Help wanted: Hospitals, doctors offices should hire more in the next year

Several factors--most notably an anticipated stabilization of Medicare payments to physicians and the new healthcare reform law--are contributing to many experts' opinions that more jobs at both doctors' offices and hospitals will be created in the coming months, according to an American Medical News article. 

In the first six months of 2010, the number of jobs added in doctors' offices was pinned at 3,600, a dramatic decrease from the 8,000 jobs added in the first half of 2009. But with Congress finally agreeing in June on a 2.2 percent pay increase for Medicare doctors through Nov. 30, many, including Medical Group Management Association vice president of innovation and research David Gans, see a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Gans also told amednews that he thought because hiring freezes left a lot of practices "pretty lean," those practices would, once again, need to add more manpower. "You want to cut the fat, but you don't want to cut the muscle," he said. "You have to optimize the number of staff to meet the needs of the doctors and the business needs of the practice." 

Furthermore, Gans said, with more doctors hired comes more support staff. A report from the Conference Board--a research association that follows online job demand--shows that ads for such staffers grew by 2,100 listings in the last month to 113,900. 

In contrast to the decline of added doctors' office jobs in the first half of this year compared with last year, hospital hiring doubled over the same time period, from 1,600 jobs added for the first half of 2009 to 3,200 added for the first half of 2010. The anticipation of more people with insurance likely led to the increase, believes Brian McCartie, vice president of business development for St. Louis-based health executive search firm Cejka Search. 

"Hospitals are really trying to better position themselves for 2012 and beyond," McCartie told amednews. 

For more information:
- read this American Medical News piece

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