Healthcare facilities have increasingly turned to managed service providers (MSP) in an effort to streamline staffing processes, lower costs, and ease administrative burdens.
While MSP healthcare models undoubtedly bring advantages, particularly for general staffing needs, their effectiveness diminishes significantly in specialized fields like oncology.
Oncology staffing requires deep expertise, speed, and specialized knowledge that traditional MSPs, and even some MSP oncology providers, often struggle to deliver. At Cancer CarePoint, the nation’s only staffing firm exclusively dedicated to oncology, we see firsthand that one-size-fits-all MSP models frequently miss the mark in providing niche oncology professionals, particularly in high-demand, high-burnout roles. Our boutique, concierge approach prioritizes swift and precise placements, bypassing bureaucracy and bulk-driven inefficiencies typical of larger staffing providers.
Facilities are not powerless in navigating this dynamic; instead, they can leverage a hybrid model by utilizing MSPs for general staffing while strategically partnering with specialized agencies for critical oncology roles. This blended approach ensures both operational efficiency and the highest quality patient care.
Let’s explore how your facility can regain control and improve outcomes by balancing the efficiency of MSPs with the depth and responsiveness of specialized oncology staffing solutions, ensuring a more effective approach than a standard healthcare managed services provider model.
Understanding MSPs in Oncology Staffing
Put simply, MSPs function as intermediaries between hospitals and staffing vendors. They centralize communication, post open positions through a proprietary vendor management system (VMS) staffing tool, and oversee credentialing, billing, and compliance. By consolidating vendor activity, MSP healthcare models claim to reduce the need for in-house staffing coordination and simplify vendor oversight.
In return, MSPs typically take a percentage of each placement’s bill rate (usually 5% to 6%) for access to their vendor networks and services. This model can be helpful for large systems managing a high volume of temporary staffing requests; however, facilities need to consider whether the additional costs are worthwhile before implementation.
Management Challenges with MSPs
Despite these advantages, MSPs aren’t always equipped to meet the needs of highly specialized departments like oncology. Facilities often encounter the following hurdles:
- Lack of niche expertise: Generalist MSPs may not maintain vendor panels with oncology-specific providers, especially in subspecialties like dosimetry, physics, or thoracic oncology.
- Communication barriers: Once a facility adopts an MSP, direct communication with vendors may be restricted, adding a layer of complexity to urgent staffing needs.
- Decreased flexibility: Because MSPs manage high volumes across multiple departments, personalized solutions can take a backseat to standardized processes.
- Transactional relationships: Oncology staffing thrives on continuity and connection, two qualities that can be lost in a high-volume, broad-spectrum MSP model.
Oversight and Ethical Questions
Additionally, there are other costs associated with outsourcing vendor management to a third party. Besides the typical 5-6% fee, there is also the question of vendor neutrality. Many vendors have complained when working with MSPs, particularly those in VMS staffing, citing the belief that they are manipulating the order flow to benefit their own employees.
For example, concerns have been raised about the potential for MSPs to “hold” hospital orders for two or even three days, giving their recruiters a head start in filling the position. This would result in lower-quality candidates and longer periods of vacancy.
This question is especially concerning for niche fields, like oncology. While the MSPs’ general staff may be good enough for common positions that are easy to fill, expertise and relationships with providers are more important for smaller, specialized areas.
How To Check if Your MSP is Vendor Neutral
If you have concerns that your MSP might be preferring its own vendors, follow these steps:
- Check who owns the MSP. If a staffing agency owns them, which is true of some of the more popular systems, there is a greater likelihood of collusion.
- Ask them how long it takes to get an order request to participating vendors. Using today’s technology and best practices, it shouldn’t take them more than an hour to get the job to all participating vendors.
- Check with other agencies. Identify the point of contact with several agencies that work with the MSP. An hour after releasing an order, call them to make sure they’ve received the notice. If they haven’t, something may be wrong.
A Smarter Approach: Filling the Gaps in MSPs With Oncology-Specific Staffing Solutions Beyond the MSP Healthcare Model
MSPs can play a valuable role in healthcare operations, but they aren’t meant to replace the expertise of specialized partners. Facilities that rely solely on MSPs may face higher costs, gaps in placing niche providers, and even ethical concerns.
That’s where Cancer CarePoint can help. We can work alongside your MSP healthcare provider to deliver personalized, high-touch support tailored explicitly to oncology staffing. Our team offers in-depth expertise in sourcing, credentialing, and onboarding providers across the entire oncology spectrum, including locum tenens medical oncologists, radiation therapists, and oncology-certified nurses.
Beyond that, if you decide to let go of MSPs altogether, we can help you fill the gaps as you transition to bringing their services back in-house. By partnering with Cancer CarePoint, your facility gains access to a vetted network of oncology specialists, rapid placements for urgent or niche roles, a concierge-level service model with a single point of contact, and customized solutions that align with your patient care goals and accreditation standards.
Making the Most of Your MSP Relationship
To ensure your MSP partnership supports, rather than hinders, your staffing strategy:
- Maintain open communication between your MSP and specialty partners to effectively align goals and timelines.
- Conduct regular evaluations of fill rates, credentialing accuracy, and provider performance.
- Supplement MSP services with a specialized firm when urgent or highly specific roles can’t be filled through general channels.
- Advocate for flexibility in your MSP contract to allow niche staffing firms like Cancer CarePoint to contribute when needed.
Oncology Care Deserves Specialized Staffing
Managed service providers can be an effective part of your staffing toolkit, but they don’t cover everything. In oncology care, where staffing needs are nuanced and time-sensitive, having a specialized partner makes all the difference.
The Cancer CarePoint team understands that patient outcomes depend on having the right team in place. With over 125 years of combined oncology staffing experience, we deliver proactive, concierge-level solutions that enhance care, mitigate risk, and safeguard your bottom line, whether or not you currently work with a healthcare managed services provider.
Contact Cancer CarePoint today to learn how we can partner with your facility, regardless of whether you work with an MSP. Let’s ensure your oncology program is fully supported with the specialized professionals it needs.
