Locum tenens providers play a critical role in healthcare organizations by filling staffing gaps and ensuring patient access. However, onboarding these temporary providers is often an extremely cumbersome and disjointed process for facilities. From credentialing delays to miscommunication and repetitive paperwork, inefficient onboarding frustrates healthcare facilities and locum tenens providers. It also leads to higher costs, labor-intensive efforts, and delays in patient care. That’s why optimizing and streamlining the locum tenens provider onboarding process has become a top priority for healthcare organizations nationwide.
Implementing efficient, standardized onboarding with enables healthcare facilities to improve provider satisfaction and retention while reducing duplicated work and associated expenses. With enhanced onboarding processes, temporary providers can start seeing patients faster, which benefits staff flexibility and patient access and outcomes. However, many healthcare facilities lack the resources and bandwidth to overhaul and optimize their onboarding systems alone.
- Automate Credentialing and Privileging
Credentialing and privileging locum tenens providers is often the most difficult and time-consuming aspect of onboarding. Facilities can automate and expedite this process by partnering with a locum tenens with help from Locumsmart to handle credentialing and privileging. This eliminates the need for facilities to gather documents and input provider credentials. With an automated system, temporary providers can start working in days instead of weeks.
- Create a Standardized Onboarding Checklist
Onboarding checklists standardize and simplify processes for both facilities and locum providers. Checklists should outline step-by-step instructions for paperwork, system access, facility orientation, and training. Shared checklists reduce repetition and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Locumsmart provides customizable onboarding checklists that hospitals, clinics and doctors offices can use to streamline processes.
- Leverage an Onboarding Software Platform
Onboarding technology allows healthcare facilities to simplify processes and reduce manual work. Look for platforms that automate onboarding tasks like credentialing, paperwork, and system access. Everything should be digitized in one centralized dashboard for facilities and providers. This eliminates double-data entry and ensures efficient hand-offs as providers move between assignments.
- Assign Dedicated Onboarding Staff
One of the most effective ways to streamline locum tenens provider onboarding is to designate an onboarding coordinator who is the single, consistent point of contact throughout the process. This onboarding coordinator takes ownership over managing and facilitating each step of the onboarding experience for every provider.
Rather than working with multiple staff members and repeating onboarding tasks like paperwork and orientation, locum tenens providers interface only with their dedicated onboarding coordinator. The coordinator develops relationships with each provider, learning their unique credentials, skills, and needs. They shepherd providers through onboarding, customizing the experience based on the individual.
- Create Provider Recruitment Profiles
Building locum tenens provider profiles allows facilities to make better matches. Profiles outline provider credentials, specialized skills, and facility preferences. With robust profiles in place, facilities can identify and recruit optimal locum tenens providers faster. Partners like Locumsmart use intelligent algorithms to match providers to facilities based on profiles and availability.
Simplifying locum tenens onboarding is crucial for healthcare facilities, given rising demand. Following these best practices can reduce onboarding from weeks to days. Partners like Locumsmart provide specialized locum tenens management technology and services to simplify and enhance every aspect of the onboarding process. Facilities can onboard temporary providers faster by automating credentialing, leveraging checklists and software, assigning onboarding coordinators, and recruiting intelligently with provider profiles. This allows healthcare organizations to improve flexibility, reduce costs, and deliver better patient care.
