There’s a looming shortage of medical professionals in the United States and the issue is widespread across specialties. According to projections by the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), the country will be short over 87,000 primary care physicians, nearly 10,000 OB-GYNs, around 12,000 dentists, and almost 80,000 psychologists in 2037. For many healthcare facilities, planning for this reality is paramount—for others, the issue is already making waves. Regardless of the situation you find yourself currently, it’s critical to have medical staffing solutions on-hand. In this article, we’re diving deep into the four key qualities you should look for in medical staffing agencies and explaining how locum tenens providers can help you ensure continuity of patient care.
Why partner with a medical staffing agency?
Simply put, hospitals, clinics, private practices, and other healthcare facilities and organizations dealing with staffing challenges often turn to healthcare staffing agencies to streamline and expedite the provider recruitment process. The idea is that working with a medical staffing agency reduces the time you’ll spend on all the red tape that goes along with bringing on a new provider—which can in turn save you money in the long run.
Locum tenens agencies like Barton Associates offer crucial benefits to healthcare facilities facing staffing shortages. They provide qualified temporary providers to maintain continuous patient care, reduce staff burnout, and preserve revenue. These agencies handle credentialing, licensing, and travel logistics, saving facilities time and resources. This allows healthcare organizations to focus on patient care while ensuring they have the necessary medical expertise to meet varying demands and maintain quality services.
4 Key Qualities of Top Medical Staffing Agencies
If you think your facility can benefit from partnering with a medical staffing solutions partner, such as a locum tenens agency like Barton, there are a few key qualities that separate the best medical staffing agencies from the rest of the pack:
1. Large Network of Providers & Geographical Reach
When you need providers quickly, it’s important to partner with medical staffing agencies that have an extensive network of qualified providers that are ready and willing to travel on a moment’s notice. The best healthcare staffing agencies not only build, but maintain, a diverse database of providers so that they’re able to meet your needs fast.
At Barton, we place great importance on proactively recruiting qualified locum tenens physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), dentists, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). That means we don’t simply react to your needs—we actively anticipate client demand and work hard to ensure there are providers in our network that can fill roles. For two decades, we’ve leaned into this proactive approach to recruiting, which has enabled us with speed, agility, and efficiency that our clients have come to expect.
Not to mention, Barton Associates has the experience and size needed to staff providers of more than 100 specialties in all 50 states, and most U.S. territories.
2. Travel, Licensing, & Credentialing Assistance
As a healthcare facility, you’re focused on making sure units are staffed and your patients get the care they need. That’s why the best medical staffing agencies will take the reins and handle all of the onboarding, from ensuring that providers you take on have lodging and transportation, to helping them get the state medical licenses they need, to working directly with your facility’s credentialing department to get the provider in fast.
Barton Associates offers all three of these key benefits. Our travel team works diligently with providers to coordinate hotels, transportation, and other lodging details for the duration of their assignment. Barton’s credentialing team works closely with clients across the United States, giving them the experience they need to make sure the provider is ready to start on their first day. Finally, our licensing team works to ensure provider licenses are in good standing, and they can even work to obtain a new license for a provider in a state they haven’t worked before.
3. Comprehensive Quality Assurance
If you’re taking on medical providers, you want to make sure they have the experience and qualifications your patients deserve. The best medical staffing agencies ensure that every candidate that comes across your desk has been properly vetted so you don’t have to worry about whether they’ll be a good fit.
Our risk department and quality assurance team conducts a thorough evaluation of all providers, as well as a pre-approval process, before disclosing provider information to a client so that we may present accurate and complete information for client consideration. This includes a risk assessment evaluation, clinical reference checks, office of inspector general searches, license verification, and medical malpractice and disciplinary actions reviews.
In addition, Barton Associates locum tenens providers all have comprehensive medical malpractice insurance that’s furnished through an “A”-rated insurance company. Our policies carry up to $1,000,000 per claim and $3,000,000 aggregate (and higher limits as required in certain states).
4. Specialization & Relationship Building
When you’re looking to staff your facility quickly, you don’t just want order-takers—you want a medical staffing solutions partner that truly understands your pain points and needs. The top medical staffing agencies work to build relationships with clients and providers, as those personalized relationships often lead to more effective results.
Barton Associates’ recruiters and account executives are segmented by specialty, not geographical location, meaning they build comprehensive knowledge of the type of medicine they focus on. That translates to better understanding of your needs and how we can help. In addition, our recruiters focus heavily on building personalized relationships with providers and clients—creating mutual trust over time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Medical Staffing Solutions
Now that you know the top qualities you should look for in healthcare staffing agencies, let’s discuss some of the main factors that drive medical facilities to partner with medical staffing agencies.
What is a locum tenens agency?
A locum tenens agency is a type of medical staffing agency that recruits and staffs locum tenens providers at short-staffed facilities. Locum tenens is a Latin phrase that translates to “to hold the place,” but in a healthcare staffing context, the phrase refers to providers (physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), dentists, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) who work short- or long-term temporary assignments at facilities that need providers.
What are the best health recruitment agencies?
Barton Associates has a unique combination of experience, size, and specialization that truly separates its locum tenens staffing services from the rest of the pack. As one of the largest locum tenens agencies in the United States, Barton Associates is a trusted medical staffing solutions partner that streamlines the hiring process for medical facilities of all sizes.
There are other healthcare staffing agencies out there that also get high marks—check out our blog on the six best locum tenens companies for more information.
Why is there a staffing shortage in healthcare?
One of the main reasons for the staffing shortage in healthcare, and therefore the need for medical staffing solutions partners, is an aging population. The Baby Boomer generation continues to grow old, and providers who are part of this cohort are retiring and leaving the workforce. On the flip side, patients are also aging, and as they do, they require more complex medical care. The combined effects lead to increased demand for healthcare services and a lower supply of providers.
Another factor behind the staffing shortage is provider burnout, which is causing some physicians to consider leaving the field. According to a recent study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 45.2% of U.S. physicians said they felt at least one symptom of burnout in 2023. Another study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association uncovered that around a third of physicians reported an intention to leave, and another report from Definitive Healthcare found that more than 70,000 doctors left medicine between 2021 and 2022.
Is there a shortage of healthcare in rural areas?
Yes, rural areas tend to suffer the most when it comes to the medical provider shortage. According to the HRSA, healthcare provider shortages are expected to hit nonmetro areas the hardest, with rural areas facing a 60% shortage of physicians in 2037 compared to metropolitan areas, which will see a 10% shortage.
What’s more, the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform says that almost 200 rural hospitals have closed over the past 20 years, and 700 others—a third of all hospitals in the country—are at risk of closing.
Barton Associates has extensive experience working to place providers in rural healthcare facilities, acting as a trusted partner for maintaining continuity of patient care in some of the most overlooked parts of the country.
Staff Your Medical Facility with Barton Locum Tenens Providers
Need locum tenens providers at your medical facility quickly? Anticipating a need in the future? We can help. Reach out to us today and get started!
