Locum Tenens

As a business owner, and a health practitioner, you wear multiple hats. As such, you sometimes need to bring extra help into your practice. When your hardworking Associate has a skiing accident and is in a cast for six weeks, what do you do? This is the time for a Locum Tenens. On the flip side, you might be at a point in your career where you are experiencing some burnout and looking for more opportunities to travel and see new places. You need the Locum life.

Locum What? Most medical and dental professionals are familiar with the term Locum Tenens. But where did it come from? Merriam Webster defines locum tenens as “one filling an office for a time or temporarily taking the place of another.” The definition of locum tenens, roughly translated from Latin, means “to hold a place.” The term was originally used in medieval times as a reference for Catholic clergy. A priest would serve as Locum Tenens, for a parish, until a permanent priest could be found. According to CHG Healthcare, when founding CompHealth in 1979, Dr. Therus Kolff thought this term would be fitting to describe physicians working temporary assignments. Other sources suggest that the term was first used at the University of Utah, in the 1970’s, following a study using temporary doctors in rural locations. Either way, the term migrated into the dental community which leads us to today.

Why Hire a Locum Tenens? As previously described, life in a dental practice does not always go according to plan. There are times when, as a practice owner, you will need to be gone. Or, you will have an Associate who needs to be gone. Unless you can keep patients in the chair, you are losing money, so it could be very worthwhile to hire a temporary practitioner. For many years, Locum Tenens has been commonplace in the medical world. The Dental community is starting to catch up on the benefits of this approach. Locum Tenens dentists can frequently be found through a placement service. Sometimes independent dentists work as Locum Tenens as their primary source of income. Most Locum Tenens dentists work through a staffing agency, and the agency takes a cut. That covers the administrative costs, as well as contributing to the agency’s profit. The ADA’s Career Center website also offers job listings, including Locum Tenens positions. Locum Tenens positions are sometimes offered on the WSDA job board as well. If you are considering hiring a Locum Tenens, be aware that some dental insurance plans only allow for work to be done by the dentist who is “in network.” If the dentist who is working as a Locum Tenens and is not an in-network provider, there is potential for problems. According to the ADA Council on Dental Benefits Program, “Plans have various practices and policies when it comes to Locum Tenens dentists and while some of these policies may be similar, they do have their differences. It is important for dental offices to understand the need for Locum Tenens dentists and to completely understand how this is handled by various dental plans.” ADA staff from the Center for Dental Benefits, Coding and Quality can help dentists with dental benefits-related and coding problems, questions and concerns; and can be contacted via the ADA’s Third-Party Payer Concierge at 1-800-621-8099 or email dentalbenefits@ada.org.

Why Do Locum Tenens? There are many reasons why a dentist would work as a Locum Tenens provider, such as earning extra money, gaining more control of where and when they work, to fill the gap between permanent employment, to work part-time after retirement, or to travel. Some dentists work as Locum Tenens to battle burnout with flexibility and autonomy. Others are looking for a break from the “daily grind.” It can also be seen as an opportunity to travel and work while exploring different parts of the country or even to earn a better wage. According to an article in DentistryIQ, Locum Tenens dentists are paid one of two ways. There is a per diem option and a production option. In the production option, the practice pays a percentage of the revenue generated by the Locum Tenens dentist once an agreed upon baseline of revenue is reached.

Challenges to Locum Tenens work While there are benefits to this type of work, there are also some challenges. One of those can be negotiating a contract with either a placement service or directly with a prospective employer. The ADA Center for Professional Success website offers “General Guidelines for Mutual Aid Agreements,” that outlines a process in which a formal contract with colleagues is made in the event of the sudden illness, injury or death of a dentist. The signer(s) to such an agreement commit to temporarily cover for the stricken colleague until either his or her recovery or up until such time that a deceased dentist’s practice is sold. Please note that detailed contract questions should always be discussed with an attorney. Another challenge to living the Locums life can be finding your own insurance coverage. As an independent contractor, you will need to provide your own healthcare, disability insurance, malpractice insurance, and more. Some staffing services will cover you. Sometimes you need to purchase your own policies. The website ‘The Locums Life’ describes the need to purchase health insurance as follows: “It’s like the insurance companies are giving us one last gut punch as we walk into the sunset, as if to say, we still own you!” While it may feel like they still own you, the reality is that as a Locum Tenens provider, you are free to take the jobs you want, move to the places that intrigue you, and get paid what you feel you deserve.

Whether you are interested in shoring up your practice during a challenging time, or exploring a new way of doing dentistry, Locum Tenens can have very concrete benefits. With a little advanced planning, this can be a winning solution for your dental practice.