Colombia Hospital Staffing Market Overview, 2031

Key Insights

• The Colombia hospital staffing market is a critical component of one of Latin America's largest healthcare systems, serving approximately 3,644 hospitals across the country's departments. The market comprises temporary and permanent placement services for nursing professionals, physicians, advanced practice professionals, allied healthcare professionals, and non-clinical administrative staff across public and private hospital settings.
• Colombia has approximately 2,193 hospitals and clinics as of June 2025, with 10,934 health service provider institutions (IPS) registered nationwide. The country has 102,319 operational hospital beds, representing an increase of 880 beds from the previous year. This substantial infrastructure base creates persistent demand for third-party staffing solutions to address workforce shortages and geographic imbalances.
• Nurse staffing represents the largest professional category in the Colombia hospital staffing market. The average nursing professional density increased from 13.5 per 10,000 inhabitants in 2021 to 15.4 in 2025. However, Colombia has fewer than 10 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants, far below the international standard of 100, indicating a severe shortage of qualified nursing professionals.
• Locum tenens and temporary physician staffing are growing segments in Colombia, driven by acute specialist shortages and high turnover rates. According to the Colombian Association of Hospitals and Clinics (ACHC), 62.16% of institutions report a decrease in the availability of qualified physicians, while turnover rates reach 13.1% for physicians and 15.8% for nurses. The precarious labor conditions, including short-term contracts of as little as 15 days, are deepening the instability of the healthcare workforce.

Market Outlook

• According to the research report, "Colombia Hospital Staffing Market Overview, 2031," published by Bonafide Research, the Colombia Hospital Staffing Market is anticipated to grow at more than 130 Million by 2031. This growth is supported by persistent workforce shortages, an expanding hospital infrastructure, and the government's commitment to addressing the critical talent gap through the Public Policy on Human Talent in Health 2025-2035.
• The Colombian market is expected to benefit from sustained demand for locum tenens physician staffing, nursing agency staffing, and permanent placement services. Colombia registers only 40.5 physicians and nurses per 10,000 inhabitants, placing the country in last place among the comparison group and below the minimum target recommended by the World Health Organization (44.5 per 10,000 inhabitants). This workforce deficit creates structural demand for agency-supplied clinical staff across both inpatient and outpatient settings.
• The expansion of healthcare infrastructure is a critical driver of staffing demand. Between 2022 and 2025, Colombia opened 2,897 hospitals. The country's 102,319 operational beds and 3,976 operating rooms create substantial demand for clinical and non-clinical staffing across all regions.
• Rising adoption of the Public Policy on Human Talent in Health, adopted through Resolution 1444 of 2025, is increasing the strategic focus on workforce planning and development. The policy establishes a roadmap through 2034 for strengthening, protecting, and strategically developing the health workforce. Health sector employers report that 79% face problems hiring personnel, with nurses and physicians identified as the most scarce profiles.
• Workforce constraints in nursing and physician supply are expected to sustain demand for third-party staffing providers. The health workforce shortage is compounded by high turnover rates 13.1% for physicians and 15.8% for nurses low salaries, professional migration, and high stress levels. These structural factors create a sustained need for external staffing partnerships.

Market Dynamics

Driver: Severe Workforce Shortages and Critical Specialist Gaps
The Colombia hospital staffing market is driven by chronic shortages of qualified healthcare professionals and critical gaps in specialist availability. The National Health Index 2025 reveals that Colombia has only 40.5 physicians and nurses per 10,000 inhabitants, placing the country in last place among the comparison group and below the WHO's minimum recommendation of 44.5 per 10,000 inhabitants. Colombia is the third country with the lowest number of hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants at 1.7 beds, while leading countries register more than 12 beds per 1,000 inhabitants. The shortage of qualified physicians is acute 62.16% of institutions report a decrease in the availability of qualified physicians. Colombia has 2.68 physicians per 1,000 population in 2025, ranking 63rd globally. These workforce gaps compel Colombian hospitals to utilize locum tenens physicians, agency nurses, and permanent placement services to maintain patient care continuity. The precarious labor conditions, including short-term contracts of as little as 15 days, are deepening the instability of the healthcare workforce.

