NY

Locum physicians: Hospitals are raising your malpractice limits. That can make you the target. More hospitals and health systems are requiring locum tenens physicians to carry coverage above the industry standard of $1M per claim / $3M aggregate. On paper, “more insurance” sounds like more protection. In practice, it often does the opposite. Plaintiffs’ attorneys look for collectibility. Once a case is filed, they learn the policy limits. The physician with the highest available coverage—often the locum who was forced above the local standard—becomes the deep pocket. Settlement demands expand to that ceiling. In multi-defendant cases, joint-and-several liability can pull the locum in even when their role was limited, because their policy is the easiest check to write. Higher limits rarely decide whether you get sued. They change how the case is valued after you are. What locums should do: Ask for the exact per-claim and aggregate limits in your name, not “standard coverage.” Confirm whether limits are per provider or shared. Get the Certificate of Insurance before you start. Compare the facility’s demand to what employed staff at that same hospital actually carry. A request to VMS/MSP partners: Do not automatically pass hospital “higher limit” demands through to locum agencies and physicians. Push back. Ask why employed physicians at the same facility are credentialed at $1M/$3M while the locum is being required to carry more. That disparity is what turns the locum into the attractive defendant. @NALTOlocums — this belongs on the advocacy agenda. Member agencies already provide coverage as a core standard. Industry-wide pressure to inflate limits above the market norm does not improve patient safety. It shifts litigation risk onto the temporary physician and raises cost for every assignment. NALTO is the right voice to set a clear position: standard limits that match the facility’s own medical staff, not a special higher bar for locums. Locums already absorb schedule risk, credentialing delay, and tail exposure. They should not also be asked to wear a larger target. If you have seen this requirement in a recent contract, say so in the comments. Facilities, agencies, and NALTO need to hear how common this has become. #LocumTenens #PhysicianStaffing #MedicalMalpractice #NALTO #HealthcareStaffing #EmergencyMedicine #ACPE26

Staffing shortages in hospitals are a big problem. So is not being able to credential physicians in a timely manner. It should not take 6-12 months to credential a clinician.

Every shift I work, one of my colleagues mentions retiring or leaving medicine. Burnout is real. Medicine is not the same as 10 years ago. It’s sad to hear. I am also guilty of it. If it wasn’t for me being able to control my schedule and work where I want and on my terms, I probably would have left medicine years ago.