Medical Scribes have proven to be a vital part in the clinical documentation role. Scribes have become increasingly popular in the fast paced emergency rooms where it is critical to move patients through quickly. Check out this article on indystar.com – “Scribes Help Doctors Focus on Patients, Not Computers”
Medical Scribes are being given credit for “freeing busy doctors from screen time and giving them more face time with patients” across the country. There is an expected need of 20,000 medical scribes by end of 2014! Read more about this need in an article from the StarTribune. “Harried doctors hail the rise of the medical scribe“
Check out our short video about our Medical Scribe Program on YouTube and see if you are as excited as we are. Give us a call today to find out more. Ask for Lynn, our Admission Coordinator.
Found this controversial article from an unnamed Scribe that really stirred some inward emotions as a nurse, MT and Scribe instructor. Although I understand the whole wanting to please your boss (the physician) and the the hospital, I think the bigger picture is being missed here in the article. Scribes are suppose to save time for doctors so doctors can in turn do a better job because they have a little more time. No, there is still not an abundance of time. There never is in health care. Scribes should not be asked to compromise their integrity. Instead, perhaps, the patients need be treated at a level 5 to be medically coded and ultimately billed for level 5 reimbursement. If the CEO was asked at any hospital, I think they would agree that level 5 billing deserves level 5 care and it would ultimately fall back on the physician to uphold this standard of care, not to cheat the system. Here at AHDPGTM, we put many premed students through our Scribe program with goals to later become physicians. It is a wonderful bridge career! For our Scribe graduates with future aspirations of becoming a physician, remember that integrity says a lot about who you are. I would like to think that Scribes who move on to become physicians will have an even better understanding and can step up their game just a little more! See the full story here.
By now most of us have heard of Google Glass. If you have not, you need to Google it! Came across this article about Google Glass entering the operating room. It does mention about how medical software developers plan to customize it and make it HIPAA compliant. Even though physicians are already operating at dangerously high levels of multitasking levels, it could be used for teaching purposes in the operating room. Once the software is developed, I suspect physicians could even use it for dictation purposes. Dictation behind Google Glass…Just think about it. Check out this article http://nyti.ms/1kzL86R
Over the past several decades, new and interesting healthcare roles have been created to reflect the changing complexities of our health care system. We have seen the proliferation of hospitalists, surgicalists and laborists (in-hospital obstetrical specialists) on the physician side, and patient navigators, physician extenders and patient ombudsmen in the non-physician side. Now, there is an additional and intriguing job title that may gain some traction even in the high-tech era of the electronic medical record (EMR): the “medical scribe.”
The medical scribe, also known as a “clinical information manager,” “medical scribe specialist” or “ER/ED scribe,” is a trained medical information manager who specializes in charting physician-patient encounters in real time. Although originally spawned as an adjunct in the emergency medicine environment, this clerical resource is seeing wide-spread use in the inpatient and outpatient/ambulatory care settings.
The use of scribes has exploded in direct relationship to the negative consequences of EMR use.
In the inpatient setting, the time that physicians are spending at the patient bedside has been drastically reduced in order to spend more time with EMR data entry. The same applies to the outpatient, ambulatory or office setting where physician face-time with patients has seen an equally significant reduction, by some estimates by as much as 30 percent! Not only is productivity negatively impacted but the time that physicians spend during a patient visit capturing and entering data rather than focusing on the patient can be a major drag on the overall quality of care, patient satisfaction and revenue generation. Here is where the medical scribe may serve a very important role.
The medical scribe is an unlicensed individual hired to enter information into the EMR or chart at the direction of the physician or licensed independent practitioner. Through the use of medical scribes, organizations can improve the overall quality of documentation for both granularity and specificity; which in turn improves billing and revenue generation. In addition, by shifting the vast majority of real-time documentation responsibility to the scribe, physicians are able to see more patients, generate more revenue and better manage their time overall so that at the end of a busy day there is no need to finalize one’s charts or enter additional data in the EMR – increasing regulatory compliance!
The positive effects created by working with a medical scribe are legion:
| Quality of Care | Increases |
| Patient Volume | Increases |
| Revenue | Increases |
| Patient Satisfaction | Increases |
| Physician Satisfaction | Increases |
| Regulatory Compliance | Increases |
As more and more healthcare organizations look to implement medical scribes two methods of implementation are being used. Some healthcare organizations look to engage a medical scribe management company while others choose the homegrown method. Each option brings with it certain advantages and disadvantages.