Challenge: Labor Instability and High Turnover Rates
The most significant challenge in the Colombian market is the combination of labor instability, high turnover rates, and budget constraints. Turnover rates reach 13.1% for physicians and 15.8% for nurses. The factors driving this instability include uncompetitive salaries, professional migration, and high stress levels. In some regions, healthcare professionals are now being contracted for as little as 15 days, compared to the previous three-month contracts. This short-term contracting creates great labor instability and fails to dignify the work of medical professionals. The precarious labor conditions have led to a growing disillusionment among healthcare workers who were treated as heroes during the COVID-19 pandemic but whose labor conditions remain precarious. Healthcare providers face ongoing pressure to optimize staffing costs while maintaining patient care quality. The structural shortage of nurses and specialist physicians with fewer than 10 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants limits hospitals' ability to fully staff their operations, leading to reliance on temporary and agency staffing.

Trend: Public Policy on Human Talent in Health and Digital Transformation
The Colombia hospital staffing market is experiencing significant transformation through the adoption of the Public Policy on Human Talent in Health and accelerating digital workforce management. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection adopted Resolution 1444 of 2025 on July 11, 2025, establishing the Public Policy on Human Talent in Health (PPTHS), a long-term planning instrument with a vision through 2034. The policy aims to consolidate a talent management model consistent with the Colombian health system, with a focus on rights, equity, and participation. It recognizes structural challenges including labor instability, competency segmentation, training gaps, and the need to improve working conditions, especially in rural, dispersed, and hard-to-reach areas. The policy's six objectives include consolidating a comprehensive quality training system, guaranteeing dignified and decent working conditions, strengthening governance, and implementing long-term strategic planning processes. Concurrently, digital workforce management is accelerating. The emergence of specialized healthcare recruitment platforms and the government's efforts to strengthen the ReTHUS registry of health professionals reflect the digital transformation of healthcare staffing. These trends are moving the market toward more structured, technology-enabled workforce strategies that balance permanent staff, internal float pools, and agency-supplied clinicians more effectively.

Policies

• Resolution 1444 of 2025, issued on July 11, 2025, adopted the Public Policy on Human Talent in Health (PPTHS), a long-term planning instrument with a vision through 2034. The policy aims to consolidate a talent management model consistent with the Colombian health system, with a focus on rights, equity, and participation.
• The Public Policy on Human Talent in Health recognizes structural challenges including labor instability, competency segmentation, training gaps, and the need to improve working conditions in rural, dispersed, and hard-to-reach areas.
• The policy establishes six specific objectives: consolidating a comprehensive quality training system; guaranteeing dignified, decent, and safe working conditions; strengthening governance; recognizing and managing community health work; implementing long-term strategic planning processes; and fostering research, innovation, and digital transformation in human talent.
• The policy is structured around four strategic lines: training and professional development; decent work and working conditions; governance and sectoral coordination; and research and innovation. It aims to combat informality, guarantee contractual stability, promote comprehensive social security, and improve occupational health.
• The ReTHUS (Unique Registry of Health Workers) system maintains registration of approximately 1.4 million health workers. The Public Policy on Human Talent in Health establishes the modification of mandatory social service regulations.
• The Colombian Association of Hospitals and Clinics (ACHC) has conducted institutional surveys revealing that 62.16% of institutions report a decrease in the availability of qualified physicians. Institutions have implemented various strategies with notable emphasis on wellness programs (77.42%), improvements in working conditions (58.06%), and professional development opportunities (54.84%).
• The Colombian Health System faced an accumulated operating loss of $7.3 trillion pesos by the end of 2025. The government is implementing measures to address workforce shortages through the Public Policy on Human Talent in Health.

