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Hospital and clinic managers need contingency plans in place to maintain patient services when a doctor leaves abruptly. Locum tenens physicians can be an obvious solution, yet the time to put a plan in place is now—not when facing a sudden vacancy.
Turnover
Physician turnover rates are high. The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) reports that they're higher, in fact, than at any time since it started publishing its Physician Retention Survey. AMGA's 2013 study shows an average of 6.8 percent turnover, and that number is higher (9.4 percent) among advanced practice clinicians. Retirement may be a contributing factor to the churn in retention. With the economy improving, many physicians will look to retire as they gain confidence in investment markets and the health of their savings.
While retirements may happen abruptly, it's reasonable to expect a decent heads-up before a long-time doctor leaves your practice. This is probably even more likely if the retiring doctor was an owner or partner in the clinic. Unexpected turnover, on the other hand, can cause costly breaks in service and put strain on remaining staff. This can be felt most keenly in hospitals where patient care is delivered 24/7, 365 days a year, and you don't get to control patient traffic and volume.
When to plan
That's why it's good to have a plan in place with processes and relationships well-defined before circumstances force your hand. It's also a good idea to build contingency plans in a vacuum, before you know to whom they may apply. This ensures that the plan is created to support the needs of the practice, protecting both patients and the remaining staff to the greatest possible extent.
In other words, the best time to build a contingency plan is when you don't need it. Good plans can mitigate sudden departures, with mechanisms to address non-competes, buyout clauses, and stipulations to cover locum tenens assignments and other associated interim costs. Form the relationships you need to manage turnover now, and save yourself the cost and headache of scrambling after an unexpected departure.