By partnering with a medical scribe management company a healthcare organization is typically entering into a multi-year agreement where the scribe management company will recruit, hire, train, manage, monitor and deliver a medical scribe program. The fees for this service typically fall into two categories – a one-time implementation fee to get the program up and running (typically between $25,000 – $100,000 depending upon the size and scope of the program) and a per hour fee for each scribe used (typically in the $20 – $26 per hour range). So for each scribe FTE the healthcare facility is paying about $48,000 per year (using $24/hour). A nice premium over the $10 – $14 per hour a typical scribe earns.
And for those organizations who choose the homegrown method the task of recruiting, hiring, training and developing competent resources in sufficient numbers becomes a bit of a challenge.
But now there is a third option. The American Healthcare Documentation Professionals Group, a Certified Academic Partner of the American College of Medical Scribe Specialists will partner with you to recruit, hire, train and oversee the use of medical scribes at your facility. Whether you need one or 100 scribes our online/on-site medical scribe training program might be just what the doctor ordered!
The benefits of our program include:
Contact us today if you need a medical scribe or 101?
Scribes are growing assets to the hospitals. Yes, some hospitals have the added the expense of Scribes, but it frees up the physicians’ time from clerical work which thus increases their productivity. The physician’s increase of productivity then brings in more money for the hospitals. Check out this article and share your thoughts!
– See more at: MILFORD DAILY NEWS ARTICLE
In a recent article by Patricia Kirk, published on Wednesday, November 13th, 2013 by the enews/management briefing service Dark Daily, the article makes reference to a claim made by EHR vendors who “contend that the need for medical scribes is temporary because eventually EHR use will evolve in ways that will make scribes obsolete.”
I hope not for a number of reasons.
First off, with a well-documented shortage of well-trained physicians I cannot imagine a scenario where we as a country would want to burden our scarce resource of physicians with the responsibility of doing data entry. As I have said before this would be analogous to having the CEO of Macy’s operate a cash register or having Tom Brady work the concession stand at half-time. Unless I was doing some type of wacky marketing thing, if I owned stock in Macy’s (which I do not) or the owner of the New England Patriots (which I am not) I would certainly want to make sure I was getting the most value from my investment and having doctors doing data entry is clearly not the solution. I bet getting the most value from an investment is taught on a regular basis at Harvard!
Secondly, and this one might get a chuckle from many readers, if Obamacare truly increases the number of people with health insurance (40M more people) and those newly enrolled seek additional healthcare services what physician is going to have time to provide these additional services and do the increased level of administrative tasks associated here? This is simply a question of supply and demand…another topic I am sure is taught at Harvard.
And finally, one of the biggest reasons it doesn’t take an MBA from Harvard to see the value of today’s medical scribes is simply this…you do not lower the cost of healthcare by replacing a $12 – $20 per hour resource (a medical scribe or a medical transcriptionist) with a $200 – $500 per hour resource (the physician). That’s madness and begs the question, why aren’t more hospital CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and physicians themselves seeing this?
To effectively lower the cost of healthcare we need to have the right people, with the right tools (technology), in the right roles, doing the most cost effective work possible. This includes Healthcare Documentation Specialists of all types, including Medical Scribes and Medical Transcriptionists. This is why it doesn’t take a Harvard MBA to see the value of today’s medical scribes!
Read more: Medical Scribes Move Outside the ER to Help Clinicians in Other Healthcare Settings Make the Switch From Paper Charts to EHRs
It’s well known that, in the vast majority of cases, Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) make doctors far less efficient when seeing patients.
Why? Because it’s rather difficult to tend to the computer when you’re supposed to be focusing on the patient. It’s relatively easy to write with pen and paper while listening and explaining. It’s far harder to keep two hands on a keyboard, a third hand on the mouse, one eye on the screen and another eye on the patient and any family members that may be in the room with you. And the fact that most EMRs and user interfaces are designed by computer geeks with no knowledge of clinical care or workflow certainly doesn’t help matters. As soon as EMRs are deployed, physician productivity typically goes down by about 40% and it rarely ever gets back to where it was prior to installation.
Employing “scribes” is an increasingly common way physician’s and healthcare organization’s use to get around this mess. Since physician time is scarce and expensive, the thinking goes, why not hire a somewhat less expensive person to handle all the new busywork generated by computers? As a result, an entirely new industry has arisen whose main function is to type patient information directly into electronic medical records.
A medical scribe or clinical information manager is a person trained in medical documentation who assists a physician throughout his or her work day. They serve as a personal assistant to doctors to help make them more efficient and productive. The primary function of a scribe is the creation and maintenance of the patient’s medical record, which is created under the supervision of the attending physician. The scribe will document the patient’s story, the physician’s interaction with the patient, the procedures performed, the results of laboratory studies, and other pertinent information. Additional functions of a scribe may include ordering laboratory/radiology studies, assisting with the patient’s disposition, documenting consultations, and notifying the physician when important studies are completed.
