Locum Tenens and Physician Recruiter Contact Data

The Three Segments of Physician Staffing

Locum Tenens Agencies

Traditional locum tenens agencies match physicians with short-term assignments at hospitals and group practices. The largest agencies (Weatherby Healthcare, CompHealth, Locumsmart, Staff Care, Barton Associates, AMN Healthcare's locums division, and dozens of regional and specialty-focused agencies) collectively manage tens of thousands of active locum providers.

Buying decisions at locum agencies typically involve: the CEO or president, the VP of operations, the VP of sales, the recruiting director, the credentialing director, and the technology lead. They buy: physician contact databases for sourcing, credentialing software, applicant tracking systems, scheduling tools, payment platforms, marketing automation, and increasingly, AI-driven matching technology.

In-House Physician Recruiters

Hospitals and large group practices employ in-house physician recruiters who source permanent and locum physicians. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the US faces a projected physician shortage of 86,000-128,000 by 2036, which has accelerated in-house recruiting investment.

In-house physician recruiters work for: health systems, academic medical centers, large multispecialty groups, FQHCs, and increasingly, telehealth platforms. Their buying decisions involve: the CHRO or VP of talent acquisition, the physician recruitment director, and physician leaders involved in recruitment. They buy: physician contact databases, sourcing tools, applicant tracking systems, employer branding services, and recruitment marketing.

Locum Marketplaces and Tech Platforms

A newer category of marketplaces and platforms (Nomad Health, Trusted Health, Aya Healthcare's tech platform, Vivian Health for nursing, and several physician-specific platforms) has emerged in the last decade. These companies operate as tech-enabled marketplaces rather than traditional staffing agencies. They have engineering teams, product teams, and growth teams alongside their recruiting teams.

Marketplaces buy differently than traditional agencies. They look for: API-accessible data, programmatic enrichment, fraud and verification tools, clinical credentialing automation, and platform integrations. They're often more sophisticated tech buyers than traditional agencies.

The Decision-Maker Map

For locum agencies, the key contacts are:

• CEO or President - sets vendor strategy, approves large investments
• COO or VP Operations - manages recruiting and credentialing operations
• VP of Recruiting / Director of Recruiting - owns physician sourcing
• VP of Sales / Director of Sales - owns hospital and group client relationships
• Director of Credentialing - owns the credentialing process
• Director of IT or CTO - approves technology purchases
• Director of Marketing - owns physician acquisition and brand

For in-house physician recruiters, the key contacts are:

• CHRO or VP Talent Acquisition - approves vendor and budget decisions
• Director of Physician Recruitment - owns the function operationally
• Director of Provider Relations - bridges recruiting and physician leadership
• Chief Medical Officer - involved in physician leadership recruiting
• Service line leaders - drive recruiting needs by specialty

For marketplace platforms, the key contacts are:

• CEO and Founders - product and strategy decisions
• VP Product - integrates third-party tools into the platform
• VP Engineering - approves API integrations
• VP Operations - owns credentialing and verification workflows
• VP Growth - owns acquisition and marketing

Mistakes Vendors Make Selling Into Physician Staffing

Mistake 1: Treating All Staffing Companies the Same

Locum tenens, allied health staffing, travel nursing, and per-diem nursing are different markets with different buyers. Allied health staffing companies (PT, OT, SLP) don't buy physician databases. Travel nursing agencies buy nursing data, not physician data. Don't waste outreach on the wrong segment.

Mistake 2: Pitching the Wrong Buying Committee

At a traditional locum agency, the recruiting director cares about physician contact data quality. The CTO cares about API access and integration. The CEO cares about ROI and competitive differentiation. Pitching the same message to all three wastes meetings.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Specialty Focus

An anesthesia-focused locum agency doesn't need broad physician data. They need anesthesia provider data with practice setting and case volume. Pitching general physician databases to specialty agencies signals you don't understand the market.

Mistake 4: Missing Marketplace Differences

Marketplace platforms operate like tech companies, not staffing agencies. They want APIs, not CSV downloads. They want enrichment that runs in workflow, not batch refreshes. Pitching them with traditional staffing language fails.