What does it take to maintain physician coverage when clinical demand outpaces workforce capacity?
With the U.S. projected to face a shortage of 106,520 full-time equivalent physicians in 2027, healthcare leaders face increasingly complex decisions about how to maintain continuity through organizational change, where to invest when clinical capacity falls short, and how to build coverage strategies that support future growth.
At this year’s Becker’s CEO + CFO Roundtable, Medicus Healthcare Solutions will bring together three healthcare executives for a panel discussion titled Physician Coverage Under Pressure: Balancing Cost, Continuity, and Access. Drawing on their experiences in cardiology, radiology, anesthesia, and broader clinical operations, the panelists will share how they approached difficult coverage decisions, what they learned along the way, and how those experiences are shaping their workforce strategies today.
Meet the Panelists
Dr. Matthew Broom
Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, BJC Medical Group
When BJC Medical Group needed to change how its cardiology practices operated, maintaining patient access throughout the shift was a priority. During the session, Dr. Broom will share what he learned about protecting continuity through change, why replacing one retiring physician may now require two new hires, how leaders can rethink workforce planning to account for that shift, and where he sees the physician workforce heading next.
Dr. Michael Loftus
Senior Vice President for System Medical and Academic Affairs, RWJBarnabas Health; Chief Medical and Quality Officer, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center
Dr. Loftus brings a health system perspective on how physician staffing decisions affect patient access, clinical operations, and quality of care. During the Medicus-hosted session, he will discuss how his organization stabilized radiology coverage amid staffing challenges and a growing backlog, what he would approach differently today, and broader considerations for maintaining quality and accountability across the clinical workforce.
Dr. Mohammed Minhaj
Harris Family Foundation Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, NorthShore, Swedish, and Northwest Community Hospitals, Endeavor Health
When anesthesia staffing pressures reduced available operating rooms at one of our hospitals from more than 30 to the mid-20s, the health system transitioned to an anesthesia care team model that helped restore surgical capacity. During the discussion, Dr. Minhaj will share lessons from that experience and discuss how healthcare leaders can evaluate staffing investments, sustain surgical access, and plan for future growth.
What Attendees Can Expect
Workforce forecasts show where the physician shortage is heading, but they rarely show what it looks like inside a health system when the schedule won’t fill. This session will bring that view into the room, giving healthcare leaders peer-level insight they can consider within their own organizations.
Key themes of the discussion will include:
- Protecting Continuity Through Change: Hear how healthcare leaders navigated significant changes in clinical staffing while working to maintain patient access and clinical capacity.
- Rethinking Coverage Strategies: Explore how leaders are adapting staffing approaches and redesigning care models to meet rising demand.
- Measuring Workforce Performance: Learn how leaders assess coverage effectiveness, identify emerging workforce risks, and determine whether their staffing models can support future service-line growth.
In addition, panelists will discuss how project-based staffing through the Medicus Transition Program supported their organizations during periods of significant clinical shortage, helping maintain coverage, operational stability, and patient access.
Join the Medicus Panel at Becker’s CEO + CFO Roundtable!
Attending the 14th Annual Becker’s CEO + CFO Roundtable? Join Medicus on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, from 10:20 to 11:00 AM to hear how healthcare executives are making critical physician coverage decisions, balancing competing priorities, and developing workforce strategies that support patient access and organizational performance.
After the session, stop by booth 9, where the panelists and Medicus team members will be available to discuss locum tenens staffing, the Medicus Transition Program, and MedicusOne, a next-generation VMS/MSP solution that helps healthcare organizations centralize locum tenens workforce management.
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