CHG Healthcare Survey: Advanced Practice Providers Have Become Essential to Health System Workforce Strategy

While urban facilities expand APP locum investment, rural systems are cutting usage due to budget constraints — widening geographic disparities in care access

MIDVALE, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Advanced practice providers (APPs) have moved from a reactive staffing solution to a foundational pillar of U.S. healthcare workforce strategy, according to a new survey of 327 healthcare facility leaders from CHG Healthcare, the nation’s leading physician and advanced practice workforce company. The Advanced Practice Provider Workforce Trends Report finds that 92% of leaders now rate APPs as very or extremely important to their organization’s workforce strategy, and 97% planned to maintain or increase APP utilization in 2026. For hospital and health system executives, the message is direct: APP programs have moved past the point where adoption itself creates an advantage. The question is no longer whether to use APPs, but how to structure them within the workforce for the long term.

“Advanced practice providers are closing critical gaps and driving better patient outcomes across health systems,” said Chris Purkey, President of CompHealth’s APP division, a CHG Healthcare company. “This survey confirms what we’re seeing in the field, that APPs are no longer a stopgap, they’re a strategic advantage. Healthcare systems that treat them as a core part of their workforce strategy, not just a backup plan, are the ones building lasting clinical and financial stability.”

From Stopgap to Strategic Infrastructure

In most workforce strategies, cost containment and growth pull in opposite directions; reducing spend usually means slowing expansion. This survey found that APPs are doing both at once. Eighty-nine percent of facilities report a positive impact on organizational growth from their APP workforce, and 85% report a positive impact on cost — gains that rarely show up together. For CFOs and other executives building the budget case for APP investment, that pairing removes a common objection: Expanding APP programs does not have to come at the expense of efficiency, and containing costs does not have to mean scaling back care capacity.

Where Recruiters Should Focus Next

For talent and workforce planning leaders, the report sharpens where the pressure is concentrated. Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are the hardest APP role to fill nationally (30%), and that difficulty increases in rural facilities (49%). Because many rural hospitals rely on CRNA-only or CRNA-led anesthesia models to keep surgical services running, a single unfilled CRNA role can delay procedures or limit operating room capacity, making CRNA recruitment a frontline strategic priority rather than a routine staffing gap.

A Widening Rural Divide

The clearest split in the data is geographic, and it carries the most direct implications for patient access. Urban facilities are increasing their investment in APP locum tenens: 23% plan to increase usage in 2026, compared to just 12% planning to reduce it. Rural facilities are moving in the opposite direction: 25% plan to reduce APP locums usage, the highest reduction rate of any region, even though 58% of rural leaders rate APPs as “extremely important” to their strategy, the highest of any geography. That contradiction isn’t a sign rural systems value APPs less. Instead, it suggests many face resource constraints that force difficult staffing decisions despite recognizing the strategic importance of APPs. For health system leaders overseeing rural sites and the recruiters staffing them, the data suggests APP locums coverage functions as access infrastructure rather than a discretionary line item — and cutting it to save in the near term may cost more in lost patient access and revenue than it saves.

The Advanced Practice Provider Workforce Trends Report is based on an online survey of 327 healthcare facility leaders across the United States conducted by CHG Healthcare in Q4 2025. Respondents represent a mix of clinical leadership, C-suite and administrative roles, and recruitment professionals, providing a multidimensional view of advanced practice provider workforce strategy and execution. Download the full report here.

About CHG Healthcare:

As the nation’s leading physician workforce experts, CHG Healthcare connects physicians, advanced practice providers, and allied health professionals with healthcare organizations nationwide — helping deliver high-quality care to more than 20 million patients every year.

With more than 40 years of experience, CHG Healthcare and its family of brands deliver scalable, people-centered workforce solutions across the clinical spectrum — from locum tenens and permanent staffing to technology and advisory services — and are recognized for industry-leading Net Promoter Scores and partnerships with the nation’s largest health systems.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City with offices across the country, CHG is recognized as a top workplace for its culture of care, growth, and purpose. Learn more at chghealthcare.com.