Segment Analysis

Colombia Hospital Staffing Market By Staffing Service
• Travel Staffing: Travel staffing is a growing service segment in the Colombian market, driven by severe geographic imbalances in workforce supply and demand across the country's departments. With 3,644 hospitals and 2,193 clinics, hospitals in underserved regions require travel nurses and physicians to maintain operations. The concentration of healthcare infrastructure in urban centers creates significant demand for travel staffing to rural areas. Travel staffing demand is sustained by persistent workforce shortages 79% of health sector employers report problems hiring personnel, with nurses and physicians identified as the most scarce profiles and the imperative for hospitals to maintain bed capacity and service lines.
• Per Diem Staffing: Per diem staffing provides hospitals with on-demand, shift-by-shift clinical staff to cover unexpected absences, sick calls, and immediate vacancies without long-term contracts. This segment is particularly important in the Colombian context, where hospitals face chronic understaffing and high turnover turnover rates reach 13.1% for physicians and 15.8% for nurses. Per diem staffing offers hospitals flexibility to adjust staffing levels in response to daily census fluctuations and is widely used across both public and private hospitals to address immediate staffing gaps. The precarious labor conditions, including contracts of as little as 15 days, reflect the fragmented nature of healthcare employment in Colombia.
• Locum Tenens Staffing: Locum tenens physicians are utilized to fill short-term vacancies caused by physician departures, leaves of absence, and recruitment gaps. Demand is strongest in specialist medicine, where 62.16% of institutions report a decrease in the availability of qualified physicians. Colombia has only 2.68 physicians per 1,000 population in 2025. The country's physician-to-population ratio of 2.5 per 1,000 is among the lowest in the OECD comparison group, only above Turkey, Brazil, and Peru. Locum tenens staffing enables hospitals and health centers to maintain patient access and service continuity while conducting permanent recruitment searches. The specialist shortage is compounded by the emigration of healthcare professionals and high stress levels.
• Permanent Placement: Permanent placement services recruit and place healthcare professionals into long-term, full-time hospital positions. This segment is driven by the ongoing need for hospitals to build permanent workforce capacity and reduce reliance on agency staff. Permanent placement demand is particularly strong for nurses, where Colombia has fewer than 10 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants. The Public Policy on Human Talent in Health 2025-2035 aims to address workforce gaps through improved training, working conditions, and strategic planning. Health sector employers across 79% of institutions report difficulties hiring personnel.
• Other Temporary & Contract Staffing: This segment includes fixed-term local contracts, seasonal staffing, project-based clinical assignments, and temporary staffing arrangements. Demand is driven by seasonal surges such as influenza season, public health emergency response, and hospital expansion projects requiring temporary clinical and non-clinical staffing. The short-term contracts of as little as 15 days reflect the prevalence of temporary arrangements in the Colombian health sector. Between 2022 and 2025, Colombia recorded 2,897 hospital openings, creating demand for project-based staffing for new facilities.

Colombia Hospital Staffing Market By Professional Category
• Nursing Professionals: The largest professional category in the Colombia hospital staffing market. Colombia has fewer than 10 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants. The average nursing professional density increased from 13.5 per 10,000 inhabitants in 2021 to 15.4 in 2025. However, the international standard is 100 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants, indicating a severe shortage. The nursing workforce faces critical challenges: turnover rates of 15.8%, short-term contracts of as little as 15 days, and persistent shortages in rural areas. These factors create persistent demand for agency-supplied nursing staff across all hospital departments. Nurses and physicians are identified as the most scarce profiles by health sector employers.
• Physicians: Colombia has approximately 2.68 physicians per 1,000 population in 2025. The country ranks 63rd globally for physicians per capita. Colombia's physician-to-population ratio of 2.5 per 1,000 is among the lowest in the OECD comparison group. The physician workforce faces critical challenges: 62.16% of institutions report a decrease in the availability of qualified physicians; turnover rates of 13.1%; physician emigration; and high stress levels. Specialist shortages are particularly acute, with Colombia ranking last in the comparison group for physicians and nurses per inhabitant.
• Advanced Practice Professionals: Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are increasingly utilized in Colombian hospital settings to address primary care gaps and support physician workloads. The growing professionalization of the nursing workforce and the expansion of clinical responsibilities for advanced practice nurses are creating expanding demand for APP staffing across hospital departments. The Public Policy on Human Talent in Health 2025-2035 includes provisions for the recognition and qualification of health work.
• Allied Healthcare Professionals: Allied health professionals, including laboratory technicians, radiologic technologists, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and other technical staff, are essential to hospital operations. Colombia ranks second-to-last in pharmaceutical professionals per capita, reflecting a persistent gap in essential profiles. Demand for allied staffing is driven by the expansion of hospital services, increasing patient acuity, and the growth of diagnostic and therapeutic services.
• Non-Clinical & Administrative Professionals: Non-clinical staffing includes administrative, operational, financial, and technology professionals supporting hospital functions. Demand is driven by healthcare IT implementation, revenue cycle management, and administrative workforce needs. The growing complexity of hospital administration and the implementation of the Public Policy on Human Talent in Health are creating demand for non-clinical staffing. Non-clinical staffing represents a smaller but growing segment of the hospital staffing market.

