Dive Brief:
- Medical staffing startup Nomad Health has expanded its services to California and Texas, the company announced on Wednesday.
- The broker-driven, cloud-based platform connects doctors to freelance clinical work in areas.
- The launch comes less than a year after Nomad Health completed a $4 million Series A funding round with First Round Capital, RRE Ventures and .406 Ventures. The New York-based firm has already connected 5,000 doctors and 300 healthcare facilities up and down the East Coast.
Dive Insight:
Nomad is betting big on the need for freelance clinical work to fuel their growth.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, a U.S. physician shortage could reach up to 104,900 by 2030, fueled in part by growing demand for healthcare under the Affordable Care Act and an aging population. Meanwhile, a survey by Leaders for Today found “unprecedented turnover and attrition” at all levels within hospitals. Retirement is also part of the problem, but so are slow hiring processes that cause hospitals to lose qualified candidates who opt for jobs elsewhere.
To fill the gap, many hospitals and health systems are developing strategies such as hiring freelance physicians, allowing nurse practitioners to practice independently and lightening doctors’ administrative burdens.
It's not surprising some of the largest states in the U.S. were chosen as expansion packs. Texas and California are big states with big markets for temporary doctors. In California, six of nine regions have a shortage of primary care providers, according to Nomad Health, adding 35 counties in Texas lack a single practicing physician while 80 counties have five or fewer doctors.
The shortage is not limited to physicians, however. A report released in March found nearly half of surveyed nurses (49.8%) are considering leaving the profession, many because they feel overworked.