Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

About This Privacy Policy 

Your right to privacy is particularly important. We recognize that when you choose to provide First Choice, Inc. (FCI) or any of its member companies with information about yourself, you trust us to act in a responsible manner. We believe this information should only be used to help FCI provide you with better service. That is why we have put a policy in place to protect your personal information. Below is a summary of the FCI policy.

This policy provides notice of our online and offline information collection and use practices. It applies to information that we collect from you when you interact with FCI. This includes if you are a job applicant or employee of one of our companies. It does not include information we collect when we are collecting information as part of services we provide to others.

Collection of Personal Information

We have collected one or more data types in the following categories of personal information from consumers within the twelve (12) months preceding the effective date of this policy:

 – Identifiers such as name, phone number, postal address, telephone number, fax number, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, social security number, driver’s license number, passport ID, date of birth, and employee ID.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.”

  1. a) Reply Stop to opt-out, Reply Help for Help.
  2. b) Message Frequency May Vary.
  3. c) Data Rates May Apply
  4. d) Carriers are not liable for undelivered messages.

 – Characteristics of protected classifications such as age, gender, marital status, ethnic information, veteran status, disability status, or citizenship information.

 – Internet or other electronic network activity information such as browsing history, browser name, domain type, operating system information, IP addresses, access times, or device identifiers.

 – Professional or employment-related information such as education and employment history, credentials, background-check results, sanctions history, work authorizations or work visa information, work restrictions or accommodations.

 – Inferences drawn from any of the information above to create a profile.

Business Purposes for Information Use                  

We may use the categories of information for the business and commercial purposes outlined below:

To communicate with you. We may use information to respond to your questions, to communicate about this policy or our terms, or to communicate with you regarding any other purpose described in this policy.

To perform our services. We may use information to send job listings or contact you about a placement opportunity, or to identify new candidates or clients.

For employment purposes. We may use your information for recruitment and hiring, to staff open positions at our company or with clients, to provide payroll and administer benefits, for travel arrangements and performance management, for record-keeping, for safety purposes, to meet legal and compliance obligations, or for other internal purposes.

For marketing. We may use contact, demographic and site usage information to communicate about our services and to provide information about FCI and its affiliates and subsidiaries. This may be by email, phone, or text. It may also be on social media platforms. We also use this information to provide information about FCI, our brands, affiliates, or other companies in which we believe you may be interested. The information we send may include briefings and newsletters or whitepapers.  We send these materials as permitted by law.

To improve our services. We may use your information to make our website and services better, and to keep our records updated. 

For other purposes allowed by law. Such as:

 – Auditing.

 – Detecting security incidents, protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity.

 – Debugging to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.

 – Short-term, transient use, where the Personal Information is not disclosed to another third party and is not used to build a profile about an individual.

 – Performing services on behalf of other entities. 

 – Undertaking internal research for technological development and demonstration.

 – Undertaking activities to improve, upgrade, enhance, or verify or maintain the quality or safety of our services or equipment.

Methods of Information Collection

We collect information from the following sources:

We collect information directly from you. We collect contact and demographic information directly from you. This includes on our websites. We collect employment and payment information from you, including online and in paper forms.

We collect information about you from third parties.  We collect contact and employment information from service providers and third parties. This includes from clients and from technology and staffing partners. It also includes social media partners. We also collect contact information and employment information from public records providers. We obtain demographic and site usage information from analytics firms.

We collect information passively. We collect site usage and demographic information passively using tools like browser cookies and pixels. This technology does not collect personal identifiable information that you do not specifically provide us. We collect site and location information about users over time when you use this website. We may have third parties collect personal information this way on our behalf. We may also use tracking tools to pull contact and demographic information from online sources.

Our sites are meant for adults. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13 without permission from a parent or guardian. 

We combine information we collect from you on the website with information we receive from you offline. We also combine information you provide with information we obtain from third parties.

