It takes about three months to fill a provider vacancy at a median cost of roughly $16,000 per search; another three to four months are required to complete credentialing
The time it takes to fill open vacancies for provider positions continues to edge longer as demand for physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs) remains high.
That’s our observation after reviewing a new report titled the “2025 Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report” by AAPPR.
The report is based on data for the calendar year 2024. It includes responses from 128 healthcare organizations that provided data on some 15,000 searches. The data lean toward larger organizations, as more than half of the responding organizations were from multi-hospital or integrated health delivery systems.
Even so, the report provides the most current and comprehensive data available at the moment. It’s a practical tool for healthcare employers trying to understand the cost and time it takes to bring a new provider on board. A handful of the findings that stood out to us follow below.
1. Employers conducted fewer provider searches
Healthcare organizations conducted fewer searches for providers in 2024. The median was 96 – down from 115 in 2023 and 110 in 2022. Individually, recruiters conduct a median of 35.6 searches during the same period, which is down from a high of 40 in 2022.
This is a surprising finding given that the shortage of providers is persistent. While the report does not explicitly connect fewer searches to retention, it does show that turnover rates have fallen modestly (1-2%) from their peak in 2022, which is a possible (and partial) explanation.
We should note that there is also a vast difference in the number of searches conducted based on the size of the organization. For example, healthcare employers with 750 or more providers conducted a median of 368 searches, while those with fewer than 200 conducted just 16.
2. Most searches are seeking physicians
Physicians accounted for the majority (61.2%) of recruiting searches in this report. This was followed by nurse practitioners (21.3%), physician assistants (11.6%), nurse anesthetists (3.4%), nurse midwives (1.5%), and other (1.1%). The “other” category “contained titles such as psychologist, physical therapist and occupational therapist.”
The most common searches for physicians are centered on hospital medicine (10.8%), family medicine (10.6%), OB/GYN (7.8%), internal medicine (5.8%), anesthesia (4.1%), and neurology (4.1%). The full report lists more than 20 other specialties, each one accounting for 4% or less of the total searches included in this data set.
3. The cost of provider searches
Eight in 10 healthcare organizations in this survey commissioned an outside search firm to help them find providers, either on retainer, contingency, or a combination of both. Just 20.8% said they did not use a search firm and presumably handled their recruiting activities in-house.
The report puts the median cost per search by an outside search firm at $15,938. Larger organizations, which have higher search volume, paid more per search. For example, those on the high end, with 750 providers or more on staff, paid a median of $18,000 per search. By contrast, those on the low end, with fewer than 200 providers on staff, paid a median of $8,571 per search.
The cost of searches can vary for an individual search for a variety of reasons, like the medical specialization being sought. However, even less expensive searches can add up quickly over time. For example, even small healthcare employers with fewer than 200 providers conducted a median of 16 searches, which adds up to $255,008 annually in service fees.
4. Healthcare employers are quick to make a job offer
Recruiting organizations are quick to make an offer to providers they’ve interviewed. The survey found the average number of interviews conducted with a physician candidate before making an offer was just two. The average number of interviews is even lower for APPs, like nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs), coming in at just 1.7 interviews per offer.
The average number of interviews for physicians has trended modestly downward since 2018; the survey put the average at 2.5. That trend is similar, but more subtle with APPs where the average number of interviews before offering a job in 2018 was 1.9.
5. Most providers accept the job offers made
The survey found that 71% of physicians who were offered a job accepted the offer. That number was a bit higher for APPs at 80%. Although these acceptance rates have fallen slightly from a high in 2021 – 86.2% for APPs and 76.4% for physicians – broadly speaking, they have been relatively flat since 2018.
It’s worth mentioning that the recruiting process itself can weigh heavily on a provider’s decision to accept an offer. For example, a separate snap survey of 107 U.S.-based providers conducted in 2024 found 45% of providers will refuse an offer if the recruiting experience is poor.
If the recruiting process is administratively frustrating, providers infer their future job at that organization will be too if they accept the offer. As one provider remarked, “If recruiting is done poorly, there’s no way patient care runs smoothly or culture is healthy.”
6. Benchmarks for time-to-fill provider positions
In 2024, it took a median of 93 days to fill an open position for a primary care physician. APPs came in a bit lower – taking 80 days to fill a vacancy. Searches for specialists took more than twice as long to fill. For example, the recruiting efforts to bring in a surgeon lasted 176 days before being filled.
7. Time required for credentialing and privileging
One of the unique aspects of recruiting in healthcare that’s different from other professions is the credentialing and privileging process. This typically takes place after an offer is made to verify that the provider meets the education and training requirements of the job.
The report notes that 70% of responding healthcare organizations say this process takes three to four months. Another 14% said it takes longer, five to six months, while 16% said it takes less time, one to two months.
The top reasons credentialing gets delayed are as follows:
- 42% said “medical staff services waiting on the physician or clinician for items”;
- 38% said “state license delay”;
- 30% said “awaiting verifications or references”;
- 22% said “internal credentialing delays (awaiting signatures or reviews, etc.)”;
- 15% said “DEA delay”;
- 11% said “shortage of staff to support hire process”;
- 10% said “physician requested change to start later”;
- 8% said “poor communication between parties”; and
- 7% said “a delay in the immigration process.”
Download the full report from AAPPR
The full report, which runs 37 pages in length, contains many more findings and includes many graphics that provide segmented nuance and detail. Becker’s Hospital Review summarized some of the findings as well. The full report costs $250 and can be purchased from AAPPR here.
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