You will want some computer programs or websites to help with your endeavors. Depending on what direction you go, but their will always be some basic needs:
Communication
Scheduling
Tracking income and expenses
Keeping track of ideas
References
Making a web site
Locums work can be very rewarding and can be a back-up in case you launch into a non-clinical career, only to find you don’t love it, it doesn’t pay as well as you expected, the demand is not there, or you need to maintain clinical contact, such as for expert witness work.
The travel can be tiring and it can be a strain to leave your family often.
File review involves reading medical records, searching the medical literature, reviewing medical insurance contracts, answering questions, and writing reports.
The work is paid for by insurance companies and independent review organizations, the third party middlemen who review proposed treatment for medical necessity.
If you think you might like to do expert witness work, file review can be a good place to start. You can gain experience reviewing records on nights and weekends while getting paid and keeping your full time job.
Tackling expert witness work is not for everyone. Most of my colleagues say, “how can you do that?” I think they are afraid of having to claim that another doctor made a mistake and needs to pay a penalty.