How Long We Keep Your Information  

In general, we keep your information for as long as we need it to carry out the purposes described above, and as necessary to comply with our records-management policies. 

When We Share Information

We share information within the FCI family of companies. This includes current affiliates and related entities.  We will also share information with future FCI brands or affiliates. We share the following categories of information within the FCI family of companies: identifiers; other identifying information; characteristics of protected classifications; professional or employment-related information; and non-public education information.

We share information with vendors and service providers who perform services on our behalf. This may include benefits and payroll providers, payment-processing providers, and providers who help us deliver marketing and other communications. We share the following categories of information with vendors who help perform services on our behalf: identifiers; other identifying information; characteristics of protected classifications; internet or network activity information; biometric information (voice recordings if the user undergoes video or telephonic interviewing); geolocation data; professional or employment-related information; non-public education information; and inferences to create a profile.

We share information with our clients and business partners. We share the following categories of information with our clients and business partners: identifiers; other identifying information; biometric information (voice recordings if the user undergoes video or telephonic interviewing); professional or employment-related information; and non-public education information.

We will share information if we think we must in order to comply with the law or to protect ourselves. We share information we collect about you to respond to a court order or subpoena. We share information in response to a government agency or investigatory body requests. We share information we collect when we are investigating potential fraud.

We will share information with any successor to all or part of our business. If all or part of our business is sold, we will share information as a part of that transaction. If there is a merger or acquisition, we may also share your information. If there is a financing or bankruptcy, we may share your information.

We share information as permitted by law and for other reasons we may describe to you. 

You Have Certain Choices

You can change your preferences. You may review and change any personal information in your account profile and, where applicable, personal account preferences, stored in our system if you believe it may be out of date or incorrect. And where you have provided your consent for us to use your information, you may request to withdraw that consent for future uses of your information. You may also contact us at the address provided in the Contact Us section below.

You can opt out of receiving our emails from any our companies.  To unsubscribe, click the link located at the bottom of our marketing emails. Please be aware that if you opt out of receiving commercial messages from us, it may take up to 10 business days for us to process your opt-out request, and you may receive commercial messages from us during that period. If you opt out of receiving marketing messages from one of our companies, you may still receive messages from the other companies in our family. 

You can control cookies and tracking tools. 

California Privacy Rights

If you reside in California and you are not a job applicant, contractor, employee, or contractor or employee of another company interacting with us in your job role, you have the right to request what information we collect, use, and disclose, including the specific pieces of information we have collected about you. You also have the right to request that we delete your information. To make a request, you can contact us at the address below.  We will verify your request by matching information you provide to us with information we have about you.

If you wish to submit a request through an authorized agent, we require the following before we can process the request: 

  •  –  A notarized copy of your written permission authorizing the agent to make the request; 
  •  –  That you verify your identity directly with us; and 
  •  –  Direct confirmation from you that you provided the agent permission to submit the request. 

If your authorized agent has a valid power of attorney under California Probate Code sections 4000 to 4465, we may request proof of the power of attorney instead of the foregoing. 

We may deny a request from an agent that does not submit proof you authorized them to act on your behalf. 

We will not do any of the following because you have exercised any of your privacy rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act:

 – Deny you goods or services.  

 – Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.  

We do not sell personal information of California consumers based on our understanding of that term. 

We Store Information in the United States

We are in the United States. We maintain our digital properties and businesses for use in the US. If you live outside of the US, you understand and agree that we may transfer your information to the US. Our sites and businesses are subject to US laws, which may not afford the same level of protection as those in your country. By submitting your information, you agree to the processing of it in the US. We store information we collect about you for as long as is necessary for the purpose it was collected, including any legal obligations.

Third Party Links and Tools 

 We may link to other sites or apps or have third party services on our platforms we do not control. If you click on a third-party link, you will be taken to a platform we do not control. This policy does not apply to the privacy practices of that website or platform. Read other companies’ privacy policies carefully. We are not responsible for these third parties. Our site may also serve third party content that contains their own cookies or tracking technologies. We do not control the use of those technologies.

