Finding your substitute: How to cover your time off

Whether you use locum tenens physicians or get help from another practice, experts say planning is key to successfully covering your absence from work.

By Katherine Vogt, AMNews staff. Aug. 28, 2006.

Torn between responsibilities to his solo family practice in White Oak, Pa., and a desire to see his daughter compete in out-of-town figure skating events, Louis DiToppa, DO, had to come up with a game plan.

He had an informal arrangement with another solo practitioner to cover his hospital call when needed, but the deal didn't cover time off to watch his daughter skate. Without any partners or midlevel staffers with prescribing authority to step in during his absence, he decided to hire locum tenens physicians. He figured it would cost about $800 per day, or $4,000 per week, but the cost seemed well worth it.

"The cost is high but you have to weigh it against mental sanity and time off," said Dr. DiToppa. "My daughter is only going to be 11 for [a short] time.

"We're still running the office and there's still income coming into the office," he added.

Many physicians find themselves in similar predicaments. While larger practices can likely cover physician absences from within their own ranks, smaller groups and solo physicians often have to work hard to keep their practices active while they are out.

Typically those physicians have two options: They can reach an agreement with outside physicians to step in as needed or they can hire locum tenens physicians. The former scenario is most often used for short-term absences and might be as simple as a verbal understanding without any exchange of money. The latter, which may involve more advanced planning, is typically used to fill in for longer periods --absences of weeks or months -- and will likely require a contract as well as payment.