Provider Turnover Falls 30% After Initial Implementation at a Top 20 U.S. Health System
At a 169-provider campus, rolling 12-month turnover fell from 7.9% to 5.6%, representing approximately four additional providers retained and an estimated $2.37 million in value. Early results helped support expansion of Clinician Retention Intelligence (CRI) to over 1,400 clinicians across five sites.
The Challenge: Moving From Reactive to Proactive Retention
Clinician turnover is one of the most pressing challenges facing health systems. Replacing a physician can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars when recruitment, onboarding, lost productivity, and patient revenue are considered. For health systems focused on growth, ongoing turnover can also create a costly “leaky bucket,” where new hires cannot offset the loss of existing clinicians.
For one of the top 20 largest U.S. health systems, leaders wanted a more proactive way to identify emerging resignation risk and intervene before clinicians left.
The organization’s traditional retention strategy relied heavily on annual experience surveys. While useful, surveys were limited by response rates and timing. They could miss disengaged clinicians who were less likely to participate, and results often arrived months after the underlying issues had begun.
“Experience surveys are only as good as the swath of the group that elects to take the survey. So, I knew we were missing the voices of our constituents that would be of great value.”
— Chief Clinical Officer
The organization selected one campus as the initial implementation site. The 169-provider campus entered the program with a rolling 12-month turnover rate of 7.9%, establishing a clear baseline for measuring whether earlier identification of resignation risk could change outcomes.
The Solution: Clinician Retention Intelligence
The health system implemented Atalan’s CRI platform, which uses objective, operational data already being generated through the EHR and HRIS to identify emerging resignation risk and provide leaders with actionable insight.
For the initial campus, Atalan provided:
- Predictive foresight: Identification of clinicians and departments at risk of resignation up to 12 months in advance.
- Retention drivers: The top three factors contributing to each clinician’s retention risk, helping leaders understand not only who may leave, but why.
- Actionable guidance: Recommended interventions tailored to individual and departmental needs.
- Operational integration: Monthly email alerts and a dashboard giving service line leaders access to the information they needed to act.
Retention drivers can include workload patterns, EHR activity, and scheduling strain, among other operational factors.
“I was really excited about the opportunity to have all the information on the dashboard at our fingertips in real time and the layers of data points that Atalan pulls in for accuracy.”
— Chief Operating Officer
Turning Insight Into Action
During the first six months, Atalan identified 40 unique at-risk clinicians among the broader implementation population, with five leaders managing alerts. Leaders responded with 57 tailored actions addressing identified retention risks.
The value was not simply in identifying who was at risk. In many cases, leaders already had a sense that a clinician might be struggling. Atalan helped them understand the specific factors contributing to that risk and gave them a foundation for earlier, more personalized conversations.
“Atalan sets us up to have positive conversations with those folks who are at the most risk by being able to bring that data to the table”
— Chief Clinical Officer
In one example, leaders knew a physician was struggling but did not understand the underlying issue. Atalan identified extended evening hours spent completing charts as a key retention driver. The service line director was able to address the issue directly with the physician, leading to adjustments that allowed the physician to complete charts in real time and achieve a better work-life balance.
“We knew that one doctor was struggling, but didn’t understand why why. Atalan gave us the closer look we needed and showed us that he was struggling due to long evening hours completing charts. With input from the service line director, we were able to discuss it with them, and the result was positive. With the adjustments we made, he can complete charts in real time and have a better work-life balance.”
— Director of Specialty
Early Evidence: Risk Began Moving Before Turnover Did
The first measurable evidence emerged before enough time had passed to evaluate changes in actual turnover.
Within nine months, analysis showed measurable reductions in resignation risk across 15% of the 169-provider campus population. Using the Atalan Value Framework, that reduction represented an estimated three providers retained and $1.5 million in potential value.
These were leading indicators, not observed turnover outcomes. They gave leaders an early way to assess whether tailored retention efforts appeared to be changing resignation risk while there was still time to intervene.
The results helped support the health system’s decision to expand Atalan to 1,400 clinicians across five sites.
The Impact: Actual Turnover Fell 30%
Twelve months after implementation, the initial campus had enough data to measure the outcome that ultimately matters: actual clinician turnover.
Among the 169 providers:
7.9% → 5.6%
30% reduction in rolling 12-month turnover
Approximately 4 additional providers retained
$2.37 million in estimated value
The $2.37 million represents the estimated value of the turnover improvement within the initial 169-provider population. It does not represent projected impact across the broader health system.
The progression from leading indicators to observed outcomes provides a clearer picture of the impact:
|
Measurement |
Result |
|
Baseline |
7.9% rolling 12-month turnover |
|
9 months |
Measurable risk reduction across 15% of the campus population, representing an estimated three providers retained and $1.5 million in potential value |
|
12 months |
Actual rolling 12-month turnover declined to 5.6%, representing approximately four additional providers retained and $2.37 million in value – exceeding earlier estimates |
The leading indicators came first. The observed turnover results followed.
From One Campus to 1,400 Clinicians
The initial implementation was intentionally focused, allowing the health system to establish a baseline, identify at-risk clinicians, act on specific retention drivers, and measure changes over time.
Early evidence of reduced resignation risk helped support expansion from the initial campus to 1,400 clinicians across five sites. The 12-month results now add observed turnover improvement to the evidence supporting that expansion.
The initial campus results should not be interpreted as a forecast that every location will achieve the same 30% reduction. Different markets, specialties, baseline turnover rates, leadership practices, and clinician populations can produce different outcomes.
Instead, the campus provides measured evidence that a proactive approach to retention can change outcomes within a real clinical workforce.
As the organization scales, the opportunity is to apply the same disciplined approach across a much larger population: identify risk earlier, understand what is driving it, intervene while there is still time, and measure whether those interventions change outcomes.
Key Takeaways
- At the initial 169-provider campus, rolling 12-month turnover started at 7.9%.
- Within nine months, measurable resignation-risk reductions were observed across 15% of the campus population, representing an estimated three providers retained and $1.5 million in potential value.
- After 12 months, actual rolling 12-month turnover had fallen to 5.6%, a 30% reduction from baseline.
- The improvement represented approximately four additional providers retained and $2.37 million in value at the initial campus.
- Early results helped support expansion of Atalan to over 1,400 clinicians across five sites.
Predict Earlier. Act Sooner. Measure What Changes.
Atalan gives health systems a way to move retention from a reactive process to a measurable, proactive strategy: identify emerging resignation risk, understand what is driving it, act while there is still time, and evaluate whether those actions change outcomes.