locum tenens because restrictive clauses can narrow candidate movement and slow urgent coverage starts. Multi-state staffing strategies may also face more contract variation as state laws continue to diverge. Facilities and locum agencies that keep terms clear, compliant, and easier to navigate may reduce friction in recruiting and placement.
