Top 5 Benefits of Being a Locum Tenens Physician

1.  Avoid Burnout

Working as a physician is stressful. If you are feeling exhausted, you are not alone. Studies show that at any given point in time, 1 in 3 physicians is suffering from burnout. Between seeing patients during the day and being "on-call" at night, it may seem like you have no work / life balance. Working as a locum tenens can solve this problem. As a locum, you can work as hard as you want to for a short amount of time. When the assignment is over, you have time to recoup and replenish your energy levels before starting another assignment.

2.  Schedule Flexibility

As a locum tenens you have the ability and freedom to make your own schedule. Whether you want to take vacations throughout the year or just spend more time with family, working as a locum tenens would allow you to do this! Many physicians go into private practice because they want more control over their work environment and schedule. Having your own practice is flexible, but also much more stressful. Being a locum tenens gives you this sense of freedom, but at a lower stress level.

3.  Change of Scenery

Are you tired of feeling like you are stuck in one place? Or do you feel like it is impossible to travel as much as you want while maintaining a full-time position as a physician? If so, working as a locum tenens is the answer! You can take on as many assignments as you want, which means you can travel to as many places as you want. This will give you a chance to have new experiences in new places without sacrificing your paycheck to do so.

4.  Knowledge Sharing

When you are working in different practices as a locum tenens, you are going to pick up useful knowledge. You will get to experience many different methods, techniques and workflows. This can positively impact all your future assignments because it will allow you to apply this gained knowledge in a variety of settings.

5.  Financial Benefits

Whether you are just out of school and have student loan debt from medical school, or if you are retiring and want to supplement your income, working as a locum tenens physician can benefit your bank account. Locum tenens also have travel, lodging and malpractice insurance expenses covered, which will help increase your income even more.

Written By: Brittni Stevens

Sources: https://goo.gl/8MRJgG • https://goo.gl/046RUq • https://goo.gl/Pbjcyr • https://goo.gl/BC7JcB • https://goo.gl/2URWVr • https://goo.gl/xPCRS0

Credentialing: DEA registration changes

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is cracking down on provider’s primary practice address change requests.  Gone are the days of submitting a practice address update online and a 24-48 hour turnaround time.  It is now taking 2-3 weeks for the DEA to process practice address updates when transferring to a different state.  The delay in the DEA processing time leads to delays with credentialing and privileging completion.

The time lag is in part due to the fact that the DEA is now confirming providers are privileged (or in the credentialing process) with hospital Medical Staff Offices (MSO) prior to completing any practice address updates.  As such, it is import that the MSO contact phone and fax numbers be provided when submitting practice address update requests.  If the correct MSO contact information is not provided, the DEA will then need to contact you to request this information, further delaying the change request processing time.

There are two solutions in order to avoid delays in obtaining facility privileges - submit the address change request early or apply for additional DEA registrations, in order to have one DEA registration for each state you practice in.  While your DEA registration is a federal number, it is only valid in the state in which your primary practice address is listed.  The DEA does allow for multiple DEA registrations for providers to work in multiple states simultaneously.   The cost of a second DEA (or third, or fourth…) is worth saving you the last minute stress and potential loss of income if your DEA practice address change request is not processed in time to meet credentialing deadlines in order to start as scheduled.

Online resources:

DEA’s policy concerning Locum Tenens:

https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/faq/locum_tenens.htm

DEA registration application online: https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/webforms/jsp/regapps/common/newAppLogin.jsp

DEA address update online request: https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/webforms/jsp/regapps/common/updateLogin.jsp

Katie Cherry, CPCS

Senior Credentialing Coordinator

Do you have a credentialing topic you would like to see covered?  Email me at Katie.Cherry@eglhp.com

Credentialing: Physicians, Avoid the Hassles

Getting licensed to practice in another state and credentialed to practice in a particular hospital can be an unpredictable and time-consuming process for locum tenens physicians. Here are some tips for physicians to make the process smoother and faster.

Step 1: Getting licensed—Start with a list

Make a list of the states where you’d like to practice, or where you’d be willing to accept a locums assignment. Give the list to your recruiter so he or she can start the ball rolling as soon as possible.

The AMA offers a good primer on the licensing process. Some of its best advice: Physicians should plan on at least a 60-day period from the time they submit a completed application for licensure and the date the license is granted. Also be aware that the highest volume of applications is received between the months of April and September, as many physicians with families seek to relocate before the academic year begins. This can slow things down.

LocumConnections offers help for the licensing process as part of our comprehensive credentialing services. Physicians who contract with us can rest assured that we handle as many of the nitty-gritty details as possible to take the pressure off you. Bear in mind, however, that no matter how quickly we move, the process can’t be hurried once the application is in the hands of the state medical board.

Step 2: A clearinghouse for credentialing

Remember that licensing is just a part of the credentialing process. Hospitals must evaluate and verify your current license status, experience, and ability. With locum tenens physicians, it is typically the placement firm that does the credentialing for its partner hospitals.

Why? Because the locum tenens staffing company usually covers physician malpractice insurance—as we do at LocumConnections. The process includes verifying that you are in good standing as a physician, and checking your references. To speed things up, we provide our incoming physicians with a checklist of all the documents and paperwork we need to complete the credentialing process—a medical diploma, internship and residency diplomas, a current resume, all current medical licenses, etc.

The good news is that once we have the necessary information to begin the credentialing process for one hospital, we have a template for quick credentialing at any other hospitals that want to bring you in on a locum tenens assignment. Most of the time, you don’t have to be involved in the process at all.

Of course, the holdup comes with the wait time to be licensed in another state. As I said, it takes patience.­­­

But we make the process painless—on both sides of the aisle. Because of our reputation for thorough, top-quality credentialing services, hospitals are often more likely to contract for locum doctors with us. They know they don’t have to come back to us asking for missing pieces from the credentialing packet—resumes, references, etc. All the t’s will be crossed and the i’s dotted. They also know they will be getting a physician that looks good on paper and in person, too.

--Dr. Mac McCormick