A doctor’s responsibility to their patients is so immense that their 100% attention is critical. Having a medical scribe helps remove a significant load off their shoulders, allowing them to focus on what they’re tasked and paid to do—assess, examine, and diagnose patients.
A medical scribe is an unlicensed medical professional that performs patient documentation. Their presence cannot be undervalued. They ensure that the doctor functions at their best when caring for patients, and they provide professional assistance to carry out the responsibilities flawlessly.
A medical scribe’s responsibility covers the following:
- Retrieve patient notes
- Chart patient visits, including results of laboratory procedures, prescriptions, and diagnoses
- Generate referral letters
- Updates patient history file on EHR or electronic hospital record
- Review chart accuracy before sending to doctors for signature
- Ensure compliance with HIPAA and other medical policies
- Other clerical duties such as arranging travel plans of the doctor, booking flights, and making dinner reservations
The first medical scribes appeared as notetakers for physicians in the 1970s, but later on, they became a full-fledged role in 2009 when healthcare started to adopt EHR.
Since EHR implementation, physician burnout became apparent since doctors spend extra two hours of work each day transcribing patient records. Onsite medical scribes were hired to help doctors manage patient records.
The onslaught of Covid 19 and the need to follow health protocols prompted many doctors to opt for virtual medical scribes in early 2020. Virtual medical scribes function the same way as onsite medical scribes, except they work remotely.
If you’re in the medical field, it’s time to weigh your options and ask yourself if you’ll get a virtual medical scribe instead of an onsite one? Virtual medical scribes from My Mountain Movers are the best in their field. To help you out, here are the reasons why you should hire a virtual medical scribe:
They’re Cost-Effective
The number one reason for hiring remote workers is its value for money. As the employer, you don’t need to supply them with equipment and an internet connection since they already have it. You will only pay for their billable hours since using a time tracker allows them to log off when there are no patients to attend to, compared to an onsite scribe’s fixed hours in a day.
They Are Less-Intrusive
With technology such as a tiny video camera installed on the physician’s eyeglasses, a virtual medical scribe can attend and extract essential information about the appointment without sitting next to the doctor, making many patients uncomfortable. The scribe’s discreet presence in the clinic can create a less intimidating and less-stressful patient appointment.
Enhances Level Of Accuracy
Since there will be more focus on the task at hand, transcription of patient information will be more accurate and double-checked before getting signed by the physician. Many virtual medical transcribers are nursing graduates or in the related field, so knowledge of terminologies and practices is assured.
Available Round-The-Clock
Even if your medical scribe is on the opposite side of the world, you can be assured that you’ll have one at any given time. Many agencies have a roster of qualified scribes who will be ready to fill in even on short notice. Even time zone issues are not much of a problem because these virtual medical scribes are willing to work in your time zone.
Improved Teamwork
If the physician’s clinic is under a hospital system, the virtual medical scribe can function as the physician’s voice and represent them in the whole system. The scribe can arrange the flow of information within the system so the doctor can focus on attending to patients. This improves the teamwork of their clinic with other departments in the system.
Sustainable and Saves Space
With less use of paper, having a virtual medical scribe utilizing applications instead of paper documents, the carbon footprint of the clinic will significantly diminish. An onsite medical scribe would need a desk in your clinic and a few things to function at their best. A virtual medical scribe will not require that, so you can designate the space for other essential functions.
Conclusion
Remote work has been a practice before the pandemic, and the pandemic cemented its reputation for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Having someone to rely on virtually is a peace of mind many physicians can benefit from and something that will enhance their productivity and elevate their work quality. Remember the advantages of a virtual scribe instead of an onsite one and consider hiring them for your practice.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
