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84 CARE DELIVERY 84 7 Key Findings on Physician Placement By Emily Rappleye P rovider placement data confirms a significant need for primary care clinicians still exists, according to national healthcare re- cruiting company e Medicus Firm. Although more providers are increasingly being hired as hospital employees, exactly where primary care clinicians are placed may come as a surprise. e Medicus Firm tracks hiring trends annually, based on hundreds of placements at more than 250 hospitals and health systems. Here are seven of its findings on physician and clinician placement in 2015. 1. Primary care — including physicians in internal medicine, pediatrics and family medicine — was the most sought aer and placed specialty this year. Despite this high volume of hires, the percentage of primary care placements did decline about 3 percent- age points from 2014. Aer primary care, hospitalists, physician assistants and Ob/GYN were among the top specialists with the greatest placement and hiring activity for 2015. 2. An overwhelming majority of physicians choose employment over private practice out of necessity, according to e Medicus Firm. e data shows in 2015 that 92.07 percent of physicians were placed as employees. Just under 8 percent of physicians were placed in private practice, according to the report. Among private practice placements, more physicians — 6.17 percent — opted for a net in- come guarantee, and 1.76 percent opted for gross income guarantee. 3. For the first time in e Medicus Firm history, urban and met- ropolitan areas had higher placement and hiring activity than mid- sized or rural communities. is trend likely indicates intensified competition among physicians, despite how desirable a location may be, according to e Medicus Firm. Urban and metropolitan areas are defined as having a population of a half million or more. Across all states, the most placements were made in Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, California and Georgia. 4. e average signing and relocation bonus increased in 2015, though the percentage of placements who received signing bonuses declined from 74 percent to 68 percent. is is likely due to the in- crease in placements that traditionally do not give signing bonuses, such as non-physicians and academic physicians, according to e Medicus Firm. e average relocation amount offered in 2015 was $12,125 and the average signing bonus was $23,663. However, the largest signing bonus paid to a physician in 2015 was $250,000. 5. e upward trend of non-physician advanced practice clinician placement has continued. Physician assistants and nurse practi- tioners accounted for 8.3 percent of total placements, up from 6.3 percent in 2014, and up from 1.3 percent in 2012. Notably, PAs were the fourth most placed provider in 2015. 6. DO placements also increased in 2015. Osteopathic placements were up to 11.7 percent from 9.9 percent in 2015. is is a marked upward trend, as DO placement has increased significantly from 2011, when it accounted for 5.4 percent of total placement volume. 7. e Medicus Firm also noted an upward trend of placing American Medical Graduates over International Medical Grad- uates. is is significant because the proportion of IMGs in the active physician population has increased to about 24 percent, according to the report. AMG placement is up to 71.4 percent from 68.8 percent in 2014 and 58.6 percent in 2012. n CEO Viewpoint: We Need a New System to Prevent Repeat Drug Diverters From Working in Hospitals By Heather Punke R ocky Allen, a former surgical technician arrested for drug theft, was employed by at least five hospitals before he was arrested for stealing pain medication, switching syringes and putting patients at risk for blood- borne diseases. Mr. Allen worked at Northwest Hospital & Medical Center in Seattle for less than three months and was fired from there in March 2012, according to the Denver Post. From there, he worked as a surgical technician trainee at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., from May 9 to June 7, 2013, before he was terminated for attempting to switch a pain medication syringe with a saline syringe. After that, he was still able to find employment at two Arizona hospitals in 2014 and worked at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colo., from Aug. 17, 2015, to Jan. 22 of this year. At Swedish, Mr. Allen allegedly diverted drugs and pos- sibly left behind dirty syringes, putting patients at risk for bloodborne diseases. Swedish fired him in January, and in February he was taken into federal custody on charges of tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by deceit. During his employment at Swedish and the other hospitals, Mr. Allen potentially put thousands of patients at risk for HIV and hepatitis B and C due to his alleged practices. Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder is now calling for more open communication between healthcare provid- ers when it comes to drug diversion. "While I absolutely respect privacy rights, it sure would be helpful for healthcare employers to be able to share past employee information as it relates to drug diversion or have a government body where this information could be reported," Mr. Van Gorder said in an email to Becker's. "As in this case, the inability to share this information put patients at risk in multiple states." n