For Hospital
The goal is simple. Protect your margins, stabilize coverage, and help you deliver high quality care close to home for the patients who rely on your hospital most.
Rural Hospital Impact Summary for One Unfilled Family Medicine Physician Seat
Data vary depending on physician specialty*
Data vary depending on physician specialty*
#
Operational Focus Area
Negative Impact
Data (Within Rural Hospital Systems)
Sources
1
Annual financial loss per unfilled physician seat
Lost visits, procedures, labs, imaging, and referrals reduce revenue and can move a thin margin hospital into deficit.
1.2 to 1.7 million dollars per year
BST Quarterly, MGMA
2
Cost of locum coverage vs permanent placement
Higher pay rates and inconsistent schedules increase costs and disrupt continuity of care.
Locums cost 30 to 50 percent more
RHIhub, MGMA
3
Revenue leakage from canceled clinics and reduced procedures
Lost ancillary revenue from imaging, labs, admissions, and downstream services magnifies financial impact.
200,000 to 400,000 dollars additional loss
MGMA benchmarks, rural case studies
4
Time to fill a primary care physician role
Extended recruitment timelines lengthen revenue loss and strain staffing coverage.
6-8 months
BST Quarterly, MGMA
5
Service lines or beds affected by vacancy
Vacancies force schedule cuts and increase patient outmigration to better staffed systems.
One to two clinic days reduced or one service line paused
RHihub, rural case studies.
Why These Numbers Matter
- Vacancies in rural settings create real financial impact. Lost patient visits, reduced imaging and lab volume, canceled clinics, and extended reliance on high cost locums add up quickly. A single unfilled physician seat can interrupt service lines, increase patient outmigration, and strain the overall financial performance of the hospital.
- Our firm has developed a proprietary rural hospital matching and scoring system that improves accuracy and speed. This system evaluates physician fit, specialty demand, community readiness, and long term retention indicators so that decisions are more efficient and more data driven.
How We Support Rural Hospitals
- We specialize in Rural Bridge Staffing and use a structured process designed for faster and more reliable outcomes. Our team applies data driven targeting, personalized outreach, and rural fit scoring to identify physicians who are qualified and more likely to stay.
- We support every step of the hiring process including candidate screening, placement coordination, interview preparation, contract preparation guidance, community readiness support, and onboarding assistance. The result is reduced financial loss, stronger clinical coverage, and a stable provider pipeline for your community.
Rural Hospital Impact Summary for One Unfilled Family Medicine Physician Seat Data varies per physician specialty.