Here is a list of characteristics that contribute to the success of a medical scribe.
If you are interested in pursuing a career as a Certified Medical Scribe, visit our online Medical Scribe training program information page!
Medical Scribes are individuals trained in medical documentation who assist a physician throughout their shift. The primary goal of a Medical Scribe is to increase the efficiency and the productivity of the physician they are working for. The Medical Scribe allows the doctor to focus on what is most important, the patient.
A summary of a Medical Scribes duties include performing all clerical and information technology functions for a physician in a clinic setting. This includes primary responsibility of the operation of the electronic health records and electronic dictation system. You also must be able anticipate physician needs to facilitate the flow of clinic. Medical Scribes must be discreet, tactful, and modest in performance of duties so as not to distract medical staff from patient care. Good judgment, organizational ability, initiative, attention to detail, and the ability to be self-motivated are especially important when working as a Medical Scribe. You must be adaptable and versatile since you will be responsible for many tasks. Good attendance is also an important element of this job since you will be hard to replace.
Some of the more detailed job duties and responsibilities of a Medical Scribe are:
1. Accurately and thoroughly document medical visits and procedures as they are being performed by the physician, including but not limited to:
2. Dictation/faxing/phone calls and clerical tasks. Medical Scribes are asked to prepare referral letters as directed by the physician, via dictation or summary of the medical record. Medical Scribe also ensure that letters are mailed or faxed on a daily basis to all physicians involved in a patient’s care, and with all copies of pertinent reports or tests attached. You may be asked to research contact information for referring physicians, coordinate referrals, prepare operative reports, make phone calls, and other clerical tasks as assigned.
3. Medical Scribes also spot mistakes or inconsistencies in medical documentation and check to correct the information in order to reduce errors. All addenda must be signed off by a physician. Medical Scribes ensure that all clinical data, lab or other test results, the interpretation of the results by the physician are recorded accurately in the medical record. Alert physician when chart is incomplete. Medical Scribes must comply with specific standards that apply to the style of medical records and to the legal and ethical requirements for preparing medical documents and for keeping patient information confidential.
4. Medical Scribes collect, organize and catalog data for physician quality reporting system and other quality improvement efforts and format for submission. You will assist in developing and maintaining systems to track patient follow up and compliance.
5. Attend trainings on diverse subjects such as information technology, legal, HIPAA and regulatory compliance, billing and coding. Quickly assimilate new knowledge into processes and procedures. Medical Scribes proofread and edit all the physician’s medical documents for accuracy, spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
1. Language Skills – The ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Medical Scribes must be proficient in typing and good at spelling, punctuation, grammar, and oral communication. Must be able to listen to complex medical information and summarize in a clear, complete, and concise fashion. Excellent English composition skills required to generate professional, polished writing at a high rate of production. Handwriting must be clear and legible.
2. Understanding of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, diagnostic procedures, pharmacology, and treatment assessments to the extent required to understand and accurately transcribe dictated reports. Translate medical abbreviations into their expanded forms.
3. Mathematical Skills – Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Prepare and interpret charts and graphs. Have the ability to compute ratio and percent.
4. Reasoning Ability – Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to apply logic and draw conclusions based on knowledge. Have the ability to refer to reference materials to solve problems.
5. Computer Skills – To perform this job successfully, an individual should be able to learn and use all functions of electronic medical record software and transcription software. Must accurately enter data into a database, search for information, send and receive email and attachments. Must be proficient in Microsoft Word in order to prepare correspondence, medical reports, and other documents. Must use Microsoft Excel to prepare flowcharts and organize data. Must use the internet to access schedules, research information, etc.
6. Other Skills and Abilities – Must be able to type words and numbers quickly and accurately; must comply with HIPAA confidentiality standards when accessing or communicating patient information.
7. Physical Demands – While performing the duties of this Job, a Medical Scribe is regularly required to stand; sit; walk; use hands to type, write with a pen, finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear. The Medical Scribe is occasionally required to climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The Medical Scribe must regularly lift and /or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
As you can see, Medical Scribes are an invaluable asset to physicians in busy emergency departments, hospitals, or clinics. With more time to focus on interacting with their patients, doctors see more patients while the Medical Scribe is documenting the patients visit and care plan – alleviating that burden from the doctor. Medical Scribes are fast becoming more and more important to a doctor and a profession that is in high demand.
Do you have what it takes to become a Medical Scribe? Find out more!
American Healthcare Documentation Professionals GroupTM
415 Boston Turnpike, Suite 212
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
