Our top priority at Locumsmart is to help healthcare organizations with open jobs match up with the locum tenens agencies who can fill them as quickly as possible. Our API feature is designed to streamline that process. Agencies that use our API can automatically receive staffing requests in real time as well as streamline responses to their clients through the Locumsmart platform — all while never leaving your agency’s customer relationship management (CRM) system. Here are the top five things you need to know about Locumsmart’s API and how it can benefit your agency.
1. What an API is and why Locumsmart is offering it
An API is an application programming interface. In simple terms, it’s a way for software programs to communicate with each other. Because most locum tenens agencies use their own internal CRM systems to manage their candidate pools, job opportunities, and sales functions, Locumsmart developed the API as a way to streamline the process of passing information back and forth to help improve efficiency and ensure data accuracy.
When you work in multiple systems, information can quickly get out of sync leading to inaccuracies and duplicate data. An API helps ensure that the information will be the same, regardless of which system it’s entered into, saving time and building confidence in the data.
2. Why you should integrate with Locumsmart’s API
Locumsmart is a vendor-neutral portal, so we want every agency to get access to new jobs at the same time. The API allows you to be notified when jobs are submitted and link your provider profiles, so your candidates are there when you’re ready to present an offer.
The following Locumsmart APIs are available today:
- Provider: Integrates provider candidate profiles
- Assignment: Retrieves assignment request details
- Confirmation Agreement: Retrieves and interacts with confirmation agreement details
- Timesheet: Retrieves timesheet details
3. We offer webhooks too
In addition to Locumsmart’s API, we also offer multiple webhooks. The difference between an API and a webhook is that an API allows locum tenens agencies to both push data to and request data from the platform, while a webhook is one way only. For example, if you use the Provider Integration API, provider profiles you maintain in your CRM system can automatically be passed to the Locumsmart system as soon as new records are created.
On the other hand, a webhook is an automated message sent from an API when a change happens. You can subscribe to these webhooks to know about changes occurring in Locumsmart’s system. Webhook notifications are currently available for the following workflow types:
- Providers
- Assignments
- Bids
- Agreements
- Confirmation amendments
- Timesheets
4. What a Locumsmart API integration looks like
Locumsmart will provide you with the API documentation to review internally with your technical staff. From there, we schedule a kickoff call to answer any questions your technical staff or leaders may have. Your staff can then test the integrations in a sandbox (testing) environment so you can validate processes in a way that doesn’t impact your data or the Locumsmart community. Once you feel confident in the integration, you can schedule a time with your technical team to go live.
Not sure which APIs you need? Figure out where your teams are spending too much time and prioritize your integrations that way. This ensures you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
5. How Locumsmart supports API integration
Because every agency’s CRM system is configured differently, Locumsmart does not implement or maintain the integration. Your technical staff owns and is responsible for the integration. However, we are happy to assist and help with troubleshooting.
It's important to note that you don’t have to implement all available APIs. Only implement the ones that make sense for your organization. For example, you could choose to only receive jobs into your CRM for immediate triage.
Whether you go for a partial or full-featured integration, Locumsmart's API enables you to quickly and efficiently receive jobs from our platform and get them into your sales team’s hands. It also enables streamlined access to candidate profiles, assignment requests, confirmation agreements, and timesheets.
To learn more, talk to your Locumsmart representative or email your questions to api@locumsmart.net.