What Is an MSP in Healthcare? (And Why It Might Be Time for a Better One)

If you’ve heard the term MSP tossed around in healthcare leadership meetings but still aren’t sure exactly what it means—or why it matters—you’re not alone.

An MSP, or Managed Service Provider, is an outsourced partner that helps healthcare organizations streamline complex services like staffing, vendor management, compliance tracking, and more. In theory, an MSP should take the pressure off your internal teams and deliver better results with less operational friction.

But not all MSPs live up to that promise. And when it comes to staffing—especially locum tenens staffing—the difference between a generic MSP and a purpose-built one can mean the difference between a smooth operation and a daily scramble.

Let’s unpack what an MSP really is, what it’s supposed to do, and how to spot the signs that you might need a better one.

What is an MSP in Healthcare?

In healthcare, a Managed Service Provider (MSP) is a third-party organization that takes on key operational responsibilities so your internal teams can focus on clinical care and strategic priorities. MSPs are common in both clinical and non-clinical settings, and can support everything from:

• Workforce management – Coordinating temporary, contract, or permanent staff
• Vendor management – Consolidating supplier relationships and standardizing processes
• IT support – Maintaining software, networks, and infrastructure
• Data analytics – Delivering performance metrics and usage trends
• Regulatory compliance – Ensuring alignment with healthcare laws like HIPAA and OSHA

For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus specifically on healthcare staffing MSPs—a solution designed to reduce the administrative burden and complexity of managing locum tenens, contract, or PRN providers across departments and facilities.

What Healthcare Staffing MSPs Are Supposed to Do

The goal of a healthcare staffing MSP is simple: make your staffing process easier, faster, and more effective.

At a high level, these programs are meant to:

• Consolidate multiple staffing vendors under one coordinated process
• Speed up time-to-fill with proactive provider matching
• Standardize billing and credentialing to eliminate errors and bottlenecks
• Provide real-time insights into staffing usage, fill rates, and costs
• Support compliance and reporting across all placements

In short, an MSP should save your team time and give you more control—not more work.

But if you’re not seeing those results, it might be time to dig deeper.

When the Model Falls Short: Common MSP Pain Points

On paper, most MSPs promise the same things: streamlined processes, lower costs, and fewer staffing headaches. But in practice, many healthcare leaders find themselves asking the same question: Why does this still feel so hard?

That’s because traditional MSPs often weren’t built with healthcare staffing in mind. Instead of simplifying your operations, they can introduce new frustrations, like:

• Hidden fees and inconsistent rates that make budgeting unpredictable
• One-size-fits-all platforms that don't adapt to your facility’s unique needs
• Delayed credentialing and slow response times, which leave shifts unfilled
• Lack of transparency, with little visibility into vendor performance or cost drivers
• Fragmented communication, where too many handoffs lead to errors or delays

If your MSP adds layers of complexity instead of removing them, it’s not doing its job. The right partner should make your team’s day-to-day easier—not more stressful.

Is an MSP Right for Your Healthcare Organization?

Not every healthcare facility needs an MSP. But if your team is constantly caught in staffing limbo, it might be time to reassess your current model.

Here are a few signs that an MSP could help:

• You’re juggling multiple vendor relationships and struggling to keep them aligned
• Coverage gaps are frequent, and patient care is at risk
• Billing errors, delayed credentialing, or last-minute cancellations are common
• Your team lacks real-time insights into fill rates, spend, or staffing trends
• Administrative work is pulling leaders away from more strategic initiatives

Any of these sound familiar? We thought so. Many healthcare leaders face the same challenges. Great managed service providers can turn those pain points into a performance advantage.

Why the Right MSP Partner Makes All the Difference

At its core, a healthcare MSP should help you do more with less—less time, less admin burden, and less guesswork. The goal isn’t just to fill shifts or consolidate vendors. It’s to build a workforce strategy that works smarter, not harder.

But here’s the catch: not all MSPs are created equal. If you’re still spending valuable time chasing down credentialing updates, juggling multiple invoices, or reacting to last-minute coverage gaps, your MSP may be falling short of its purpose.

Staffing Challenges? We Can Help.

If your current MSP still feels like more work than it’s worth, let’s talk about what a better staffing experience looks like. Reach out to a member of our team today.