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Medical Scribe Profitability. The objective of an Annals of Internal Medicine study entitled, The Productivity Requirements of Implementing a Medical Scribe Program determined the number of additional patient visits various specialties would need to recover the costs of implementing scribes in their practice at 1 year.

The study determined that an average of 1.34 additional new patient visits per day (295 per year) were required to recover medical scribe costs (range, 0.89 [cardiology] to 1.80 [orthopedic surgery] new patient visits per day).  For returning patients, an average of 2.15 additional visits per day (472 per year) were required (range, 1.65 [cardiology] to 2.78 [orthopedic surgery] returning visits per day). The addition of 2 new patient (or 3 returning) visits per day was profitable for all specialties.

Scribe costs were based on literature review and a third-party contractor model. Revenue was calculated from direct visit billing, CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) billing, and data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

To make the medical scribe program profitable after one year, physicians from all specialties had to see two new or three returning patients each day. This was calculated with the assumption that physicians and other health professionals would work 220 eight-hour clinic days per year and that scribe shifts mirrored that schedule.

“Providing a scribe right now might actually be the thing that keeps your providers from saying, ‘I’m going to retire. I’m opting out,’” said Dr. Laiteerapong. “If we don’t have some sort of tool that can help people with their notes right now, you could end up losing a good chunk of the workforce.”

“People could say, ‘Oh, we’re going to wait to invest in scribes later,’” she said. But “there may not be a later for many of those physicians.”

For all specialties, modest increases in productivity due to scribes may allow physicians to see more patients and offset scribe costs, making scribe programs revenue-neutral.

Learn more about our Develop Your Own Scribe(s) Program

What impresses medical schools?  The requirements for premed students are constantly stacking higher and higher

Between prerequisite coursework, extracurricular activities, the MCAT, CASPer, and more, it can be incredibly difficult for premeds to find time for all of their obligations. This becomes especially difficult when students have to work to generate income for themselves or their families.

medical scribe works alongside physicians and assists in the documentation of patient visits. Scribing can allow a premed student to get close doctor interaction while gaining skills in medical documentation, terminology, and treatment plans.

Scribes also may get some direct patient interaction. Though this position requires specific training, there are many positions available once it is completed and scribing can even be done remotely.

Read the full US News and World Report article here.

U.S. News recently published an article entitled, 10 Reasons to Consider Becoming a Medical Scribe Ahead of Med School.  If you’re considering a career in medicine, working as a medical scribe is a best bet for familiarizing yourself with patient care. A scribe works directly with physicians, primarily focused on charting patient encounters in the electronic medical record. What’s more, scribe positions can be full or part time, making it a viable job choice for a student.

If this sounds appealing, consider the following 10 reasons why prospective medical school students should consider becoming a medical scribe.

1. You will shadow physicians.
2. You will learn a great deal about medicine.
3. You will make money while you learn and shadow.
4. You will learn a lot about teamwork.
5. You will learn medical language.
6. You will watch, hear and see how trust is developed.
7. You will learn about the medical record.
8. You will learn about templates, checklists and smart phrases.
9. You’ll probably increase your typing speed and efficiency.
10. You will get to listen to patients.

If you are interested in launching a career in healthcare or taking your existing career in an exciting new direction becoming a Medical Scribe is a great way place yourself on the front-line!

Physicians who work with medical scribes are much more satisfied with their clinic hours, the length of face to-face time they spend with patients, and the time they spend charting, according to the first randomized clinical trial of scribes, recently published in the journal Annals of Family Medicine.

“Spending less time on documentation frees up the physician to pursue direct clinical care and care coordination, thus enhancing joy of practice and preventing burnout,” wrote professor and family medicine researcher Steven Lin, MD, and colleagues at Stanford University School of Medicine, in Stanford, CA. “These findings suggest that scribes may have a protective effect on physicians’ well-being.”

Results showed that scribes improved all aspects of physician satisfaction, including overall satisfaction with clinic (odds ratio [OR] = 10.75), having enough face time with patients (OR = 3.71), time spent charting (OR = 86.09), chart quality (OR = 7.25), and chart accuracy (OR = 4.61). In addition, charts done by scribes were more likely to be closed within 48 hours compared with charts completed by physicians (OR = 1.18).

Related link: Impact of Scribes on Physician Satisfaction, Patient Satisfaction, and Charting Efficiency: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The Medical Scribe role is becoming increasingly more vital in today’s evolving healthcare environment. The Medical scribe is a trained healthcare documentation professional who works side-by-side with a physicians in a variety of clinical settings to relieve the administrative burden and allow the physician to more fully focus on the patient.

Check out our Medical Scribe Career infographic to learn more about the role, its requirements and responsibilities, and what the future looks like for those individuals interested in pursuing a career as a medical scribe.