In this episode of the MGMA Business Solutions Podcast, host Daniel Williams welcomes Dr. Miechia Esco and Amelia Vietri from LocumTenens.com to discuss innovative approaches to tackling some of the biggest challenges in healthcare today. Vietri and Dr. Esco highlight strategies to address clinician burnout, expand access to care through telehealth, and improve staffing flexibility using the locum tenens model.
Flexibility and Customization
Locum tenens medicine provides a targeted approach to healthcare staffing, allowing clinicians to tailor their schedules while supporting medical practices in managing staffing gaps, particularly in underserved areas.
“It goes beyond just filling a gap,” Dr. Esco explains. “It’s a cultivation of partnerships to address environmental staffing challenges to truly augment those service lines to really be an expert at taking care of our communities.”
Vietri points to LocumTenens.com’s ability to respond swiftly to staffing needs, citing its extensive clinician database and operational experience. “We've got over 25 years of experience … and have been building our clinician database for quite some time, and are able to really tap into some of the specialized resources that we have in the way of getting clinicians licensed more quickly, getting clinicians privileged more quickly, and really ramping up service lines that are in great need across the U.S. at a much faster pace,” she says.
Mitigating Clinician Burnout
Burnout remains a significant challenge for healthcare professionals, but the flexibility provided by the locum tenens model offers a potential way to address it. By allowing clinicians to manage their schedules and focus on meaningful work, this approach can support a better work-life balance.
“If you’re doing locum tenens medicine and you’re burned out, you’re doing something wrong,” Dr. Esco says. “You have ultimate autonomy. You have the flexibility to create the schedule that works for you and your life.”
Dr. Esco also highlights the importance of understanding individual clinicians’ needs. “We really value our relationships—those personal connections with our clinicians to really understand what’s important to them,” she adds.
Bridging Gaps in Patient Care
Telehealth has significantly impacted healthcare delivery, especially in rural areas where access to care is often limited. According to a recent survey by LocumTenens.com, 81% of healthcare organizations have adopted telehealth—a notable increase in recent years. However, Vietri notes that further efforts are needed to optimize workflows and fully realize the potential of this technology.
“Our goal is to improve access to healthcare, and we have really had some great success and benefits with some of these more hybrid solutions in rural areas,” Vietri says.
Rural communities continue to face unique challenges in obtaining healthcare. Addressing these issues, Vietri explains, “One of the ways locum tenens.com really started to get involved and increase our efforts in bringing coverage to this area is through billing and enrollment, education and opportunities.”
The Critical Role of Advanced Practice Providers (APPs)
Advanced practice providers (APPs), including nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives, play a vital role in improving patient access and mitigating clinician burnout. By managing routine care, APPs enable physicians to concentrate on complex cases, helping to balance workloads within medical practices.
“I think that APPs are absolutely critical to the future of healthcare, workflows for patient access, burnout, for everything,” Dr. Esco says.
Vietri emphasizes the impact of APPs in specific areas such as behavioral health and women’s health. “We have many case studies at locumtenens.com where we've been able to do this successfully, whether it be through psychiatric APPs and bringing those in to help alleviate turnover and burnout,” she explains.
Emerging Technologies in Healthcare
Technology continues to evolve rapidly in the post-pandemic healthcare landscape, driving advancements in efficiency and patient care delivery.
“The speed at which technology is moving within the healthcare field has just exponentially increased over the last … three to four years,” Vietri observes. “Some of the technology offerings that we're seeing … we're hearing from clinicians that we're working with in the locum tenant space that they're really enjoying the settings where things like AI have been deployed.”
Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and telehealth, are increasingly integral to addressing healthcare challenges such as clinician burnout and rural access. LocumTenens.com has been applying these innovations, along with APP integration, to support healthcare organizations in developing systems capable of adapting to evolving demands.
To learn more about these topics, listen to the full episode of the MGMA Business Solutions Podcast or visit MGMA.com.
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