PracticeMatch: Healthcare Survey Defines Physician Recruitment Challenges

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The most recent survey of in-house physician recruiters across the country revealed that the physician shortage is taking a toll on hospital systems throughout the United States, and recruiting departments are changing tactics and personnel to combat the lack of physicians to fill key provider roles. St. Louis-based PracticeMatch Services has officially released results from their most recent recruitment and retention survey of recruiting departments' and medical groups' responses to the physician shortage and departmental and fiscal changes.

Data were compiled between September 12 - October 15, 2008, from a response group of 109 physician recruiters from healthcare systems and groups in 36 states.

    Top findings include:
    Growing Physician Shortage:
    -- 15% of respondents had to fill between 100 and 800 provider openings
       before 2011; the average number of positions to be filled is
       approximately 31
    -- 45% report over 1-year search time for all medical specialties
    -- Nearly 75% reported needing to interview between 3 and 5 physicians for
       each open opportunity
    -- 58% depend on Locum Tenens physicians (temporary staffing) to fill open
       positions until a permanent provider is found; most report using Locums
       to fill the role of Hospitalist, a field that continues to grow in
       demand and popularity in the medical community
    -- 81% report a growing need for recruitment, while fewer than 6% reported
       a decrease


    Methods of Recruitment:
    -- 58% of respondents reported subscribing to physician databases, while
       nearly 33% outsource advertising, and 26.5% outsource direct mail
       services
    -- 81% of the recruiters surveyed use online job placement boards to
       advertise opportunities and source candidates
    -- The smallest percentage of responses was for print media through
       medical journals, with only 55% responding to the use of this service
    -- The other sources used by most respondents were direct mail (64.8%) and
       e-mail campaigns (78.1%)
    -- Only 20% of respondents used retained firms; 56% used contingent
       searches


    The Effects of the Shortage on Recruiting Departments:
    -- The number of recruiters hired over the past year has increased by
       24.5%
    -- A majority of respondents report difficulty in drawing candidates to
       their system or group, with 56% naming their location as the biggest
       detriment to hiring physicians
    -- Almost all respondents listed compensation and location as the top
       priorities they have found physicians have when looking at an
       opportunity
    -- 61% of respondents said a strong demand exists among physicians for
       lower to no call schedules, with an added emphasis on quality of life

About PracticeMatch

Based in St. Louis, PracticeMatch is the industry leader in providing data and services to in-house physician recruiters and offers a continuum of services designed to provide a clear competitive hiring advantage to health organizations. The company has a history of innovation, being the first to offer physician databases online, the first to fully integrate all recruitment-related services, and the first to launch an online career center with streaming video of both candidates and employers.