What Is Locum Tenens?
The phrase locum tenens is Latin for "to hold a place" — and that's precisely what these temporary physicians do. Locum tenens providers step in to fill coverage gaps at healthcare facilities, ranging from a single shift to a months-long engagement.
For urgent care centers, locum tenens staffing has shifted from a last resort to a core operational strategy. With the ongoing physician shortage projected to reach 124,000 by 2033 (AAMC), facilities that master flexible staffing will outlast those that don't.
Why Urgent Care Relies on Locums
Urgent care operates at a pace and unpredictability that most medical settings don't. A Tuesday can feel like a holiday weekend, or a holiday weekend can go unexpectedly quiet. Facilities need to scale physician coverage without the lead time of permanent hiring — and that's where locum tenens fits.
The three primary use cases:
- Vacancy coverage — A physician resigns or takes extended leave. Rather than burning out the remaining staff, a locum steps in immediately.
- Volume surge — Flu season, local events, or community growth drives patient volumes above baseline capacity.
- Market testing — Before committing to a permanent hire in a new market, operators use locums to validate demand.
The Traditional Staffing Model (and Its Costs)
Until recently, urgent care operators relied entirely on staffing agencies — firms that maintain a roster of credentialed physicians and match them to open shifts. This model works, but it carries significant overhead:
- Markup fees: Agencies typically charge 25–40% above the physician's rate.
- Slow matching: Average time-to-fill is 14–21 days in competitive markets.
- Opacity: Operators rarely know who they're getting until credentialing is complete.
- Redundancy: Multiple agencies often hold the same physician's profile, inflating apparent supply.
The result is a system that benefits the middleman more than the facility or the physician.
How AI Is Changing the Equation
AI-powered platforms like Rediworks are fundamentally rethinking this model. Instead of relying on a human coordinator to manually match supply and demand, machine learning identifies fit across hundreds of variables — geography, specialty alignment, credentialing status, schedule preferences, and facility culture.
For physicians, this means better-matched assignments with less administrative friction. For facilities, it means faster fills, verified credentials, and more transparent pricing.
The practical outcomes:
- Time-to-fill reduced from weeks to days
- Credential verification integrated into the matching process
- Predictive demand modeling that helps operators plan shifts proactively
What Good Locum Staffing Looks Like
Whether you use a traditional agency, an AI platform, or a hybrid approach, the fundamentals of good locum staffing don't change:
- Verify before day one: Credentialing should be complete — DEA, state medical license, malpractice coverage, and any facility-specific requirements — before the physician walks in.
- Communicate the culture: Brief locum providers on EMR systems, patient population, protocols, and escalation paths. The best locum physicians integrate quickly when they're properly onboarded.
- Build relationships: The locum physicians who perform well at your facility are your most valuable pipeline for future coverage — and potentially for permanent hires.
Starting in Colorado
Rediworks launched in Colorado, a market with some of the most acute urgent care demand in the Mountain West. Colorado's outdoor lifestyle drives injury volume, its population growth is outpacing provider supply, and the Front Range is consistently underserved on weekends and evenings.
We're building the infrastructure here first, proving the model, then expanding to adjacent markets. If you operate an urgent care center in Colorado, join the waitlist to be among the first facilities on the platform.