Locum tenens has evolved far beyond an emergency staffing solution. Today, it has serves as a strategic workforce tool that helps healthcare organizations maintain access to care while navigating physician shortages, retirements, fluctuating patient volumes, and increasingly competitive recruiting markets.
While nearly every specialty benefits from temporary physician coverage, some rely on it more than others. According to industry data, these five physician specialties are the most likely to utilize locum tenens coverage.
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology leads every specialty by a significant margin, with organizations utilizing locum tenens in 65.4% of physician searches.
Unlike many physician vacancies, an anesthesia opening has an immediate impact on hospital operations. Without adequate anesthesia coverage, operating rooms may sit idle, elective procedures can be postpones, and surgical schedules become increasingly difficult to maintain. Because every procedure depends on an available anesthesia provider, organizations often turn to locum tenens to preserve surgical capacity.
Pediatrics
Nearly half of all pediatric physician coverage involve locum tenens coverage.
Many pediatric practices already operate with lean physician teams, leaving little flexibility when a provider retires, relocates, or takes extended leave. Locum tenens physicians help practices continue seeing patients, reduce appointment backlogs, and provide families with consistent access to care during periods of transition.
Urgent Care
Urgent care centers rely on physician flexibility more than almost any outpatient specialty, with 41.5% of physician searches utilizing locum tenens providers.
Unlike traditional primary care practices, urgent care volumes can shift quickly based on seasonal illness, local outbreaks, or community growth. Temporary physicians allow organizations to respond quickly without sacrificing patient access or extending wait times, allowing them to remain responsive without permanently expanding their workforce; particularly during periods of increased respiratory illness or staffing shortages.
Hospital Medicine
Hospitalists work around the clock caring for admitted patients, making schedule stability essential. Approximately 30% of hospital medicine physician searches rely on locum tenens providers. Census fluctuations, physician turnover, and expanding service lines can all create immediate coverage needs. Locum tenens physicians provide hospitals with the flexibility to maintain consistent inpatient care.
Emergency Medicine
Emergency departments never close, making provider coverage non-negotiable.
Nearly one in four emergency departments rely on locum tenens. This is particularly important in rural hospitals, critical access facilities, and underserved communities where recruiting permanent emergency providers can take considerably longer. Locum providers help ensure emergency departments remain fully staffed and able to deliver timely care.
Why This Matters
What these specialties share is very little tolerance for staffing gaps. Unlike some areas of healthcare where appointments can be redistributed or schedules adjusted, specialties like anesthesia, hospital medicine, and emergency medicine require immediate physician availability. Every vacancy has operational consequences that extend beyond the position itself, affecting patient access, provider burnout, financial performance, and the overall continuity of care.
That’s why many healthcare organizations now view locum tenens as a workforce strategy rather than a temporary solution. It provides the flexibility needed to maintain clinical operations during recruitment, and helps organizations adapt to changing patient demand without compromising care.
At SCI Healthcare, we’ve seen this firsthand. Our roots in anesthesia staffing have shown how timely provider placement keeps operating rooms running efficiently and minimizes disruptions to surgical schedules. As we’ve expanded into additional specialties, we’ve brought that same commitment to delivering experienced clinicians who help healthcare organizations remain full operational.