You Can Contact Us

Feel free to contact us if you have more questions. If you have any questions about this Policy or our data practices, you can write to us at: First Choice, Inc., P.O. Box 2336, Loveland CO 80539.  

We May Update This Policy

From time to time we may update this privacy policy. We will post the updated copy and include the date of the update. If the changes are material, we will post a prominent notice, and we may contact you at your email address we have on file. Please check our site periodically for updates. Your continued use of the site after we post the updated copy constitutes your acceptance of the updated privacy policy.

Provider Resources

YOU RECEIVED THE OFFER YOU WERE LOOKING FOR

YOU RECEIVED THE OFFER YOU WERE LOOKING FOR

The 3 Things Physicians Should Do When An Offer Is Extended

The goal of every interview is to receive an offer. Congratulations you met your goal. Time is of the essence.

Step One
Make a decision. Take action. Say yes. Say no. Decide the terms under which you will say yes.  There are “wants” and “needs”. You don’t want to confuse the two. Be realistic because no position is perfect.

Step Two
Be sure you understand the employment agreement or contract you are signing. Most likely the other physicians and providers have signed this agreement. You do not want to re-write the agreement. Remember needs and wants.  If you are having an attorney review the agreement stay in control. It is your offer. No two attorneys agree on legal language. Seek legal advice to understand the document and not re-write it. Let the attorney who wrote it change it if necessary. Only ask for what you need.

Step Three
Communicate. Don’t drag your feet, or ghost. Let them know where you are in the process and discuss a mutual timeline for your decision.

Client Resources, Provider Resources

How Physicians Can Prepare for a Site Visit

Physicians know their time is valuable. If you have found a potential opportunity and want to visit the practice and community, you want to make the most of this time. The goal is to get an offer and be sure you have the information needed to make a decision. Practice, lifestyle, and family needs are a few of the puzzle pieces.

Productive itinerary for your interview – What every physician needs to include in this process:

  • Make a list of questions for your goals (procedures, patient volumes, referral resources, equipment, compensation, benefits, call schedule, etc.)
  • Is the itinerary structured to meet all the parties who can address these questions?
  • Personal needs: family, housing, partner’s careers, religious needs, hobbies and interests.
  • Sell yourself! Be prepared! Be enthusiastic! Appear engaged in the process!
  • Ask for the offer and what the next step will be.
  • After your visit, send a thank you note. Follow-up with your recruiter and discuss strategy to accept or decline an offer.
  • Make sure you return calls/emails/texts/ from both your recruiter and contact at the practice. Lack of communication and not being on the same page will reflect poorly on you. Remember it’s a small medical community – Don’t burn a bridge.

This helpful hint was provided by Concord(e) Physician Source. Found member of NAPR and NALTO. Celebrating our 50th Year in the Staffing industry.

Client Resources, Provider Resources

THE ADVANTAGES OF A PRIVATELY HELD PHYSICIAN RECRUITING FIRM

THE ADVANTAGES OF A PRIVATELY HELD PHYSICIAN RECRUITING FIRM

You may have never thought that there could be a difference between a publicly held company and a privately held one. Have you ever thought to ask the recruiter who calls or emails you? Concord(e) Physician Source is a medium size firm by design. We have celebrated our 50th year and have chosen to stay privately held. Whether your needs are for Locum Tenens or Permanent, here is a short list of the advantages. Speak with your Concord(e) Consultant further about our privately held status.

