Hallmark Health Care Solutions, the leader in Workforce Intelligence and Enablement, today announced the launch of its Locum Tenens Vendor Management functionality within its Total Workforce Vendor Management System (VMS). This new capability enables health systems to centralize sourcing and management of locum tenens providers, creating a more connected, transparent, and data-driven marketplace for contingent physician talent.
Across the healthcare landscape, communication between health systems and staffing agencies remains disjointed and inefficient, often resulting in rising costs and administrative burden. Despite representing a $10 billion market, less than 30% of locums sourcing is currently done through centralized, third-party solutions, leaving systems with limited visibility into spend, performance, and utilization. At the same time, the market for locum staffing continues to grow at 9–10% annually, with 44% of physicians who changed jobs in 2024 taking a locum position—up from 28% just two years earlier. In rural markets, where only about 10% of physicians serve roughly 20% of the U.S. population, locum providers have become essential to maintaining access and continuity of care.
These trends underscore the urgent need for a strategic and collaborative approach to locum tenens management. Health systems are facing a projected shortage of over 100,000 providers by 2028, and 88% report concerns about rising locums costs as wage inflation outpaces reimbursement growth. While agencies are adapting to increased provider pay demand, health systems still require the tools and insights to make fair, market-aligned decisions and ensure optimal access.
“For years, limited visibility in the locums market has challenged both health systems and agencies in building truly collaborative and transparent partnerships,” said Bharat Sundaram, CEO of Hallmark Health Care Solutions. “Health systems are seeking solutions that ensure fair market value and foster transparency, trust, and alignment across all stakeholders. With our deep expertise in physician compensation and our ability to align incentives with performance, our new service offering brings a proven foundation for ensuring fairness and accountability across the workforce. Hallmark is positioned to enable systems and agencies to operate with shared goals of performance, value, and clinician satisfaction.”
Hallmark’s Locum Tenens Vendor Management functionality introduces a vendor-neutral marketplace delivering real-time visibility into cost and performance metrics. For rural hospitals and critical access facilities, this model creates reliable access to qualified providers, reducing costly service disruptions, strengthening financial stability, and ensuring communities receive the care they need. This launch marks another significant milestone in Hallmark’s commitment to empowering health systems with the intelligence, automation, and alignment needed to manage their most critical asset—their workforce.
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