Locum tenens use up 25% amid physician shortages, $2.6M revenue gaps, CHG report finds

As physician shortages persist, hospitals and medical groups leaned harder on locum tenens in 2024 and expect to do the same in 2025, according to CHG Healthcare’s “2025 State of Locum Tenens Report.”

Organizations reported actual locum use that was 25% higher than they anticipated going into 2024, reframing temporary physicians and advanced practice providers as a planned capacity lever rather than a last‑minute fix.

“Locums are no longer just filling gaps — they’re a core part of how organizations protect revenue and deliver care,” said Leslie Snavely, CEO of CHG Healthcare. "When a single physician vacancy costs $2.6 million annually, our data shows that effective locum use prevents millions in lost revenue. Organizations are building locums into their strategic planning to expand capacity, serve underserved communities and maintain patient access."

From backfill to strategy

Backfill remains the top reason to bring in locums, but its dominance is fading: leaders citing backfill dropped from 82% in 2023 to 67% in 2024. At the same time, more organizations are using locums to meet business goals:

• 46% use locums to prevent revenue loss tied to unfilled roles.
• 35%deploy locums tomeet rising patient demand.
• 28% use locums to supplement staff during peak periods.

Revenue at risk

CHG’s analysis underscores the financial stakes: a single physician vacancy can cost upwards of $2.6 million annually in lost revenue if left unfilled. Against that backdrop, leaders say locums are increasingly built into budgets and workforce plans to keep service lines open while permanent recruiting continues.

“Health care leaders are innovating to make locum staffing more efficient and cost-effective,” said Bill Heller, COO of CHG Healthcare. “We’re seeing organizations centralize credentialing across facilities, expand telehealth capabilities and streamline onboarding. These operational improvements are turning what was once a cumbersome process into a competitive advantage.”

Specialty mix

Demand is shifting by specialty. The report notes anesthesiology demand surged 55% year over year, a surge tied to operating room coverage and procedure backlogs. By contrast, emergency medicine is down 8%, reflecting changing visit patterns and staffing models.

Many organizations are blending physician anesthesiologists with advanced practice providers to keep rooms open and case delays to a minimum. The through line: coverage follows revenue—service lines that drive throughput are getting priority locum support.

Physician sentiment and burnout

Locum work is increasingly a release valve. Forty‑three percent of physicians who took locum assignments said their burnout improved, and nearly half (48%) plan to increase their locum days in 2025.

The draw isn’t mysterious: tighter control over schedules, fewer uncompensated administrative tasks and the ability to say no. Locums won’t fix systemic issues on their own, but they give clinicians a way to rebalance work while keeping patient access intact.

Telehealth desire outpaces availability

Physicians want more virtual options than they’re getting.

Forty‑six percent express strong interest in tele‑locum assignments, yet only about 20% say those roles are available. The bottlenecks are predictable — multi‑state credentialing, payer policies and platform integration. The near‑term play is pragmatic: stand up tele‑locum panels for after‑hours coverage and niche subspecialties, pre‑clear licensure in likely states and standardize onboarding so a virtual hire can be productive on day one.

Taken together, the numbers point to a strategy shift in health care, not a stopgap. Actual locum use finished 25% above plan, and a single physician vacancy can put ~$2.6 million in annual revenue at risk.

Treat locums like any other capacity lever: budget for them, define triggers (vacancy, volume spike, new service line), centralize credentialing and pair physicians with the right advanced practice support. Do that, and locums move from an emergency patch to a predictable tool for protecting access, stabilizing schedules and keeping the clinic doors open.