  • #1 reason is Concord(e) has No Shareholders to answer to!
  • No pressure to refer every physician regardless of fit to meet
    Shareholder’s goals
  • Our 50 years is based on quality service and solid referrals, we
    don’t want to change our model for Shareholders
  • Physicians like working with us because we do not have to
    pressure them to take assignments/jobs they do not want to take
    just to satisfy Shareholders Profits
  • Hospitals and physicians benefit rather than Shareholders

Concord(e) Physician Source 800-334-6407 LOCUM TENENS| DIRECT HIRE

Provider Resources

WHEN TO SHARE MY CV WITH A RECRUITER

Helpful Hint for physicians in a job search: Permission to share CV

It is imperative that you protect your CV and your confidentiality in your search for a new position. You may send your CV to the Recruiter but they should never release it without your permission. What are the standards that ethical Recruiters follow?

Recruiter should tell you…

  • Name of the hospital, clinic or group
  • Location of opportunity
  • With whom the CV will be shared
  • Information on the opportunity/assignment

This is the minimum standard in the industry. If you get a vague answer such as Northern Michigan do not grant your permission to share the CV.

This helpful hint was provided by Concord(e) Physician Source. Founding Member of NAPR and NALTO. Celebrating our 50th Year in the Staffing Industry

Provider Resources

Why providers work with recruiters

Providers may ask themselves why respond to a recruiter versus submitting my CV directly to the hospital. What is the role of a recruiter?

The answer is….Searching for the right practice is a process. Practicing medicine is also a process involving several support professionals. Recruiters have a role to help you gather information and help you through the process. You cannot make a decision about a job or locums assignment until you have gathered the necessary information. This involves the practice details, volume, call, support staff, other providers, and financial package as well the city you will be working/relocating to.

It would be hard to practice medicine if you had to follow the entire process on your own. Imagine scheduling your own patients, prepping them in a room, drawing the blood, taking vitals, examining the patient and completing everything else by yourself. You rely on a team to practice effectively. Why is something as important as where you will work and possibly live any different?

Finding quality Locums assignments or the right permanent job is a very involved process. There are many moving pieces to the puzzle. If you submit your CV directly to a hospital you have very little information and fall into a deep human resources hole. At Concord(e) Physician Source we team up with you to find out what is important to you. As a team, we will develop a list of what information you need in order to decide whether you want to accept an offer or a locums assignment. We will guide you through the process until the end. Recruiters are not decision makers (that is your role) we are information gathers and your advocate when necessary. This is why providers send their CV to recruiters.

Patients come to you for your medical expertise. Rely on a recruiter for professional career expertise. This is your livelihood do you really want to wing it? Consult a Concord(e) recruiter and benefit from our fifty years of experience.

Client Resources

Better Odds to Sign your Physicians

Hospitals are facing challenges to fill more of their physician recruitment needs. Why are some facilities having more success than others? The answer is simple the process is difficult. Thinking outside of the box is the reason. Being creative and getting the job done is not.

Shake up the process. Hospitals are process and procedural oriented so it feels natural to assign procedures to physician recruitment. This is not a good strategy. A process for vetting out problem physicians and questionable credentials is a good procedure. It is not effective though to have rules for recruitment and presenting your opportunity to physicians in high demand. Flexibility is the answer.

In a shortage situation physicians have many options. If your timing and procedures are inflexible and do not fit their schedules and timelines, they lose interest quickly. With 50 years in the Staffing Industry we cannot stress enough that completing the review of the physician’s CV and reaching out to them within 48 hours is critical. It will drastically increase the impression of your facility. If you can’t respond to them now it raises doubt about how they will be treated when they are on staff. Send them a quick email or text indicating that you received the CV and will let you know the next step within a few days. Then do it! Be sure you do whatever you say.

Facilities tend to have recruitment procedures that get bogged down. Examples: CV sits on a physician’s desk for review; physician recruiter is pulled in many directions and doesn’t follow-up on CV or delays first contact; phone tag; trying to coordinate your physician to call the candidate; after initial contact physician needs more information-long delay to get it; try to force candidate to interview according to your schedule instead of respecting their schedule. All of these examples ruin your odds of signing the physician.

