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Why it is Cost Effective to Use a Physician Search Firm

Guest Author: Thomas Grimes III, FACHE, retired CEO, Good Samaritan Community Healthcare, Puyallup, Washington. Tom currently leads The Grimes Healthcare Group which provides interim management to hospitals and healthcare systems and assists in developing their physician recruitment and retention strategies.

Have you considered the financial loss to your hospital or medical group when you do not have the physicians or mid-levels you need to meet the need of your community? Consider these figures -

Vacant physician and mid-level positions put your hospital or group at risk of losing patients and losing referrals to a competitor. While I was a CEO, utilizing physician search firms helped me recruit the physicians needed to turn around the bottom line and remain competitive. The following are the reasons I utilized search firms:

Access Candidates Quickly
A firm that specializes in physician search contacts and interviews physicians daily about their geographic preferences, practice preferences, family situation and lifestyle choices. This detailed information is kept in the firm's database enabling them to respond quickly and efficiently to your recruitment needs.

Lack of Hospital Staff to Generate Candidates
As the CEO of seven small and medium-sized hospitals throughout my career, I did not have the staff to devote to physician and mid-level recruitment nor did I have a database of candidates. Therefore, I utilized search firms to concentrate on the tedious activities of identifying and screening candidates allowing me to focus on my other duties.

Presentation of Qualified Candidates
A search firm will generate and evaluate candidates who meet your organization's recruitment specifications. By utilizing this screening process, you will save time by only telephone interviewing qualified candidates.

Knowledge of Compensation and Recruitment Incentives
How many times have you lost a candidate because your offer was not competitive? A reputable search firm will provide the latest information on physician compensation, recruitment incentives and industry trends to ensure you sign your top candidate.

Managing the Recruitment Project
From start to finish, an experienced search consultant will keep the recruitment process moving. He or she will attend to each candidate in a timely manner to ensure a quality candidate isn't lost due to lack of attention. You will benefit because your search consultant will schedule telephone interviews and site visits, debrief candidates and provide important feedback, ensure the spouse/significant other's needs are met, interview references and prepare reference reports, assist in negotiating the contract, and stay in touch with the candidate through relocation.

Recruitment Guarantee
A search firm provides a guarantee that a recruited candidate will stay in your service area for a specific period of time. It was important to me that the search firm also be invested in the success of the candidate.

Essential Team Member
When considering a search firm, make sure they adhere to the highest ethical standards. The search firm I used was an essential member of my team because they helped me recruit the physicians needed to achieve goals outlined in my medical manpower and strategic plans. I found that the firms with a proven track record spanning years provided the best service.

Assisting In-house Recruitment Staff
Some organizations have an in-house physician recruitment department that is well-equipped to handle most physician search needs. However, when there is an urgent need or difficult specialty to recruit, it is wise to use a search firm that can concentrate on those hard-to-reach candidates and training programs as quickly as possible.

Providing Value Added Services
The search firm often provided me with valuable industry information which helped me educate the Board of Directors and/or medical staff on physician recruitment or a particular specialty. Knowing the state of the industry for any given specialty helped me plan for the amount of time needed for recruitment and to budget the appropriate compensation, benefits, and practice start-up expenses.

Cost/Benefit Summary
Recruiting a new physician can range from $30,000-60,000 or more when including the site visit expenses, relocation, and search firm fees. This is a significant investment but keep in mind the benefits -

Tom Grimes can be reached at tgrimes42@cox.net. He has written a white paper on physician recruitment and retention. You may request a copy by sending him an e-mail.