What do the latest healthcare news and trends reveal about where the workforce is headed? Our Q3 2026 Healthcare Market Report takes a closer look at the stories shaping the quarter, including advanced practitioner and locum tenens workforce growth, rising physician employment, rural hospital closures, and more.
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Q3 2026 Healthcare Market Report Snapshot
Advanced Practitioner Workforce Set to Outpace Physicians
According to estimates published in Health Affairs, the nurse practitioner and physician assistant workforces are projected to grow by 11% and 5.6% annually through 2030, respectively, far exceeding the anticipated growth of the physician workforce. 
More Than a Third of Residents and Fellows Intend to Stay Where They Trained Post-Graduation
A new American Medical Association (AMA) survey found that 38.6% of residents and fellows said they definitely would or were likely to remain with the organization where they trained after graduation. This represents a 5.3-percentage-point increase from 2024.
Burnout Continues to Weigh on the Physician Workforce
Physician well-being has shown little progress in recent years. Findings from Medscape's 2026 Physicians Mental Health & Well-Being Report reveal that, compared with three years ago, physicians continue to report declines in several areas of their personal lives, particularly work-life balance and overall happiness. 
With burnout, depression, or both still affecting nearly half of physicians, well-being remains a critical workforce issue with direct implications for retention, continuity, and long-term stability.
More Physicians Across Key Specialties Are Working Locum Tenens
According to proprietary Medicus data, as of July 2026, more than 171,700 physicians are working or have worked locum tenens alongside a permanent role or as a standalone career, representing approximately 17% of the total U.S. physician workforce. 
The continued growth of the locum tenens workforce points to a broader shift in how physicians are building their careers. As physician shortages persist, locum tenens also gives healthcare organizations a dependable way to sustain access to care while allowing physicians greater control over how and where they practice.
More Than 80% of Physicians Are Now Employed
According to the Physicians Advocacy Institute, physician employment reached a new high in January 2026, with hospitals and corporate entities employing 82% of physicians, up 5.6 percentage points over the past two years. 
Hospitals now employ nearly 60% of physicians and have accounted for the largest increase in physician employment over the past few years. Corporate entities, including private equity firms and health insurers, employ just over 22% of physicians, reaching a new high this year. 
Rural Hospital Closures Put Millions Farther From Care
According to the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform's July 2026 Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closure report, more than 100 rural hospitals have closed across the United States over the past decade, reducing local access to emergency, inpatient, and other hospital services for more than 4 million rural residents.
The threat to rural access extends beyond full hospital closures. Since the beginning of 2023, 53 hospitals have eliminated inpatient services to qualify for federal funding through the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation. These facilities previously provided inpatient care to more than 11,000 rural residents each year. As a result, patients who require hospitalization must now be transferred elsewhere, placing greater pressure on regional hospitals, transfer networks, and already-limited clinical workforces.
AI Adoption Among Physicians Doubles Over Three Years
Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving rapidly into physicians' daily workflows. According to the American Medical Association's (AMA) 2026 Physician Survey on Augmented Intelligence, more than 80% of physicians now use AI in a professional context, approximately twice the share reported in 2023. 
Medicus Healthcare Solutions Named Among SIA's Fastest-Growing Staffing Firms
Medicus Healthcare Solutions was included in two of Staffing Industry Analysts' (SIA) 2026 reports, highlighting the company's continued expansion across the healthcare staffing industry.
In SIA's Largest Staffing Firms Globally report, Medicus achieved the highest year-over-year growth rate among the 100 firms included. Medicus was also named to SIA's Fastest-Growing U.S. Staffing Firms list, posting the strongest five-year growth rate among the largest companies in the analysis. 
For a more comprehensive look at these insights and other developments shaping healthcare this quarter, download the complete Q3 2026 Healthcare Market Report.