Make it happen according to the candidate needs. If you have a physician recruitment process that includes 10 steps. No reason it has to be followed in order of 1-10. Try to follow what fits the needs of your interested physician. Engage the candidate by knowing what is important to them and where they are in their job search. Example: If the physician has two offers and deciding in 30 days you better not delay the details of your potential offer and contract too long. They will be signed elsewhere by the time to get to that step.

Bonding, relationship building. People bond and feel more comfortable by putting a name with a face. Send a video with a facility tour. Use facetime or skype for your first conversation.

Answer their questions. Ask them what they need and want rather than pushing your procedures. Makes them feel wanted. Customize the process and interview to fit their interests.

Working interviews. If the candidates schedule allows ask if they want to “try before they buy”. A way to be creative with the use of Locum Tenens. Don’t look at Locums as purely a way to cover vacations. It is a way to show a pool of physicians what you have to offer. They may fall in love!

Get your team on board. Your physician staff wants additional help for a better work/life balance. Explain the need to respond quickly and commit to a timely process. Instill urgency into your process.

Good luck with your creative thinking. If you want to discuss what well-staffed hospitals do to get their physicians signed give Concorde a call. After fifty years in recruitment we have seen it all- the Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.

Client Resources, Provider Resources

The Proper Way to Accept a Physician CV Referral from a Firm

At times working with physician search and locum tenens firms can lead to duplication of efforts or confusion. A reputable firm wants to make your job easier by providing the pertinent information you need as well as not create a dispute around the referral. NAPR (National Association of Physician Recruiters) and NALTO (National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations) have standards by which their members have agreed to abide by. Member Firms agree to do the following.

  • Examine the education, employment, background of the physician and interview them before making a referral
  • Match the qualifications of the physician’s credentials to your position
  • Present all the above information to you when representing a physician for referral
  • Obtain permission from physician to refer his/her CV
  • Obtain permission from you to refer CV (follow your process)
  • Disclose the name of your facility and information on the job to physician in order to obtain their permission to refer
  • Assignment specific referrals for locum tenens positions not referring for the purpose of registering a name to block other firms for subsequent assignments

Having accurate information on the physician’s background can help you to move the process along more quickly and increase your odds of the landing the physician. The benefit of using a firm is to screen the physicians so you are not calling through a stack of CVs looking for a fit. If you are accepting CVs by only clearing a name you are not receiving the benefit of this service. Time is money!

Firms that refer a CV as soon as it hits their website are not screening and wasting your time. If they belong to NAPR or NALTO they are also in violation of the standards they agreed to abide by. If you find a firm doing this you may report them to the organization.

Get the most from the firms you are working with and help uphold our industry standards by requiring NAPR/NALTO ethics and procedures are followed.

Concorde Physician Source is a founding member of both NAPR and NALTO. If you have questions on Ethics and Standards of the Industry please feel free to contact us. Ken Williams is the current Arbitration Chair of NALTO.
www.napr.org
www.nalto.org

Client Resources, Letter from the President

Thinking beyond Job Boards to Recruit Physicians

A physician shortage is still projected by many sources. Odds are, if you are trying to recruit physicians, you are likely feeling the effects of this in one or more specialties. In order to expand your pipeline of potential candidates during a shortage or hard-to-find specialty situation, you need to be more creative and move beyond the common recruitment practices of job boards, emails and direct mail pieces.

Although financial incentives are an effective recruiting tool, they’re not going to necessarily separate you from the crowd. Signing bonuses, school loan repayment and production incentives have become fairly common practice.

To help you add to your candidate pool, here are a few other suggestions you may want to consider:

    • Provide referral incentives – Offer great recruitment incentives to your current staff. Who better to sell your location and facility than your current doctors? Provide very lucrative bonuses for referrals that get signed. Residents who join your staff this year can be instrumental in recruiting residents one to two years down the road. Follow-up with an announcement to residents about their classmates who join your staff.

