HWL Insights

The demand and costs for locum tenens providers is continually on the rise. With the increasing demand for healthcare and diminishing supply of providers across the healthcare community, the need for flexible staffing solutions has organizations across the US turning to Vendor Management Systems (VMS) and Managed Service Providers (MSP) to streamline their operations and ensure quality coverage. Once only for the travelling nurse community, a well-chosen VMS/MSP can efficiently manage locums staffing needs, reducing the stress and cost of using locums.

The effectiveness of how you manage your contingent workforce is as important a job as there is in healthcare leadership today.  With the rise of the gig economy and the increasing reliance on temporary workforce solutions, businesses are turning to Vendor Management Systems (VMS) and Managed Service Providers (MSP) to streamline their contingent workforce processes. However, amidst the myriad of options available, decision-makers must prioritize three key factors: Consistency, Centralization, and Configurability, often referred to as "The 3 C's".

The primary concern for organizations globally lies in the realm of workforce challenges, and this is evident across various sectors. Nowhere are these challenges more pronounced than in healthcare, with continuous shortages of providers of all types.

HWL executives, Jeff Niles, Executive Vice President, and Tommy Binner, Vice President, hosted the Becker’s Healthcare Webinar, How Hospitals Can Get an Upper Hand on Contract Staffing, that discusses the distinctions between vendor-neutral Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and master agency MSPs, highlighting the advantages of partnering with a non-agency staffing provider. The HWL leaders were joined by Maxine Briggs, CFO, Samaritan Health, and Meghan Fay-McCaffrey, Network Director Physician Services, UVMHN Medical Group, as they explained how the vendor-neutral MSP model has impacted their organizations for the better.

Healthcare recruitment strategies have shifted dramatically over the past few years, with a heavier emphasis on retaining key talent. This has manifested in a number of ways — relying on contingent staff to fill gaps and give full-time staff a break, implementing measures to improve work-life balance, and more. Since these changes have been driven by external factors such as new technologies, demographic shifts, and more, it has been up to each individual healthcare organization to decide how to invest in creative ways to attract talent.