Future of Locum Staffing: Key Trends in Healthcare

July 21, 2026

Locum tenens staffing has moved well past its origins as a short-term fix for unexpected vacancies. Research shows it is the only area of temporary healthcare staffing that has grown every year since 2021, and 80% of organizations plan to maintain or increase their use going forward. That growth is being fueled by multiple catalysts: a deepening physician shortage, accelerating provider burnout, telehealth policy shifts, and a workforce that increasingly prefers flexible arrangements over permanent positions.

For healthcare administrators and workforce planners, these forces are reshaping how organizations fill critical roles, maintain continuity of care, and plan for the years ahead. This article breaks down the key trends defining the future of locum tenens staffing and what they mean for hiring decisions today.

Trend#1: Telehealth Policy Shifts Are Reshaping Care Delivery and Staffing Demand

As reimbursement rules shift, organizations are reassessing where care should be delivered. Telehealth is stabilizing around behavioral health and chronic care management, while more services are moving back to in-person settings—particularly in primary care, geriatrics, therapy, and outpatient services—driving renewed demand for on-site coverage.

Locum tenens provides a practical way to manage that variability. It allows organizations to scale in-person staffing quickly without long-term hiring commitments as care models continue to evolve.

Trend#2: Increased Demand for Locum Tenens in High-Need Specialties

The Health Resources and Services Administration projects a physician shortfall of 124,180 by 2027, with the most severe gaps concentrated in primary care, family medicine, and non-metro areas. Shortages are also intensifying across surgical specialties, anesthesiology, psychiatry, and emergency medicine—fields where unfilled roles can directly impact patient access.

To close those gaps, advanced practice providers (APPs) are taking on a larger share of care delivery. Scope-of-practice expansions are enabling nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and CRNAs to manage more cases across more settings, accelerating workforce growth. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nurse practitioner employment is projected to grow 40% by 2034, while physician assistant roles are expected to grow 20%.

The imbalance between provider supply and patient demand is expected to persist well beyond the next decade. Organizations that integrate locum tenens and APP utilization into long-term workforce planning will be better positioned to maintain coverage, control costs, and adapt to evolving care models.

Trend#3: Flexible Work Arrangements Are Reshaping Provider Expectations

Schedule flexibility has become a top priority for clinicians, with many actively seeking greater control over workload, location, and assignment structure. In one industry survey, 86% of clinicians reported choosing locum tenens roles specifically for that flexibility, while burnout and work-life balance concerns continue to push providers away from rigid employment models.

This shift is changing how organizations approach hiring. Locum tenens and other flexible staffing models are becoming essential to aligning with provider expectations while maintaining coverage, reducing strain on permanent staff, and adapting to fluctuations in patient demand.

Trend 4: Advances in Credentialing and Streamlined Onboarding Are Accelerating Placements

Credentialing has long been the primary bottleneck in locum tenens staffing. Traditional processes—manual, paper-heavy, and dependent on medical board timelines—can take 30 to 90 days or more, delaying start dates and extending coverage gaps.

That is beginning to change. Organizations adopting automated credentialing technology are reducing processing times significantly. Digital platforms now handle document collection, license verification, and expiration tracking, eliminating many of the delays caused by manual follow-ups.

Speed is improving across the placement lifecycle. Data shows the median time to first bid has declined, while overall time to fill assignments has been reduced by nearly a full day.

As a result, credentialing speed has become a competitive differentiator. MSPs now account for 38% of advanced practice staffing revenue,, signaling a shift toward partners with more scalable infrastructure. At the same time, credentialing delays remain the most cited operational pain point, identified by 49% of respondents.

For hiring teams, a staffing partner’s value is increasingly defined by its credentialing capabilities, and its ability to move providers into roles quickly and compliantly.

How Healthcare Organizations Can Leverage Locum Tenens to Build a Stronger Workforce

The following practices separate organizations that manage locum staffing well from those that are constantly catching up.

Plan Ahead

Forecast demand by specialty and secure locum coverage early. Proactive planning reduces reliance on premium, last-minute placements, shortens time to fill, and gives your team more control over coverage quality.

Prioritize High-Need Specialties

Focus locum support where vacancies have the greatest impact on revenue and patient access. Surgical services, emergency medicine, and behavioral health are among the highest-stakes areas where a single open role creates outsized operational risk.

Evaluate Partners on Infrastructure

Assess credentialing timelines, onboarding efficiency, and compliance support alongside candidate volume. Strong infrastructure, comprising automated credentialing, centralized documentation, and 24/7 support, directly determines how quickly a qualified provider can start.

Use Locum Tenens to Stabilize Your Core Team

Deploy locum providers to cover surges, leave gaps, and specialty shortages. When permanent staff are not stretched beyond capacity, burnout risk drops and retention improves.

Integrate Locum Tenens Into Long-Term Workforce Planning

Organizations that treat locum tenens as a strategic layer of their staffing model maintain more consistent coverage and adapt faster to demand shifts. The ones that treat it as a last resort pay more, fill slower, and ask more of their permanent teams in the interim.

Track Performance and Optimize

Monitor time to fill, cost per placement, and provider performance data across every locum engagement. Over time, that data reveals which specialties need proactive pipelines, which partners perform best under pressure, and where your staffing strategy has room to improve.

Partner With GHR Healthcare for Your Locum Tenens Staffing Needs

Effective locum tenens strategies succeed or fail based on execution. That means working with a partner that can source qualified clinicians, accelerate credentialing, and maintain compliance throughout the assignment lifecycle.

GHR Healthcare provides advanced practice locum tenens staffing across a wide range of specialties and care settings. The team supports credentialing, onboarding, and placement management, with 24/7 recruiter access to keep roles filled and assignments on track.

Organizations can use GHR to fill immediate vacancies or to support long-term workforce planning.

Explore healthcare staffing solutions or connect with a GHR recruiter to discuss your staffing needs.

Related Resources

The Future of Locum Tenens Staffing: Key Trends to Know for Hiring