    • Be flexible – Consider signing physicians who may not be available for another one to two years. Keep your options open with an eye on the future – build a funnel of candidates.

    • Plan ahead – Just like in the previous point, you’re going to have to cement a good medical staff for the next five years. With a shortage looming, it’s imperative to start preparing for tomorrow today.

    • Keep your eyes open – Be sure to start tracking and recording those physicians you may need in the future. Don’t wait until you’re desperate to try and locate the specialty you need.

LOCUM TENENS – The Human Approach

One of the most creative ways to expand your staff is the use of Locum Tenens. After all, Locum Tenens physicians who “fall in love” with a location will stay on full-time. Like a long interview process with no pressure to sign them immediately, you may introduce them to opportunities they may have never even considered before. Familiarizing them with a friendly and competent support staff will help them feel like they belong there. Find out what makes them tick personally and show them how to find it in your community. Woo them by being welcoming.

REAP SUPERHUMAN RESULTS

Most hospitals view this as an expensive option, but is it? You bill for their services while giving your existing physicians work and call coverage relief. And what is the benefit to retaining your existing staff? If you can at least break-even when securing Locums physicians, it may be well worth it. Still, many hospitals find they actually make money by billing for these physicians’ services.

Good luck and think outside the box. Hospitals that do so will be the most successful in securing a complete staff of quality physicians for years to come.

Jamey Morgan
President

Client Resources, Letter from the President

The Rules of Attracting Physicians during the Shortage

Pointers from Concorde’s 50 Years of Matchmaking Success

Are all the good doctors taken?

No, there are other physicians in the sea. But with all the options out there for today’s eligible physicians, healthcare facilities must raise their game if they want to land Dr. Right. So what can you do to woo that special doctor? At Concorde, we’ve seen a lot of what works and what doesn’t over our 50 years in recruiting (30 in physician recruitment). Based on our experience, here are four rules to follow in attracting physicians during the shortage.

1. Know your true needs. Not every open position is an emergency. Some hospitals will advertise five different specialties, but back off when a physician shows interest. That can really hurt your reputation. Word gets around quickly if you have a habit of flaking out on candidates. We’ve had specialist candidates ask us if a hospital was serious about an advertised opening because they’ve heard of or experienced employers’ indecision too many times. Get your act together and go out looking only for the positions you know you’ll need.

2. Make that call. The number-one reason physicians lose interest is that employers don’t get in touch with them quickly enough. They’re usually thinking: If the slow response is any indication of what it’s like to work there, then no thanks! Contact a physician within 48 hours of receiving their CV, even if it’s just to say you’ve received it and share some info on the position and the hiring process. This practice can increase your odds of getting a candidate to interview by 30%.

3. Show them the love. First impressions matter, and many physicians want to have the impression that they’re loved. If you think there’s a chance at romance, take it. Your courtship skills are essential because committing to a job can feel like getting married after just one date. First, figure out the way to a candidate’s heart. Often, it comes down to location, location, location. If so, be ready to highlight everything that’s great about your facility’s community. In determining what a candidate cares about, an outside recruiter can be a key ally. Physicians are more likely to tell a third party what they really want, thinking (albeit incorrectly) that they’ll lose a negotiating edge by telling an in-house recruiter.

4. Show them the money. But bigger isn’t always better. Physicians have learned that if a financial package is too high, there’s probably something wrong with the job. On the other hand, they’re also looking for strength and stability. A subpar financial offer won’t land the physician of your dreams unless they really love your location and or the practice. Typically, they’re looking for evidence of strength and long-term viability. Few things demonstrate that better than an above-average offer and, most importantly, great production incentives. Compensation with high incentives is a win-win – as long as the physician can see it’s achievable. You may want to have your current physicians speak with a candidate to show that the package isn’t a mirage.

Are you looking for a physician to love? Follow these rules as a path toward happily ever after. Concorde can help you along the way. Contact us to get started.

Jamey Morgan
President