Watching Practitioner Placement Trends Can Help Your Hospital

Delta isn't the only organization watching the growing cardiology trend. The medical staff service professionals at Scripps Centralized Credentialing Service are anticipating an increase in applications from cardiologists, but for different reasons.

"Scripps has implemented the first phase of a cardiovascular institute," says Maggie Palmer, MSA, CPMSM, CPCS, director of Scripps Centralized Credentialing Service in San Diego. "That is going to take on a whole new face for us and we've seen a rise in the fellowships in cardiovascular disease."

Another regional trend that Palmer has seen is in the rise of perinatologists. "That trend is growing to provide 24-hour care, kind of like hospitalists, but for labor and delivery," she says.

San Diego has a need for more labor and delivery practitioners because it is a town with a lot of young residents; however, the need for those services follows a particular cycle. Because there is a large military population in the city, hospitals see an increase in births after deployments.

Trends can showcase declines as well as increases. "One decline we've seen is anesthesiology and one of the reasons why we've seen a decline is because those spots are being filled by CRNAs," says Penney. "In most climates, they're overseen by an anesthesiologist so you may have one anesthesiologist and four or five CRNAs who can take the place of an anesthesiologist."

Perhaps one of the most important tips to remember when tracking practitioner trends is to observe national trends, but never forget the particular needs and interests of your local patient base.

By watching trends and taking actions based on those findings, hospitals can have more control over their work flow and improve budget management.