Medical scribing is emerging as a time-saving alternative for providers who do their own documentation. Trained medical scribes document patient encounters in real time.
They can document visits in person or remotely, thanks to advances in virtual medical office solutions. Remote scribing offers a range of benefits, including enhanced productivity and improved medical record accuracy.
Did you know?
According to a study published in JAMIA Open, remote scribing can reduce documentation time by up to 30%, allowing healthcare providers to focus more on patient care.
Traditional documentation requires healthcare providers to manually record patient information during or after each visit. This method can be time consuming and detracts from patient interaction.
A survey by the American Medical Association found that physicians spend approximately two hours on administrative tasks for every hour of direct patient care. Remote medical coding services can alleviate some of this burden; however, traditional medical documentation is still labor-intensive.
Benefits of Medical Scribing
Medical scribing by a trained remote scribe offers several advantages:
- Increased Accuracy: Remote scribes capture real-time data with precision, reducing errors in medical records. This leads to more accurate diagnoses and treatment plans.
- Enhanced Productivity: By offloading documentation tasks to scribes, healthcare providers can see more patients per day. Research shows that practices using remote scribes can increase patient throughput by 20%.
- Reduced Administrative Burden: Remote scribes handle the bulk of documentation, freeing up physicians to spend more time on direct patient care. This helps improve patient satisfaction and reduce provider burnout.
Which Approach is Right for You?
Choosing between remote medical scribing and traditional documentation involves weighing several factors:
- Provider Control: Traditional documentation gives providers control over every detail of their patient records, which can be beneficial in complex cases.
- Familiarity: It can be hard to transition to something new.
- Cost: Implementing remote scribing or coding services can involve significant upfront costs and require a robust digital infrastructure. Conversely, traditional documentation methods can incur higher long-term expenses due to time lost doing administrative tasks.
- Provider Burnout: Hours spent doing traditional documentation can lead to provider burnout. Remote scribing can help alleviate burnout by reducing that extra workload.
Why Wait? Take the First Step Now!
References:
- JAMIA Open Study:
- Citation: Corby, S., Ash, J. S., Mohan, V., et al. (2021). A Qualitative Study of Provider Burnout: Do Medical Scribes Hinder or Help? JAMIA Open, 4(3), ooab047. Link
- Detail: This study examines the impact of medical scribes on physician burnout and productivity.
- American Medical Association Survey:
- Citation: American Medical Association. (2020). Physician Burnout and Administrative Burden.
- Detail: This survey provides data on the time physicians spend on administrative tasks compared to direct patient care.
- Study on Remote Scribing Benefits:
- Citation: Gidwani, R., Nguyen, C., Kofoed, A., et al. (2017). Impact of Scribes on Physician Satisfaction, Patient Satisfaction, and Charting Efficiency: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Annals of Family Medicine, 15(5), 427–433. Link
- Detail: This study reports on the efficiency gains and satisfaction improvements associated with the use of medical scribes.