Among 1,239 physicians responding to a recent http://LocumTenens.com/ online physician survey, most (89 percent) had worked at least once at a government facility. Among the 11 percent of respondents
who had not worked in a government facility, most (82 percent) said they were interested in doing so.
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Among respondents with government practice experience, 71 percent preferred the work hours and 50 percent preferred the patient
volume at government facilities over those in civilian facilities. While about two-thirds of respondents in this group (66
percent) indicated the pay was better in non-government medical facilities, approximately 16 percent found the opposite to
be true and 15 percent indicated pay rates were comparable.
Respondents' open-ended comments about government-facility work included:
- "There are pros and cons to government medical facilities vs. civilian. Although the pay is less, government facilities are
not subject to the hassle/headache of insurance denials, justifications, or prior authorizations."
- "Correctional medicine pays more and has less, yes less, aggravation than private practice."
- "Everything equal, VA beats private practice locum every time."
Although nearly half of respondents with government practice experience (47 percent) preferred a civilian clinical setting,
24 percent preferred a government clinical setting and 28 percent saw no difference between the two. http://LocumTenens.com/ booking trends indicate the average locum tenens assignment at a government healthcare facility is three months long. Physicians
responding to the recent government facilities survey indicated their top three reasons for accepting longer assignments were
compensation, flexible work hours, and the opportunity to rotate on and off at most government facilities.
Seventy-seven percent of respondents with government practice experience indicated that getting VetPro-credentialed (specific
to the Veterans Health Administration) eased the credentialing process for positions at other government facilities. In open-ended
comments, one provider described VetPro as an "excellent system that avoids duplication and saves time for the applicant."
Among respondents with government practice experience, 52 percent worked as a staff employee, 30 percent worked as a locum
tenens or contract employee, and 18 percent worked in both capacities. Sixty-two percent of respondents had practiced medicine
for more than 10 years, while about a quarter of respondents had practiced for five years or less.
Source: Physician Assessment of Government Facilities, http://LocumTenens.com/.
COMPARISON OF GOVERNMENT AND CIVILIAN FACILITY ATTRIBUTES
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