Burnout, Bottlenecks, and Budget Pressures: Why Health Systems Need a Smarter Staffing Strategy

Running Hard—But Going Nowhere

Across the country, health systems are running a marathon on a treadmill. They’re sprinting to meet rising patient demand, hurdling workforce burnout, and climbing the steep incline of budget pressure. Despite all the effort, progress often feels elusive.

Inpatient units are full. Emergency departments are boarding admitted patients. Specialty clinics face backlogs. Financial reports show higher labor costs just to maintain quality.

The root cause? Inadequate staffing.

Healthcare leaders know the treadmill isn’t slowing down. The real challenge is learning to run smarter—creating a strategic staffing plan that stabilizes patient access, safeguards clinicians, and protects margins.

That’s where locum tenens coverage becomes a powerful part of the equation.

A New Normal: More Patients, Fewer Physicians

The U.S. healthcare system is straining under a widening imbalance. The AAMC projects a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, spanning both primary and specialty care. Meanwhile, nearly half of physicians already report burnout—a clear signal the current workforce is overstretched.

The result is a cascade of bottlenecks:

• Emergency department boarding that delays admissions and worsens outcomes.
• Delayed discharges caused by placement challenges or care coordination gaps.
• Longer wait times that frustrate patients and stretch staff beyond safe limits.

These operational chokepoints translate directly into lost revenue, patient dissatisfaction, and clinician attrition.

Budgets Under Pressure

Even as some large health systems report improved operating margins, recovery is fragile. Labor expenses remain high, and demand continues to rise with an aging, higher-acuity population.

And the hidden costs are mounting. Replacing a single physician can cost $500,000 to over $1 million when recruitment, onboarding, and lost revenue are factored in. Multiply that by several vacancies, and even a strong balance sheet can shift into the red.

Traditional hiring alone can’t close the gap fast enough—or protect overworked teams from burning out while they wait for relief.

Breaking the Burnout Cycle

When coverage gaps go unfilled, burnout accelerates. Burnout drives turnover. Turnover deepens the gaps. It’s a vicious cycle that leaves teams perpetually in reactive mode.

Strategic use of locum tenens physicians helps break that cycle by injecting flexible capacity exactly where and when it’s needed—whether that’s to handle surges, fill predictable leaves, or decompress call schedules.

Locums are not a stopgap. Used strategically, they become a stability tool—keeping the system moving steadily instead of sprinting toward exhaustion.

Where Locums Create the Most Value

Locum tenens coverage delivers measurable impact when it’s aligned with system goals. Here’s where health systems are seeing the greatest ROI:

• Preserving Access During Gaps – Keep clinics open and operating rooms scheduled during vacancies or extended leaves.
• Reducing Burnout and Turnover – Alleviate high-acuity call or night shifts that push teams to the edge.
• Easing Throughput Bottlenecks – Add hospitalists to accelerate discharges and reduce boarding times.
• Protecting Service Lines – Sustain essential programs like anesthesia or OB coverage that communities rely on.

Each of these use cases contributes to financial resilience, team stability, and patient safety.

Turning Coverage into ROI

Locum coverage delivers the strongest return when treated as a strategic investment, not an emergency purchase order.

Start by mapping where pressure points occur:

• Where are referrals being turned away?
• Which service lines are short-staffed?
• Where are burnout risks highest?

Then, build a blended staffing model that combines permanent hires with targeted locum support. Monitor key metrics such as access times, discharge-before-noon rates, block utilization, and transfer acceptance.

When designed deliberately, locum coverage becomes a precision instrument for performance and profit protection—not a last resort.

Step Off the Treadmill

Permanent recruitment and retention programs remain essential. But as demand outpaces supply, strategic flexibility is what keeps systems moving forward without burning out their teams.

Locum tenens physicians help health systems:

• Stabilize patient access
• Protect clinician well-being
• Reduce bottlenecks and boarding
• Preserve revenue and service continuity

Health systems don’t have to keep running harder just to stay in place. The right staffing strategy lets you control the pace—and move forward with confidence.