Staffing giant CHG Healthcare Services has bought a locum tenens firm based in Salt Lake City, the company announced Thursday.
CHG Healthcare Services purchased Global Medical Staffing, a company that temporarily places physicians in healthcare facilities worldwide. CHG will retain all 50 employees at the firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The purchase shows added recognition by a major staffing company that locum tenens firms are of interest to hospitals. A 2015 report by Staff Care, a subsidiary of AMN Healthcare that recruits locum tenens physicians, found 91% of healthcare facility managers used locum tenens physicians in 2014, up from 73% in 2012.
Global Medical staffs doctors in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Canada and the U.K. The purchase will expand CHG's services globally, according to a news release.
This is the third locum tenens company under CHG's portfolio. The company also owns Salt Lake City-based CompHealth, a firm with more than 800 employees across the nation, and Weatherby Healthcare, a Fort Lauderdale-based company with 400 employees.
Experts say that physician shortages, more individuals insured under the Affordable Care Act and stronger hospital finances have all driven more interest by providers in staffing firms.