Colombia Hospital Staffing Market By Hospital Ownership
• Public & Government Hospitals: Public hospitals represent a significant segment of the Colombia hospital staffing market. Colombia has approximately 2,193 hospitals and clinics. Public hospitals face persistent staffing shortages that necessitate agency utilization, though budget constraints limit their ability to pay premium agency rates. The Public Policy on Human Talent in Health 2025-2035 prioritizes strengthening the health workforce in rural, dispersed, and hard-to-reach areas. The health system faced an accumulated operating loss of $7.3 trillion pesos by the end of 2025, reflecting financial pressures on public hospitals.
• Private Hospitals: Private hospitals represent a significant and growing segment of the Colombia hospital staffing market. Between 2022 and 2025, Colombia opened 2,897 hospitals. The country has 10,934 registered IPS institutions. Private hospitals face competitive pressure to maintain bed capacity, service lines, and patient satisfaction, creating demand for travel nurses, locum tenens physicians, and permanent placement services. Private hospital staffing is often more responsive to market conditions, with faster procurement cycles and greater flexibility in staffing mix. The private sector's expansion is reflected in the 412 new providers registered between June 2024 and June 2025.

Colombia Hospital Staffing Market Economics

• Staffing agency bill rates vary significantly by professional category, specialty, and geographic location. Specialist physicians and nurses in underserved regions command premium rates due to the acute shortage of healthcare professionals. The average registered nurse gross salary in Bogotá is $57,937,430 COP per year. However, healthcare workers report that salaries are often insufficient relative to the cost of living, contributing to the high turnover rates.
• Hospital procurement of staffing services is shaped by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, departmental health secretariats, and hospital-level contracting. The Public Policy on Human Talent in Health 2025-2035, adopted through Resolution 1444 of 2025, establishes a framework for workforce planning and development.
• The economic value of agency staffing is measured in terms of avoided revenue loss from service disruptions, bed closures, and patient throughput reductions. With Colombia's hospitals operating with 102,319 beds, maintaining service capacity is a critical operational priority. The health system operates with only 1.7 beds per 1,000 inhabitants, among the lowest in the OECD.
• The cost of turnover is a significant economic factor in hospital staffing economics. Turnover rates of 13.1% for physicians and 15.8% for nurses create ongoing demand for temporary staffing solutions and permanent placement services. The factors driving turnover include uncompetitive salaries, professional migration, and high stress levels.
• The economic impact of locum tenens and agency staffing is measured in terms of maintained patient access, preserved service lines, and avoided revenue loss from vacancies. The specialist shortage, with 62.16% of institutions reporting decreased availability of qualified physicians, means that locum tenens physicians play a critical role in maintaining patient access to care.
• Colombia's healthcare expenditure of approximately 9.25% of GDP in 2024, forecast to grow to 9.62% by 2029, creates ongoing pressure to optimize staffing costs while maintaining patient care quality. The health system's accumulated operating loss of $7.3 trillion pesos by the end of 2025 reflects the financial pressures facing healthcare providers.


Considered in this report
• Historic Year: 2020
• Base year: 2025
• Estimated year: 2026
• Forecast year: 2031

Aspects covered in this report
• Hospital Staffing Market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Staffing Service
• Travel Staffing
• Per Diem Staffing
• Locum Tenens Staffing
• Permanent Placement
• Other Temporary & Contract Staffing

By Professional Category
• Nursing Professionals
• Physicians
• Advanced Practice Professionals
• Allied Healthcare Professionals
• Non-Clinical & Administrative Professionals

By Hospital Ownership
• Public / Government Hospitals
• Private Hospitals