Physician Vacancy Cost Calculator
See what an unfilled physician seat is costing your facility — by specialty, in 30 seconds. This free tool estimates daily revenue at risk, locum coverage cost, and total impact during your search using editable planning inputs.
- Overall physician median time-to-fill — 119 days for 2025 searches (2026 AAPPR public report); ends at contract signing, not the start date
- Hematology/Oncology historical revenue baseline — $7,822/day, not current pricing
- Oncology-group median — 244 days, not a measured subspecialty timeline; excludes credentialing
- Typical physician time-to-start — 229 days from posting to start; not additive to time-to-fill and not specialty-specific
- Free, no-login planning tool for hospital CFOs, VPMAs, and group administrators
How the cost of a physician vacancy is calculated
Estimated impact = days × (daily revenue at risk + daily locum cost) × open seats. Do not add downstream revenue already included in net hospital revenue. If locum coverage preserves revenue, enter only the remaining daily revenue at risk to avoid counting both full lost revenue and coverage cost. This is a directional scenario estimate, not a profit calculation or financial advice.
Selecting a specialty sets editable revenue and timeline defaults. The calculator labels changed values as custom inputs; editing does not change the published reference benchmark.
Oncology benchmarks and methodology
Oncology revenue baselines are annual net hospital revenue per physician from the 2019 survey (approximately 2018-era data), divided by 365 calendar days and rounded to the nearest dollar. They are not gross billings or profit, have no inflation adjustment, and are not 2026 current pricing.
Sources: 2019 AMN/Merritt Hawkins Physician Inpatient/Outpatient Revenue Survey (PDF) and 2026 AAPPR public benchmarking report.
| Selected specialty | Source specialty | Annual net hospital revenue | Daily baseline | Benchmark basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hematology/Oncology | Hematology/Oncology (2019) | $2,855,000 | $7,822/day | Reported broad specialty average; editable planning baseline |
| Oncology (General) | Hematology/Oncology (2019) | $2,855,000 | $7,822/day | Proxy — not a measured subspecialty average; editable planning baseline |
| Medical Oncology | Hematology/Oncology (2019) | $2,855,000 | $7,822/day | Proxy — not a measured subspecialty average; editable planning baseline |
| Gynecologic Oncology | Hematology/Oncology (2019) | $2,855,000 | $7,822/day | Proxy — not a measured subspecialty average; editable planning baseline |
| Surgical Oncology | General Surgery (2019) | $2,707,317 | $7,417/day | Proxy — not a measured subspecialty average; editable planning baseline |
| Radiation Oncology | Hematology/Oncology (2019) | $2,855,000 | $7,822/day | Proxy — not a measured subspecialty average; editable planning baseline |
| Pediatric Hematology/Oncology | Pediatrics (2019) | $1,612,500 | $4,418/day | Proxy — not a measured subspecialty average; editable planning baseline |
Each proxy is an editable planning baseline, not a measured subspecialty average. No subspecialty premiums have been added.
All oncology options start at 244 days: the oncology-group median for 2025 searches in the 2026 AAPPR public report. Applied to individual oncology specialties, this is a group-level planning proxy, not a measured subspecialty timeline. Time-to-fill ends at contract signing and excludes credentialing and onboarding; the overall physician median was 119 days.
Typical physician time-to-start is 229 days from job posting to the physician's start date. This is an overall physician benchmark, not specialty-specific or an oncology timeline. It is not an additional 229 days to add to the 119-day time-to-fill benchmark; these are different endpoints measured from posting. Enter your facility's expected vacancy duration if you need a through-start estimate.
Other specialty revenue defaults are legacy illustrative planning inputs, not measured specialty averages. Additional specialties reuse disclosed planning inputs from another category; the selected option identifies that basis. Non-oncology timelines are illustrative except Endocrinology & Metabolism, which uses the 321-day specialty median from the 2026 AAPPR report. Replace illustrative inputs with your facility's data.
Frequently asked questions
What does an unfilled physician position cost per day?
The impact depends on your facility's revenue at risk and coverage costs. The broad Hematology/Oncology baseline is $7,822/day, derived from $2,855,000 annual net hospital revenue in the 2019 survey. Oncology subspecialty options use explicitly labeled proxies; other specialty defaults are legacy illustrative inputs, not current measured averages.
What physician search timelines does the 2026 AAPPR report provide?
The public 2026 AAPPR report, covering 2025 searches, reports median time-to-fill of 119 days for physicians overall, 244 days for oncology, and 321 days for endocrinology/metabolism. Time-to-fill ends at contract signing. The calculator uses 244 days as a planning proxy across oncology options, not a measured subspecialty timeline; it excludes credentialing and onboarding. 50% of physician searches remained open on December 31, 2025.
Is physician time-to-start different from time-to-fill?
Typical physician time-to-start is 229 days from job posting to the physician's start date. This is an overall physician benchmark, not specialty-specific or an oncology timeline. It is not an additional 229 days to add to the 119-day time-to-fill benchmark; these are different endpoints measured from posting. Enter your facility's expected vacancy duration if you need a through-start estimate.
How is the cost of a physician vacancy calculated?
Estimated impact = days × (daily revenue at risk + daily locum cost) × open seats. Do not add downstream revenue already included in net hospital revenue. If locum coverage preserves revenue, enter only the remaining daily revenue at risk to avoid counting both full lost revenue and coverage cost. This is a directional scenario estimate, not a profit calculation or financial advice.
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